‘Divisions will only benefit the greedy’

PETALING JAYA: People all over the world are being divided without understanding its consequences, said a global peace advocate.  

Prem Rawat said these divisions would only benefit the greedy few and not the majority of people who were drawn into it.  

“Nobody is going to benefit from it except the ones who get rich because of these divisions and dividing. 

"They are very selfish and have selfish interests,” he told The Star Online in an interview recently.  

He said that people were being divided across lines that were ridiculous - such as the colour of their skin, the language they spoke, the way they look and even the cars they drove.  

Prem, 59, who has addressed live audiences all over the world, said the problem of division did not exist naturally, giving the example of children.  

“Take a few of those kids from every community, culture; put them together and they will start playing with each other. So you wonder, isn’t this segregation along whatever lines a learned behaviour.  

“Innately it wasn’t there, so it has to be a learned behaviour. If it is a learned behaviour, then the good news is we can unlearn it,” he said.  

Prem first took the stage at the age of four in his native India where he spoke of the possibility of peace in human lives. Since then, he has travelled extensively worldwide to deliver his talks.  

He is currently in Malaysia to give several talks on peace.  

Prem said that alongside water, air and food, peace is a need for humans.  

“Without peace, we start to fall apart as a human being. And when we fall apart, it’s hard to contemplate what tomorrow may bring,” he said.  

When asked how one could get peace, he answered that it was within everyone, although it needed nurturing, giving the example of an abandoned field.  

“If it is left abandoned, with no thought given, and no effort made, weeds will grow. But if a little effort is made, then the good stuff will grow,” he said.