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Congratulations, you are alive. Here you are. Once, you weren't here. And one day, you won't be. All your drama and trauma, all your ideas, all the things you like and don't like, all the things that happen that you judge your life by are but a dream. Just a dream. Dreams are not to be taken lightly, but they are dreams.
In the middle of all these dreams, there is a place within you where you can truly be awake. In that awakening, there is no judgment. There aren't issues of good and bad, right and wrong. You are not judged. There are no yardsticks and no races. Nobody is standing there saying, "You won" or "You lost." Just a beautiful reality that you are alive.
You have the ability to understand, to know, to admire. These are your qualities. You have the ability to get angry and the ability to be calm. You have the ability to be in turmoil and the ability to be in peace. Which do you use the most? Frustration. Anger. Disappointment.
Once in awhile, you actually find yourself happy. When you are, it is such a big deal that you think about it for years to come. And when you get older and your short‑term memory goes, you will say, "I remember when I was there. Oh, that was so beautiful."
You have some other qualities: You can appreciate this existence. You can truly be happy in a timeless way—no camera needed, no special circumstances required. You can be in the joy that springs from your heart every single day.
Most people are trying to understand their mind. People have been trying to do that for an extremely long time. And they never will. They write books and say beautiful things, but it is like having a garden that looks spectacular though every flower is made out of paper and every tree is plastic. The grass is fake, so you don't ever have to cut it.
The disadvantage is that flowers don't bloom there and spring never comes. Bees never fly, no flower has a beautiful aroma, and the trees do not sway in the wind. Even though it all looks pretty, it is static—as in dead.
That is why it is so important to have a living experience. Living. Breathing. Existing. Feeling. Thinking. Understanding. Knowing. That's what is real.
What does your garden look like? Have you smelled the flowers? Have you ever seen a bee? Are there birds in the trees? Is there a season when it looks fine and you are content?
People get used to being frustrated. They get used to being mad, upset. They say, "That's life. Good times, bad times—it's all okay." What is okay? Me being lost? Me ignoring my own nature? Me being away from myself? Me not recognizing myself?
That's why every one of us needs so desperately to understand that there can be no compromises, that an effort needs to be made every single day to see, to feel what we have been given—from the heart, from our very basic being.
Know that a time will come when all that you rely on will slowly fade away. What will remain? You. You will still be able to experience, but erosion is afoot. It happens so slowly you don't notice it, but it's afoot. Every day, every second, it marches on, but above it floats a beautiful reality that is timeless. You are alive. And till the day you are alive no more, you can go inside and feel happiness; you can feel joy.
There is hope. Your heart is knocking on the door. Open up. Feel, see, understand, realize, know. Be in that joy, be in that feeling every moment. Understand the beauty of the possibility to feel clarity, to feel gratitude, to be thankful to be alive. I'm here to remind you: don't wait. Wake up. See, feel, admire, be a part of your existence.
Prem Rawat
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
There is the possibility that one little understanding can change the whole equation of life for you. This life can actually become a joy—not tedious, not living in bewilderment, not trying to duck—but making every day meaningful, filled with gratitude.
A lot of people may think that's a challenge. It's not. Because it is not a process of creating something. It's putting things back where they belong. Things have gotten so mumble-jumbled. What is the key? Place the self above everything that goes on during your day.
I'm not talking about being selfish or the self that says, "I need to be in front of the line." That's not placing the self first. That's being arrogant. The self I am talking about is that which you are, by whose presence you exist and without which you are nothing. You place everything else above that self. And what are the consequences? Confusion, doubt, wondering, coping, trying to explain.
Do you know how much time people spend trying to explain everything that happens? "This is why I got the parking ticket, why my tire went flat, why I lost my keys, why I don't have a good job, why I lost my promotion, why this happened." So many explanations.
People today are more content with explanations than with reality. How often do they say, "I can change that. It's not about losing my keys, getting the flat tire, getting a ticket. It's not about things going according to my plan or not. But something else is taking place. I am alive."
One day you will have to go. Don't look for immortality. Look for the immortal. What is immortal? Can we even imagine what is immortal? No. It's just a definition—something that never dies. Well, what is it that never dies? Everything that the eyes see will go. One day, the sun and the Earth will vanish. Once they weren't. And one day, they'll be gone.
That's the nature of all that you see. All that you thought is permanent never was. It just pretended to be, and you wanted to believe it, desperately. Do not be saddened by this, but awaken. That's the point.
You have learned to trust. That's all you can do. Bank on the kindness. Trust that there is a kindness. That somehow, whatever you go through, whatever happens, it will turn out okay. You are alive. And you have a choice: you can either get frustrated, bewildered, sink in the deep hole of doubt, or you can understand.
Life is a powerful thing. The desire to be fulfilled, to be in peace, is powerful. In these things, I trust. In these things, I find my comfort. Something within me perseveres to achieve that clarity in my life.
This human being is a success story. It is a success that started a long time ago and is still unfolding. And it will be a success story until the very last breath. If the heart is full, that's it. That is the success.
This understanding, this clarity is possible. To be in that place, to take advantage of the joy, is a conscious choice you can make. It's all about joy. This is the one life you have. Get it right. Now. Now is never too early and never too late.
Be in peace. Be in joy every single moment of your life. Because it's possible, and it's possible in your lifetime.
Prem Rawat
