SANTA FE, N.M., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Richardson, Governor of the State of New Mexico, has issued a tribute to Prem Rawat, also known as Maharaji, in recognition of his accomplishments.

The Governor's tribute says: "The Governor of the State of New Mexico, having learned of the outstanding achievement and exceptional accomplishments of Maharaji, does hereby extend congratulations and acknowledgement and further does herein direct that this official expression of pride be forthwith sent on behalf of the people of the State of New Mexico."

For Linda Pascotto, President of The Prem Rawat Foundation, "This award concludes another banner year for Maharaji. This recognition from the Governor of the State of New Mexico is a sign of the growing interest which Maharaji's message of peace is receiving all around the world."

More than 1.4M people sought inspiration and guidance from Maharaji in the last 12 months, and more than 53,000 learned his techniques for finding peace within. His message is now made available in more than 88 countries and 70 languages. A few months ago, he was invited by members of the Italian Parliament to present his message of peace, and a few weeks later, he addressed a capacity audience of faculty, guests, and students at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre.

The Brazilian Association of Community Channels recently bestowed its highest award to Words of Peace, the weekly television series featuring highlights from Maharaji's message of peace. The president of this association expressed that the award was given to Words of Peace for the quality of Maharaji's message and for the contribution made by this program to the cause of peace in Brazil.

In addition to helping make Maharaji's message of peace available throughout the world, an important role of The Prem Rawat Foundation, which Maharaji created, is to help improve the quality of life for people most in need.

The Foundation is expanding its capabilities in terms of providing food and medical relief to people most in need and is enjoying steadily growing public support. In the last two weeks alone, more than $120,000 has been donated to the Foundation by people all around the world to aid the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia.