Between February 14 and April 4, more than 1 million people throughout the Indian subcontinent came to seek Maharaji's inspiration and guidance. The tour started with events in Delhi and Mumbai, where Maharaji was invited to present his message to civic, government, and business leaders, as well as to members of the international media and the diplomatic corps.
Maharaji held a total of seventeen events throughout the country, including in the cities of Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Pune, Bareilly, Allahabad, Ranchi, Farrukhabad, and Karnal.
A record audience of 275,000 welcomed him in Baghalpur, a city with only 1.2 million inhabitants.
In addition to the more than one million people that came to hear Maharaji in person, a two-day interactive satellite event took place on April 3-4, attended by more than 635,000 people gathered in 2,100 centers throughout India. These people sent Maharaji more than 2,200 questions by telephone and then watched him answer these questions over the live television feed.
For Mr. H. V. Nagappa, the General Manager of Raj Vidya Kender, which promote s Maharaji's message throughout India, “This record participation is a clear sign that in India the thirst for Maharaji's message of peace is virtually limitless. Wherever he speaks, an audience of 100,000 is becoming the norm. A large number of these people understand that there is more than words to Maharaji's message and decide to actively pursue Knowledge—Maharaji's approach to finding peace within.”
For Linda Pascotto, President of The Prem Rawat Foundation, which promotes and disseminates Maharaji's message outside India, “The people who came to seek Maharaji's guidance represented an unparalleled cross-section of society. They included diplomats, CEOs, journalists, politicians, and high-level government officials, as well as hundreds of thousands of people whose sole belongings may have been the clothes they were wearing. A ll those people gathered in peace, listening to Maharaji in silence, smiling, clapping, laughing as he presented his message, was an unforgettable sight. Maharaji is doing wonders in India as he brings his message of peace, and we look forward to the same enthusiasm catching on throughout the world.”
