Maharaji in LA PWK-006 2006-05-21

Maharaji in LA 21st May 2006
Surrounded by Certainty PWK-006

So today, we once again get to talk about what is really important, something that doesn't change. And you know there's a riddle. There's something that we're all given. And we're given plenty of it, but it's never enough. We're given this one thing, but we can never keep it. And what do you suppose it is? Time. We're given lots of it, but it's not enough. We want more. We struggle. Everybody goes around pretending they have enough of it. And it just keeps coming, and it just keeps pouring, and it keeps coming. And all of the time that we get, it's ours. But we get to keep any of it. Slips through. Goes away. Comes and goes. And the only thing that we are left with is what we do in that time. So what is it that we should do in that time? underestimate this little question.

This is what has been debated for centuries. What should we do? What should we do? And we are such do-creatures that we forget certain fundamental things. In fact, I was talking to somebody yesterday, and I found myself saying something that, you know, and I've said this many, many times, that the thirst is very innate. It is within you. You feel the thirst, and then this is what you should be doing. It's fulfilling. And I started thinking about that. And it's like we do so much in our lives. We are driven to do so much. We think we have to do so much in our lives. All the responsibilities, all our ideas, all our thoughts, it's do, do, do, do, do. But once in our lifetimes, it would be nice to sit down and feel what it is that we really want to do, and the quest for doing it would come from within, not from the outside, not driven by this world. You must understand one thing. So much of what we think we have to do is not ours. It's somebody else's.

A stew is made, and then that stew is offered to us, eat this. And we do. And some of us think, oh, it's delicious. And some of us think, I can't wait to have it again, to try it again. But then we should also look at our bathroom medicine cabinet, because therein lies, therein lies, in that medicine cabinet lies the actual effect of what the stew is doing to us. And there you will find laxative. And to fix the laxative, you will find the anti-diarrhea pills. You know, yeah, I know it's funny. It is funny. But do you know why all that stuff got put in there? It's because of that stew. And it's not just the stew. It's us liking the stew. nd every time it becomes available, devouring it without any thought of what's going to happen the next day. The other day, I was watching the TV, and I just flipped through the channel, and they were having a competition of eating jalapeno peppers. And of course, you know, tears were coming out.

The face was all red. Ha, ha, ha was going on. That's nothing. You've got to relive that the next day. So what is the bathroom cabinet in life? All the fixes. I'm stressed. Oh, yeah, OK, you're stressed. Good, great. Take this anti-stress thing. Go for a walk. Go for a jog. Go do this. Go do that. Nobody says, hey, wait a minute, why are you getting stressed? What stew are you eating? That's something to think about. Something to think about. Because in this life, in this existence, there is one more element to living that we have not included in our existence. One more element. And it's not about going to the moon. And it's not about accomplishments. And it's not about what you could do.

One day, I was watching a documentary of this guy. It was a half hour documentary of this guy who went and crossed the Namib Desert. It's a desert. It's a very severe desert in Africa, the Namib. I've flown over it. After it was finished, I said to myself, that was the most useless thing this guy could have ever done. I mean, why did he do this? He didn't have to do it. He really didn't have to do it. I know if he knows this, but they do have helicopters. And they have airplanes. And they have vehicles that can easily traverse it. But he just did it. In fact, he had a friend who would come and check on him with a helicopter and an airplane. And then I said to myself, you know what? There's only one thing more useless than this guy traversing that desert. It's you watching for half an hour him traverse this desert. That's bad enough. This is even worse. I mean, that's got to be the most boring thing. And you sat there, and you watched it for half an hour.

That's the stew. That's the stew. Now people will get caught in this stew. Is it a vegetarian stew or a non-vegetarian stew? Is this stew something to do with God? Is this stew something that it is karma? You must eat it. There's nothing else. Is there any other kind of food? No, this is the only thing around for miles, so therefore you must eat it.

No. There is another food. There is another quest.

There is another something that moves and inspires in each human being. And that one thing is the desire to be fulfilled, not in thought, not in imagination, but in earnest. To be in that one place, to be in that one place where the being is free, surrounded by certainty, not uncertainty. Learning to live with uncertainty is not the object of life, sorry. Peace. What is peace? Sometimes it is easier to describe peace of what it is void of. The state where there is no confusion. The state, that moment, that place which doesn't dwell on tomorrow but now. Where the value of presence is true and the value of absence is nothing. Think about that because right now in your life you think about all the things that are not. The value of absence is great, incredible. In a state where the value is of what is. That there is an understanding, not a question, but an understanding of what it means to be, just, to exist, to breathe, to have this blessing, bring something. What a gift. Only, only the most divine of a blessing could bring you a gift of life. Nothing short of that. you see that you think your world revolves around so many elements and so many ideas and so many things that must happen, should happen, could happen, but no.

Let me remind you of something. You know, when a couple is expecting a baby, a lot of things happen. A lot of things happen. And eventually they have to prepare, they have to get ready. There's always this question, anticipation, boy, girl. And there I know there are parents who go, it doesn't really matter, but I've got all the clothes are blue. And the name is, by the way, John, and it's already on the door, but it really doesn't matter. So, there is, there is anticipation. And there's a dream. I'll play with the child, I'll teach him baseball, running, this, that, so many ideas. And then there is a time. I know this. Been through it four times, I know it. The labor pains begin and the child comes into this world. And that is a brief moment, very brief. And in that brief moment, it is not about the gender, and it's not about the name and the time. It's only about one thing. It's the breathing. No breathing. No more valuable, no less valuable than the placenta that will proceed right after or follow. Breathing, everything changes. Everything changes. Boy, girl, immediately, right after that. What time? What time? What time? But in that one very brief period, it goes quiet. Everybody wants to hear that cry or some sign of, here's a paradox.

But you today, now you are 20, 30, 40, whatever your age is, and what you consider your life, same word. And then, no sign of life. What is life? Somebody may be lying there. They still have their bank account. They still have their credit cards. Their phone is still there. Their dog is still wagging the tail. And the stew is right there, right next to them. The family is there. The responsibilities are there. Emails are there. They have not been opened, but they're there. They're there. They're in the system. Just the computer needs to be turned on. An email needs to be clicked on. And then, there it is. But one is saying, this is my life. And the other one is saying, there's no signs of life. What is life? I'm not trying to confuse you. I'm just trying to point that out because you've confused yourselves. I'm not trying to confuse you. This is what goes on out there. Same thing. No signs of life. Wait a minute. He's got his credit card? Because all the time he was living, that's what he thought his life was. His house, his dog, his cat, his job, his car, his dog, you know, whatever. All those things are there. What do you mean no signs of life? Can't you see the house? There are the friends. There are the responsibilities. There's the computer. And it's just gone through. Here's the emails here. What is life? And what was it a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, a thousand years ago?

Today people think I'll go on top of a mountain and I'll have peace. There were people who were on top of the mountain and they wished for peace. Peace is not on top of a mountain. Peace is not in some desert. And right now you can really say that. But peace always has been and always will be within every single human.

That's what makes you special. That's what makes you different. Somebody said a long time ago, the good and bad. Animals know that. Have you ever seen a snail? I mean, I know if snails have personalities. I suppose they do. And talk about moving slow. I mean, I know a few people who are slower than the snails, but but even a snail, you take your finger and put it up, it'll back off. What is good, what is bad, all the creatures know. Then what is so special about being a human being?

And that same person says that this is the portal. This is the doorway to Knowledge. The know-how of being able to tap into the peace that resides in every single human being.

It's not about knowing the good and bad. That's what we think. Wars, not on that level because they're smart. Animals have wars. They'll put up a fight. They know. It's not about that. It's not about winning and losing. It's about feeling that gift that we all have been. It's not about subduing problems, solving problems, because every time I'll tell you, every time you have solved a problem, there'll be another one. In fact, some days you feel you better not solve problems, because that is the only way to avoid new problems. Just so far you have a good enough backlog, then it just kind of like you know your problems, you're familiar with them, you've said hello to them, and you have learned to live with them. So it's like, hey, I better have this and the new ones, which I know what they will be. But it's not about that. That's not what this existence is all about.

And when I talk about the possibility of feeling that feeling in your life, do you know that there are more excuses for why you shouldn't feel it, can't feel it, won't feel it? No. Enough to warrant suspicion. There must be something to this. I mean, there's just so much. Overwhelming excuses. Not possible. Why not? Not possible. Overwhelming amount of arguments that are placed is enough to cause suspicion that there is something going on. It's just like that behavior, you know, when the child has really done something wrong, and they want the parent to know, and the parent knows because they can see it. The way he's reacting or she's reacting, they know they did it. It's the same exact thing. People react. You tell the pieces inside of you, no. I didn't do it. I mean, you know, one of the things is when they're really young, you even have to ask them the question. Sometimes they have already been thinking about it so much, sitting there going, now my mom's going to come, my dad's going to come, and they're going to ask me, you know, who broke that beautiful chandelier, and I'm going to tell them I didn't. And so the parent walks in the home, they even know about the chandelier, and the child says, I didn't do it. And of course, if they have a sibling and they want to pass on the blame, I didn't do it, but I know someone who did.

So people in this life, every day, every day, everybody makes excuses of why it is that we cannot have peace. But how many are there to recognize, one, that the quest for peace is not new, that it has been going on for an extremely, extremely long time. This is what we have, we've had a dream for a really, really long time, a spectacular dream, an incredible dream, a dream which said to be in peace, not be in fear, not be in doubt, not be in pain, not be in sorrow, not be in confusion, but be in clarity.

Now we're getting close to what peace is, to be in clarity, to feel that understanding. Now we're getting close to what peace is, to be in joy, not in sorrow, to be in joy. Now we're getting close to what peace is, reality you will find in a real human being. In there dwells a reality, not a supposition, not a theory, not an argument, not a definition, not a word, indeed, not a word, not a feeling. Reality. Reality. True reality is a feeling.

A lot of people will be like, Huh? Reality? No, no. Reality is that I've got to pay my credit card bills. How did you get there? You think paying your credit card bills is a reality? How did you get there? I'll tell you how you got there. Somebody handed you a card. See, because if you had to carry money, I was around when they didn't have credit cards. And you had to carry money. And you know what was neat about that? Because when you ran out of money, you couldn't buy anymore. So you never ended up with this funny reality called I've got to pay my credit card bills. So you just waited until you got some more money the next day or whatever. And then you went shopping again. But if you just ran out of money, that was it. It's like, okay. Reality that is created from fiction is not reality. Reality is created from reality. And so what is your reality? Your reality is that you exist. And I really want to dampen the fun. But one day, you won't. It's not about your plans. I'm sorry. It's not about your plans. I asked that doctor once. I said, do doctors prevent death? I was just in my mood. So I said, do doctors prevent death? And this doctor said, yeah. I said, then why do people die? It happens. We have our plans. We all have our plans. This is one thing that I've been talking about. Think about this. Because we have our plans. I am young. I'm not supposed to go right now. I'm young. Somebody passes away.

First thing, what was the person's age? Because you have your plan. You're not supposed to go. No, once you get to that average, which has been steadily increasing. Once you get into that average number, somewhere around like that 80s thing, it's like, OK, fine. Yeah, OK. And then there's definitely a very small fringe. You're 79. Mm, mm, mm. And if the person was the same age as you, that's downright scary. Younger than you. Unacceptable. Because you have your plans. And somebody up there has a whole department of plans. And guess whose plans fly. I mean, in his deck, every card is a Trump card. You have any. So before you start playing this game, be careful. Be careful. Because there's only one game you can play. And it is the game of being fulfilled. That's it. Is that good? Is that bad? Is that right? Is that wrong? I. Is it fair? I. Is it unfair? I. But I do know that the game is afoot. I do know. Faster than I would like it to happen. But it is happening. Am I winning? Or am I losing? In this game, I definitely need to know.

I definitely need to know. And I need to play to win. Losing this game is not an option. One life. I have been around the world, and I have talked to people of different cultures. And sometimes when I get on this topic of one life, people really like that. Seems to be a universal thing. Nah. That's mean. You only get one game. That's it. Your Trump card, if you have one in your deck, is your consciousness. That's it. It's more of a style of playing rather than playing. You cannot bluff. You know, there's that saying, poker face. There's no poker facing here. You know why? Because that one that you're playing the game with is inside of you. He doesn't see your face. He doesn't have to see your face. The one that you're looking for is inside of you. Always has been. Always will be. It's not about defeating. Somebody from around 14th century said:

that if I want to bet, I want to bet on my Lord. And I want to bet in such a way that I will win either way. That if I lose, I become my Lord's. And if I win, it is the same.

It's the style. It's consciousness. It's understanding. Not cheat and deceit.

When you awaken and you feel your heart full of gratitude, you know you're winning. When you awaken and you feel that peace, you know you are winning. Whenever, whenever you feel that, whenever you feel that, you just won. That's pretty good, because you're playing with a deck where every card is a trump card, and you have any, but you win. Every time you win. That's what's going on, this simplicity of existence. The call for Knowledge cannot come from the intellect. It has to come from the heart. The day you have heard that cry, then that gift of Knowledge is yours. It doesn't matter how long you've had it. It doesn't matter. It's not about time. It is about making that riddle go backwards. I'm going to save my time and I'm done. How can I save my time? Then, to save the time, savor the timeless, and you have saved that time. The timeless is in you, and you are surrounded by time. It's chiseling away, chiseling away at everything, everything, so slow that it gives the illusion that it's not happening, but that's an illusion. It's all happening all too fast. The plans, I'm afraid, are just yours. Enjoy them, look at them, perfect them, share them, but they're really quite useless because they're not going to work. That's not what's happening. Look, that is not what is happening. So, exist. Exist and rejoice in that existence. Rejoice in that existence. Somebody said, again, 14th century, and I have to say it here too. I've been saying it all the different places. I'll say it here too

that the drop resides in the ocean. Everyone knows that the ocean resides in the drop. Very few know.

Is this another riddle? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. catapult yourself. What does that mean? It means exactly what it says, exactly what it says. This is not an encrypted riddle. This is not about the da Vinci code. This is exactly what it says because no code breaking. I think the planner upstairs really figured we, yeah, maybe we should do things in code. They can figure it out. If you're going to do it in code, let's just start with the obvious. Just put it exactly how it is. See if they can get that. Most people because that's what exactly it means.

You are the drop, and the drop resides in the ocean. Everyone knows. But in this drop resides the infinite, resides the ocean.

Very few know. I want you to be the very few who do know. Really, the very few that do know. I said this the first time I said it in India. It was about 100,000 people. It all broke into applause because they wanted to be the very few that knew. To know, to know in certainty, to know in clarity. And what is the reward? Peace is the reward. Joy is the reward. A life, one at a time, a life fulfilled. That is the reward. And that is the most incredible reward you can ever have.

You can ever have. It's the highest honor, highest honor, the most noble quest that has ever been on the face of this earth has been the quest for peace. Have a quest for peace.

Even today, it's noble. As noble as it'll ever get. Quest for war? Look at history. I wonder why people keep history. They ever look at it. When the war ends, the stench of death and destruction follows. And at first, it all seems to be quite noble. The drums play, trumpets sound. But when it's over, everyone walks with a low head. And all those who participated in it wish that it would never happen even to their enemy. But the quest for peace is always noble. Because there's no end. And those who have felt the peace, then rejoice in the truest victory. For every single human being on the face of this earth. It is not about all the things, all the deserts you could cross. It's not which highest mountain you could climb. But it is about feeling, conquering, joining, admiring the space within.

This is life, not the things that happen. In that little period, when the parents wait for the sign of life, you know what it is that they're waiting for? It doesn't have to be crying. It's the breath. Because that very first breath triggers, triggers the most incredible reaction that you can imagine. Up to that point, up to that point, that baby was relying completely on its mother. When the baby comes out, it is blue. The first breath, baby becomes pink. And the supply of the blood from the placenta starts to diminish. This is no longer needed.

This journey has begun, and there will be countless breaths that will come. And each one of those breaths is going to be a blessing. So be a fisherman. Cast your net, and catch as many of those blessings in your life as you can. Pull them in, reel them in. Know where to cast your net. And somebody who can show you, cast that net within. Fill this vessel with the blessings. Understand. And rejoice. That's what it is all about. So rejoice. To be, to feel free. Free. Really free. Feel the ultimate feeling. This is not about philosophy. Feel peace every day in your life. This is what it is about. Feel the gratitude in your life every day. That's what it is about. This is not about just reaching a goal. Oh, okay, now I have Knowledge, and that's all I need. No, no, no. Food not eaten will not remove your hunger. Water not drunk will not quench your thirst. It is not about being close to a river that you will not be thirsty. You can be close to a river, and you can be very thirsty. It is about drinking. Making that little effort every day.

Just think how much effort nature makes to keep you alive. How much effort nature makes to make it possible for you to be able to take a breath. Do you have any idea? Outside this atmosphere, we're being bombarded by deadly gases. The atmosphere keeps it at bay. They come, they skip, bounce off. This planet Earth, the whole ocean you see, every ocean on this Earth, 70% of it, all was created one meteor at a time, bringing water to this planet Earth. Frozen water being transported and blasted onto the surface of this Earth to make this ocean. Making it all possible for you to take a breath. You can breathe. You can exist. The least you can do is to make a little effort. It is possible to be alive. That's what being alive is all about. When you have that contentment, then you truly have a life. Without that contentment, you have credit cards, but you have life. Such a fine line between illusion and reality. But reality is not based on illusion. Reality is based on reality. And illusion is not based on reality. It is based on illusion. It doesn't matter how fine the line is. It is at least distinct.

And this is what I go and talk to people about. And when I have that privilege and that honor to be able to bring this message to people around the world, it's amazing. There are people who say at the end of an event, I've never heard anything like that. There are people who go, that changed my life. No, no, no, no. That didn't change your life. And yes, of course you have heard this before. Of course you have heard. This is what I want to say to them. you know for how long you have been hearing this? Of what I say, you have been. Something inside of you has been saying it to you.

So listen. And understand. And rejoice. Feel good. Feel happy. Feel peaceful. In your life. Every day. Wherever you go. Whatever little trip you take. Come home. Always come home. Come home. get lost. It's not worth it. Come home. And understand. That's how simple it is. So I thank you very much for coming this evening. Listening. You know, it is always up to you. All I can do is remind, whether you accept the reminder or not, will always be up to you. But I go and I remind people. This is my privilege.

Thank you very much, and good night. Thank you.