Prem Rawat’s Visit to Costa Rica and Peace Education Growth

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Since 2012, Prem Rawat’s Peace Education Program has helped more than 620,000 people in 80 countries discover their inner resources — including choice, hope and dignity. The program has had a significant positive impact in settings such as community centers, universities, healthcare facilities, senior centers, homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centers and correctional institutions.

More recently, this free program has expanded across Central America.

On Aug. 16 in San José, Costa Rica, Prem Rawat joined community leaders to celebrate the program’s regional growth. The historic event marked his first public address in Costa Rica.

Prem Rawat speaking at Costa Rica event

What every human being has to live with is how they feel inside.
Joy is not the same as happiness. 
Joy is felt within and is about being content
within yourself. 
Happiness is dependent on other people.
Be in joy.

Prem Rawat

The event included the signing of agreements between The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) and three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to expand access to the Peace Education Program throughout Central and South America. The new partnerships include:

• Fundación Liquidámbar (Honduras)
• Unbound (Costa Rica)
• La Asociación Una Posibilidad (Colombia)

Under the agreements, TPRF will support the organizations’ implementation of the program by providing access to the materials, facilitator training and ongoing guidance.

Prem Rawat with NGO reps and signed agreements

Audience members responded warmly to Prem Rawat’s visit. For many, it was their first time to hear him speak person. Others, who had been unable to attend his events for more than a decade due to travel difficulties, were finally able to attend.

A group of his students from Nicaragua traveled 11 hours by bus to attend.

“Yesterday, I understood how wonderful life is and the importance of appreciating each moment,” said one attendee after hearing Prem Rawat for the first time. “I’ve realized how valuable even the simple things are — like breathing.”

Added another: “I felt like a sponge absorbing everything Prem said. When he stood up, I thought, ‘Where are you going? Please don’t go! I want to keep learning from you!’”

Audience at Costa Rica event listening to Prem Rawat’s presentation

Peace efforts in a Honduran Prison

In 2023, 46 inmates at the Women’s Center for Social Adaptation in Támara, Honduras, were killed during a riot. Before the tragedy, Human Rights Watch had documented overcrowding, poor sanitation, violence and other serious issues throughout the Honduran prison system.

In response, prison officials sought new solutions to reduce violence and improve conditions. Their search led them to two of Prem Rawat’s peace initiatives: the Peace Education Program and the Peace Education and Knowledge (PEAK) program.

Last year, 25 people at Támara participated in sessions in which Prem Rawat’s techniques of Self-Knowledge were taught. Those participants now host the Peace Education Program three times a week. A video created by some of these people one month after the Self-Knowledge session highlights their gratitude to Prem Rawat for what they learned.

Across prisons in Costa Rica and Honduras, numerous facilitators have been trained to deliver the Peace Education Program, and hundreds of incarcerated people have taken part in the program.

“We have never seen an impact like this in any program,” said the director of education for Costa Rican prisons. “We have hired psychologists, lawyers — everything — but have always had to pay. The inmates have never opened up as much as they have with the Peace Education Program, which is completely free.”

More about Prem Rawat’s Costa Rica event
The Prem Rawat Foundation

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