Maharaji: A Content Heart 2005 E176

Words of Peace: Maharaji: A Content Heart 2005 E176

Prem Rawat, widely known by the honorary title Maharaji, has been traveling the world for more than 30 years, bringing a unique message of peace. He gave his first public addresses at the age of three, and by the age of 13, he was responding to invitations to speak in the United States and Great Britain [as Guru Maharaj Ji, The Lord of the Universe]. His message is from the heart. He speaks about the possibility for each person to find peace within, regardless of circumstances. Addressing a distinguished audience at the invitation of the United Nations Association of Malaysia, he recently said, Through the Prem Rawat Foundation, he also spearheads significant humanitarian initiatives [rubbish:: TPRF gives aid of $0.5 million p.a.] aimed at improving the lives of people most in need. From large cities to remote villages, millions of people around the world come to him for inspiration and guidance. Even as his audiences increase, Prem Rawat's message remains directed to each individual. If you are looking for fulfillment and peace, he says, the solution lies within. If that is what you want, I can help.

What you're looking for, that's of course if you're looking for something, but whatever it is that you're looking for is within you. Now that's such a strong statement and at the same time a very vague statement. Whatever it is that I'm looking for is inside of me.

Well, how do you know what I'm looking for? Well, there is a thirst that every single being has and this thirst has been acknowledged not since yesterday but as long, long ago as you can possibly imagine. That people have stood out as far back as Socrates and said, know thyself. Now of course, you know this is one of those statements that you hear in the university and of course immediately you're made to write an essay on it, what it means and you dread it and after you're finished with your essay you probably take a vow, I'll never, never go into this subject again. You probably end up saying, I know myself, I want to do this. But life evolves, we take our turns, things slow down, some things speed up, some things change and we look for something that can comfort us. We look for something that can support us, we look for something that can give us hope, we look for something that can give us strength, we look for something that can make this life easy, nice.

What is it that I need in my life? Because you see, the word need has never been appropriately addressed. We use the word need for so many things. I need this, I need that. We go to a grocery store, oh yeah, I need that and I need some spice and I need this and I need that and you know, you go to one of these supermarkets to get things you need. Of course, that's why you're there and the next thing you know you're getting all the stuff you need. So you know, if you keep doing this in your life somewhere, the meaning of the word need is going to get very twisted. It's not going to carry its real meaning. Want. I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that and then one day you open your closet and all this want comes just pouring out of that closet and it's like, man, junk.

So somebody comes along to you and says, no, no, there is something that your heart needs, there is something that your heart wants. Let's begin with the very first and fundamental step is you feel your thirst. You have to feel your thirst. I really want this to be most enjoyable process possible for you because this is about discovering yourself, not getting caught up in ideas of what this is all about and so it has to begin with first of all discovering the thirst because without that thirst everything is going to be a big puzzle. What's he talking about? What is within me? See if you have the thirst, it becomes clear, hey, I need water. If the well is within me, great. If it isn't within me, great because the point isn't that, the point is there is water and that's what I need. It just so happens that it's within you. It facilitates the process, wherever you go, water is there.

You can satisfy your thirst, you can be quenched.

East Asian man:I was successful. What we talk about successful in the life outside because I just got a degree. I was working for a successful company. I just get promoted, a good salary. I had a girlfriend who was so pretty. So I was so, so happy. I was on the top of the world. And at that moment I realized something is missing. I was looking for something.

Young male: I was looking to learn something. And I looked in books and I read extensively lots of different books and it just kind of fueled the fire even more. The more I read, the more I was just intensely wanting to learn something that the books almost alluded to but didn't quite bring me to. I was just constantly trying to find what I needed and looking in all these different places. It became more and more clear that it was some kind of strength within me that I needed. Some kind of inner power and ability to just be myself and be free.

Goateed Male: The clarity that I had was that there was something inside of me or there was, I suppose, a well of happiness. And from the very first time it clicked all I got was a drop. My clarity was that this drop could become a well. And a bottomless well. And that for me was what I wanted.

You need to feel. You need to begin to feel every step of the way. Not starting to take other people's words for it, but stand on your own feet and feel. Stand on your own feet and say yes or no. Stand on your own feet and say yes, I like it. No, I like it. Not because it's written somewhere. That cannot be the stamp of approval. You are alive.

You read in a book, breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. You breathe.

You're responding to something. You know, people have questions. Some people will refer to a book and say, you know, that says in that book. So is that true or not? I know. Have I read the same book? And if I've read the same book, do I remember? This is not about books. This is about feeling. Now, this is not a paint class. This is not a paint class. Here's the rose, guys, see if you can paint this. No. This is about holding the rose in your hands. Your rose, not somebody else's rose. Your rose, your flower, your life, your breath, your existence. This is about accepting.

So many people, they've already got a preconceived idea of what this is. They've already got a preconceived idea. I mean, this is what I fight, preconceived ideas. Oh, who are you? Well, let's put them in a box. Somewhere, let's put them in a box. Everything goes in a box. This is about something more real. This is not about being socially acceptable. This is not about how the world's going to look at it. This is not about the Joneses. This is not about what you could accomplish. This is not about a plaque. This is about your heart. This is about your life. So you've been trying to stuff your life in a box, haven't you? And every time you do, it bucks. And it bucks so hard, it hurts. And that's when you let go of the box for a few days, and you say, okay, I'll tolerate it outside of a box. And then as soon as you start feeling good again, you start to stuff it in a box. And it bucks again, it slaps you right across the face.

Awake, I'll, I'm not to be put in a box, says life. Why can't we just have it nice and clean? I am Mr. So-and-so. You look at doctors, that's a very common thing with doctors. I'm a doctor. Oh, really? You see, doctors make mistakes and people are like, oh my God, the doctor made a mistake. But what is a doctor? A human being. We put a label on him saying, you can't make mistakes. That pilot made mistake. Pilots, what are pilots? Human beings. And human beings make mistakes. We say, oh, yes, we're going to elect you to this post. Now you are so-and-so. And we expect them not to make mistakes. Human beings make mistakes, people. Just like you do. Just like you do when you turn on the hot water when you meant to turn the cold one. Simple as that. Step into the shower a little too early, the water isn't warmed up and you go, oof. Touch that pot when the handle is hot, ouch. It's a common occurrence. But we want labels.

And somehow we can put labels across everything then we are exempt, then we can criticize, then we can say, yes, but you are a doctor, you're not supposed to make mistakes. But a doctor is a human being. A pilot is a human being. Somebody actually had an idea once, yeah, let's make this flying business so safe that there are not any accidents. I said, that's not possible. Because it could be a duck that could cause the accident. And it actually happened. There was a pilot flying one time in a helicopter at night. It's a good thing he had the autopilot on because unbeknown to him, a duck flew right through the windshield, hit him on the chest, he passed out, woke up, the helicopter was still flying, and he went and he took the bird and roasted it. That's what happened. (subdued laughter)

So it's not about the conceived perfectness but the perfectness that lies in the heart of every single being. That's what I'm talking about. Because something is perfect, but it's not on the outside. We've been trying to make things perfect on the outside. They'll never be. It's not their nature. Can't be. But there is a perfectness that's on the inside and that's the perfectness that we have to feel.

Same young male: Through all the learning and the growth that happens when you're a human being, going through your life and experiencing all that you do, that this other side to being alive has been a real powerful source of hope and inspiration and strength for me. Different things can come along and can provide me little snippets of happiness. I really believe that and I get lots of snippets of happiness from many different people, many different things.

Same goateed male: But I think that, I suppose the thing that I understand is that there is a path that I can really tap into inner happiness and happiness that is inside of me. And by understanding that, all of these other paths that I yearn for, I hoped that would go through. I no longer have these hopes, I just enjoy the paths and I enjoy different things because I know this is not, you know, this is not going to lead me to the goal that I'm seeking. The goal, it has and always has been with me and doesn't come from anything else.

This is for those who want it. A thousand people will go by a well. Is that to say that they need water? No, it is to say that they were not thirsty. Need of water is very human and it will be there. Whether they are thirsty in that moment or not is a whole another issue. I need clarity in my life. So, clarity takes effort. Clarity takes effort. It is not something that comes naturally. Look how many people there are in this world who believe in God. Now, look around the world. Does the state of world represent those people who believe in God? What happens? What happens? You start living your life. Yeah, yeah, there is a God. Yeah, God can see everything. Yeah, yeah. One day you do something, oh, God didn't see that. I got away with it. It was great. Look around. We are on this planet Earth. Planet Earth. We belong here. We do so good on the moon. They tried it. It was fun, but they all wanted to come back. Nobody actually wanted to live there. Kind of cumbersome. Here we are. We've been placed here. We've been given what we have been given.

All is so beautiful and how long does it take to forget? How long does it take to forget that? That is so fundamental. Now, this is a tall order, folks. This is not about easy and I'm not making it any easier for anybody, am I? I'm not really sitting here and telling you, well, you know, this is what you should do and this is what you should do. And bam, you know, after two and a half days, you will have this. This is what people expect of me. I'm ready, you know, just tell us exactly.

Here I am telling you what? You should feel your thirst. That's about as vague as you can get, I know. But you have come to me and you have said, I want to know the preciousness of water. And I'm giving you the right answer. Get thirsty. That's what I'm saying. You want to know the preciousness of this life? You want to know the preciousness of this breath? Get thirsty. The thirst is there and cover it. Discover it. There's a lot of good in you. There's a lot of beauty in you. There's a lot of joy in you waiting to be discovered. Joy, peace, peace. It's looking for you, knocking at your door. Open up.

I need to be aware of this life. I want to take today for granted. I want to take tomorrow for granted. That's just how I want to live my life. Because when I start taking tomorrow for granted, today gets wasted. Because I put everything off to tomorrow. And tomorrow never comes. And I'm waiting for tomorrow to come. All my life I have been waiting for tomorrow to come. Why are you wasting today for the sake of tomorrow? waste today. So, relax. You're in good company. You're there. You're there. Yes, the well is here.

And yes, the well is full of water. And yes, it's beautiful, crystal clear. (scattered applause) It's here.

Don't worry. worry. No competition. No race. You are accepted. Who am I to reject? When the breath has not rejected you. Who am I to reject when the heart has not rejected you? Peace is there. And great simplicity. Not the fervor to capture, but to be friends. This is about a bird that you want to sit on your finger. You're going to have to do this just right. Great understanding. Simplicity. No flags. No drums. No, no, no. It's here. It's all here. And that desire to be fulfilled can be fulfilled. Just as I said before, this thirst is not going to kill you. Good thing. It's not going to kill you.

Be. Learn to learn. Learn to learn. Learn. I want you to become a learner for the rest of your life. Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn. And keep learning till the very last breath. Learn about this life. Learn about this breath. Learn about this joy. Learn about this peace. Learn about being alive. It's a lot to learn. You've learned your A, B, C, D. You've learned your one, two, threes. Now it's time to start learning about this breath. It is time to start learning about you. This vessel that came upon this earth. This time that was granted to this vessel. How important. How important.

If you live on an island, I was just looking at an article not too long ago, and they were showing these people who live on these tiny, tiny little islands. I looked at the picture, and every little island had a little, little house on it, had a little, little boat. That's how they get around. Well, this boat needs to go on a journey. It's been tied too long to the dock. Maybe once in a while some of the owners have come down, sat on it, pretend to row, got nowhere because the boat was tied. Now, I'm telling you, hey, untie the boat, take your rows, oars, and row. Move. Feel this journey. Move. be afraid. Look at your past.

You've been through a lot. You're a good warrior. You've been through a lot, and you can go through a lot. So move. In appreciation, move. In joy, move. In harmony, move. And take this journey. A content heart is a beautiful thing, folks. When a person starts to wear peace in their lives, it is something else. When a person starts to wear peace, it is divine. You've seen a lot of people, see a lot of models, and you see a lot of beautiful people. And I have seen more beautiful people than any model you will ever see, because I've seen people wear peace. And that's the tops. That's the best. It does not get any better than that.