Prem Rawat becomes first recipient of Keys of Avalon from Glastonbury City Council

Global Peace Ambassador and author of New York bestseller “Hear Yourself- How to Find Peace in a Noisy World,” Prem Rawat (centre front row) with Mayor of Clastonbury City Council, Jon Cousins (left) following the award ceremony.

LONDON, June 19 – Global Peace Ambassador Prem Rawat was honoured with the Key of Avalon from the Glastonbury City Council, United Kingdom on Friday, June 17 – 51 years after he first spoke at the Glastonbury Music Festival in June 1971.

The event, streamed live over You Tube and watched by thousands across the world, saw Prem Rawat receiving the keys – from the Mayor of Glastonbury Jon Cousins.

In a statement released here following the event, TimelessToday said “the Council of the City of Glastonbury, UK, created a new civic honor inspired by the ancient custom of gifting keys of a city to a trusted friend of the community.

“Prem Rawat became the first recipient of this award on June 17, 2022, honoring his life-long dedication fifty-one years after he spoke about hope and peace for humanity at the Glastonbury Music Festival in June 1971 as a thirteen-year-old boy from India.”

Commending Prem Rawat for his contribution to the city, Jon Cousins spoke of how Prem Rawat, who had shared billing along with superstars like David Bowie, rock bands Hawkwind and Fairport Convention at the 1971 festival, delivered a message of peace for all.

“And this Glastonbury moment began a lifelong journey for him and many others in helping humanity to find peace.

Prem Rawat’s Food for People programs in India, Nepal and Ghana have transformed entire communities. He also created the Peace Education Program, which is taught in prisons; in countries ravaged by war; in veteran centers and in hospitals in more than 75 countries and 600 prisons. The program (also used in schools and in universities worldwide) has reached all walks of life, including those marginalized by society and conflict, and inspires participants to experience real personal peace. 

“In 1972, at 14 years old, as he taught the world at great personal risk, he became the youngest person ever to be blacklisted and banned by the apartheid regime in South Africa for refusing to hold racially segregated events.

“The inspiration for this new Civic Honor comes at a time when the world has faced great challenges, conflict, and trauma – and there is no better person in my opinion to be the first to receive the Key of Avalon than Prem Rawat, a global peace ambassador who has travelled the world with the simple yet practical message: peace is possible.”

Today, Prem Rawat’s message is heard in more than 100 countries. The New York Times bestselling author of “Hear Yourself- How to Find Peace in a Noisy World,” Rawat founded The Prem Rawat Foundation in 2001 with the mission to address the fundamental human needs of food, water and the often-overlooked need for peace.

Also present at Friday’s ceremony were several guests who had attended the 1971 Glastonbury festival who recalled their trip to the festival and how their attention was caught by what Prem Rawat had to say.

For renewal energy specialist Paul Parker, 67, who was a 16-year old “aspiring hippie” back then when he attended the festival, it was one line that Prem Rawat said that “stopped him in his tracks”.

“‘There is something inside you, which will never perish…I can reveal it, he said. That is what that set me on my journey of inner discovery.”

Paul, who went on to listen to more talks from Prem Rawat and later received the techniques of self-Knowledge from him, expressed his appreciation to him, saying that all the years through with the highs and lows of life, the message and self-Knowledge Prem Rawat showed him had remained the only constant.

Fashion stylist George Blodwell who wanted to listen to Melanie Safka at the festival sing “Peace Will Come” also heard Prem Rawat for the first time in Glastonbury, leading him eventually to finding what he termed as the “unchanging” through Prem Rawat.

Prem Rawat in his speech thanked Glastonbury Mayor and council for the honour given to him, saying: “It was an amazing experience to be on the pyramid stage back in 1971 when I was 13. Now to be honored some 50 years later is very special.”

A leading voice for global peace, Rawat once again spoke of the importance of peace in one’s life, specifically underlining that peace is not about the absence of noise alone, but an innate experience that can be sourced from within by each and every person, no matter who they are or where they are.

Meanwhile, besides its famous music festival, Glastonbury is a city also known for its ancient founding and unique heritage including the isle of Avalon, believed to be the final resting place for the legendary King Arthur.

In his speech earlier, Jon Cousins spoke of the city’s rich history and special links to the British monarch as well as how the city with its population of less than 9,000 residents is home for 81 different religions, creeds and faiths, making it truly a place of tolerance and unity in diversity and of peace.

–WE