PREM RAWAT
SPOKEN WORDS

ISSUE #2
2007

EVEN HEARING
ABOUT IT …

It's a great pleasure to bring you the second issue of ADI, a magazine dedicated to making Prem Rawat's spoken words available in print.

In this edition, Prem Rawat starts one of his talks ("Don't explain it – feel it!" page 31) by saying that "most of the time, we forget what is variable and what is permanent." This is a simple and straightforward statement, yet there are not too many people around who talk about such a subject and connect it with everyday experience.

The fact is, however, that trying to distinguish between the variable and the permanent is an age-old quest, pursued by sages and thinkers of ancient China and India, and philosophers and mystics of European and Middle-Eastern antiquity, as well as by many other people throughout the centuries. At the root of it is the knowledge, or at least the hope, that within a human being there is something that is not subject to the influences of the world around us but is its own unchangeable entity. It has been given many names – as Aldous Huxley expressed it, the "eternal ground." Yet the concern of all those poets and seekers, as it is of Prem Rawat today, is not what to call it but how to know it in reality.

Prem Rawat starts another of his talks ("If I can just be me," page 15) by saying, "You have a wealth that is priceless. You cannot sell it, and you cannot buy it. And because you have it, you are the wealthiest person on the face of this earth. What is it?"

Please don't expect to find the answer to that question in this magazine. As Prem Rawat says, it is to be discovered by each individual within themselves. And according to him, it comes not in words, but as a feeling.

"So beautiful, so amazing" is this feeling, he says, "that even hearing about it can bring peace in a person's life."

Kind regards,

The Editor

What is the reality?
That you are alive.

What kind of reality is that?
It's the only kind.

If I can just be me, page 15

Prem Rawat's talks in ADI MAGAZINE have been edited for brevity and readability, but still maintain the flow of speech. They are what they are – spoken words in print. During a year of almost constant traveling, Prem Rawat talks to many different people – young and old, rich and poor, and those from cities and villages alike. The pictures of people in ADI MAGAZINE have all been taken at events where Prem Rawat spoke, but not necessarily the same events that are featured in this magazine.

If you would like to write your reflections on the content of ADI or share your thoughts about the magazine, e-mail the editor at: adi@wopg.org.

Editor: Ole Grunbaum
Editorial staff: Mary Wishard and Sherry Weinstein
Art direction: Rasmus Olesen
Photo editor: Marie-Catherine Toulet

ADI Magazine is printed on FSC-certified paper, from responsibly managed forests and verified recycled sources.

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It is extremely important to understand what has been given to us in this life because what we are doing with it may not yield results. In that light, I have a story.

There were three brothers. They had been brought up quite well. But as they got older, their parents died, they lost all their money, and they became very poor. So in their state of poverty, they had to beg for food. And the three of them decided that they would go to the rivers in the mountains and pan for gold.

As luck would have it, all three found an equal amount of gold. They each took their gold back to their own shack, and some time passed.

The first brother was very religious. He made a little altar for the gold he had found. Every day, he would pray to the gold and sing its praises – how the gold had the power to totally eliminate his poverty and his suffering, that he would never again have to beg or do anything he didn't want to do because he would have food and housing. And that's all he did – pray.

The second one was very educated. Instead of praying to the gold, he would write essays on the power of gold and write poetry in its honor. He would write about how the gold, so beautiful and shiny, had the power to remove his hunger, give him clothes, and put a roof over his head.

We might think there is a big difference between what the first two brothers did, but at the end of the day, we really have to examine what the difference is.

The third brother took the gold and sold it. And with the money, he bought himself a farm. He grew vegetables, planted fruit trees, and ate whatever he wanted. What he didn't need, he sold. From the money he earned, he made himself a beautiful home.

They know the value
of a bullet.
They do not know the
value of a human life.

Amazingly enough, the three things that the first two brothers wanted, the third one got – food, shelter, and clothes.

At one point they decided they wanted to come together again. It had been a long time. When they met, they asked each other, "How are you doing?"

The first one said, "It's beautiful. I pray every day. I pray and pray, 'Almighty gold, please make available to me clothes to wear, a house to live in, food to eat.' And I am .cure that someday in the future – because of my sincerity – the gold will respond."

The second one said, "I write beautiful essays about gold, and I am sure that someday, pleased with my praises, the gold will bestow upon me all my wishes."

Seeing their devotion and dedication to the gold, the third one kept very quiet.

The others turned to him and said, "And what do you do? We can see you have good clothes and look quite healthy – not like us who have to beg and wear these torn clothes. What happened? Were your prayers answered?"

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The third one said, "I hate to tell you this, but I sold my gold, and with the money, I bought a farm. I work on my farm, and somehow, that gold made it possible for me to have clothes, food, and shelter."

Then the first two realized that they had started with the same amount of gold, but they didn't really do anything with it.

WE DON'T ACCEPT THE GIFT

This story is loaded. You can have discussions about it for hours, I'm sure, because this is the condition of the world: We have been given something, but we don't understand its value. We sing the praises of God, but we don't accept his gift. Every day, we ask more from God, but we do not accept what he gives us. We think that if we pray, if we do all those things, someday in the future our wishes will come true. Excuse me, but we have confused God with a genie.

For the fulfillment of our wishes, we need a genie, not God. The difference is that God gives without being asked. With a genie, you have to rub the lamp, and when the genie comes out, you get three wishes. You have to think what you want and then ask for it cleverly. Maybe then the genie will make the wish come true. But it is not real.

What we are given every day – the gift of life, of breath, of awareness, understanding, clarity, serenity – you can't buy. These have to be given. There is no store with a sign that says, "Serenity sold here" or "Clarity sold here." They are given. There is no store with a sign that says, "Buy breath here." If there were such a store, there would be a very long line. People in hospitals who are running out of breath would be making a beeline for it saying, "Me, too. Me, too."

Your life has been given to you free of charge. All you have to do is do something about it. In the literary world, people talk about peace, write books and essays about peace, create definitions of peace, and imagine how nice it would be to have it. But nobody does anything about it.

War, people do something about. There are huge companies doing research on how to blow up a human being quickly and accurately. The point is to make a bullet that doesn't miss. They want every bullet to be successful. They know the value of a bullet. They do not know the value of a human life. And by the way, we are the ones who created the system, and we are the ones who are paying for it. All you have to do is say, "Enemy," and the response is, "Enemy? No problem. We'll go right at it."

We have explanations, ideas. "Oh, yes. Peace. That would be nice." But that's all. Nobody's doing anything about it. What can we do about peace?

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WHAT IS PEACE?

What do you think peace is? Everybody holding up two fingers – is that peace? Everybody wearing long, white flowing robes, holding flowers, smiling. No more people jogging on the street. They're just picking flowers. Passing them on to the next person. Is that peace? What is peace? What does peace look like?

I can only ask so many questions. After that, I have to start giving answers. So here are some answers, and they are not empty words. I stand behind each one of them. When I say peace, I'm talking about the peace that you can experience, because it is within you. What does that peace look like? It looks like your face in contentment. In gratitude. In understanding. In clarity. In serenity. Your face. That's what peace looks like.

Peace dances on the face of a human being. When your face is filled with peace, that's when you look the most beautiful. You don't need makeup. You shave, don't shave, it doesn't matter. Some of you may be thinking, "Hmm. I don't know if that's true." Well, let me explain. Once in a while – when you are content, when you are happy – your whole nature changes. Completely. You become all those things you aspire to be. You become kind. You become courteous. This happens. I've seen it.

When the father is in a good mood and the son says, "Dad, I need new clothes," he responds, "No problem." Vaguely familiar? You're standing in line at the movie theater, and somebody says, "Can I cut in?" When you're feeling good, you say, "No problem."

It is when you feel good that you become a human being. And when you become a human being, you care. When you're feeling good, all the little things that bother you – and bother other people about you – disappear. And when you're not feeling good? Even your child knows not to come near you. "Is Dad in a good mood or a bad mood?"

When you change, you become so different. You still have your integrity, and you shine. You're the most fun to be with. The most fun. And when that contentment is not there, nobody wants to be with you – nobody. Not your wife, not your children,

Wherever you go,
you carry that peace
in your heart.

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not your parents. This is how important peace is, how simple peace is, and how beautiful peace is. And where is it? Within you!

Peace begins in the heart of all human beings. These are not my words. These are the words of the UNESCO charter. People write charters, and poetry, and statements like, "All men are created equal" in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, but they don't know what the words mean. Like the two brothers, they just pray: "Someday, it will happen."

I go person to person to person because if we want to light this world, we are the lamps. Each one of us is a lamp, and each one of us has to be lit. One by one by one. And when we are lit, we give light. One little lamp and the darkness removes itself. That's what a lamp does. A little, tiny light somewhere up on a mountain, and people can see it. Even though it's dark, the darkness has to yield to the light – all the darkness, all the ignorance. Ignorance yields to true knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF

And what is true knowledge? Not my words. Socrates said, "Know thyself." That's the ultimate knowledge. Socrates is not the only one who said this. In so many of the old Indian scriptures, it says, "Of all the knowledge you can have, knowledge of the self is the ultimate." Why? This time I'll explain it with a little joke.

A young man was walking along, and he saw a very old man sitting on the side of the road crying. So he went up to the old man and asked, "What's the matter? Why are you crying?" The old man said, "It's amazing. I just married a beautiful 25-year-old woman." The young man says, "Is that why you're crying?"

The old man says, "No, no, no. I just bought a beautiful new house. Incredibly gorgeous. Two new cars, a new boat. My house is beautiful, my boat is beautiful, my wife is beautiful." The young man says, "You're very lucky. Why are you crying?" And the old man says, "I forgot where I live."

It is the same with the rest of us. We have all these gifts, but we forget who we are, what our true nature is, and where we can find what we have been given. Then we wonder and we wander, wonder and wander. This is what the whole world has been doing for a very long time: wondering and wandering.

The formula for the world was laid out a long time ago: peace and prosperity. So it begins. This journey of a thousand miles begins with the very first step. And the very first step is you in peace. That's where it begins. You in peace.

Everybody looks for the answers on the outside. Everybody has formulas. When you talk to young people, they sometimes say, "No, no. I don't want to get involved with peace. Maybe when I retire."

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Everybody has a plan. And in our methodical plan, we die when we are really, really old. When a young person dies, people say, "How can this be? He was so young." Words uttered in arrogance, in ignorance.

THE MIRACLE

Do you know the greatest miracle that will ever happen in your life? The coming and going of the breath is the greatest miracle. It happens right under your nose, and you don't know it. The day it begins to stop is when you will recognize its value. Then you will know how important it is.

The most beautiful miracle is that from nowhere breath comes and brings the gift of life to you. Then disappears, then comes again, and brings the gift of life again, and again, and again. This is your symphony. This is your story. One breath at a time. Not two, not three, not five – one at a time. That's your beat. That's your rhythm. Do you understand what a miracle that is?

The miracle is your existence, your life. The miracle is the joy that resides within you. The miracle is the peace that dances within you. You can understand and feel that. This is what the Knowledge I offer is about: the possibility of having peace truly dance on your face. The possibility of feeling this life like it is meant to be felt. Like it is meant to be lived.

Some people ask, "Isn't that selfish?" When a flower blooms, is that selfish? When the sun shines, is that selfish? When the moon shines, is that selfish? When a cool breeze blows on a summer's day, is that selfish? When a wave comes onto a shore, is that selfish? Your existence, with the coming and going of the breath – is that selfish? Or is it a gift?

If you think it's not a gift, it's selfish. But if you understand it's a gift, it's not. It becomes your privilege and pleasure to accept every moment that you are given.

SEARCH FOR IT

The possibility is there. I do not just offer words. I offer the possibility of peace in your life. You need peace. Search for peace. Wherever you find it, good. But remember, peace is not something you just experience one day. Peace, you need every day in your life.

Whatever happens in your life, whether you search for peace or you don't search for peace – remember one thing: Even if you're not looking for it, peace is within you. Even if you don't want it, even if you hate it, peace will always be within you. Wherever you go, you carry that peace in your heart.

I talk about a reality that is so incredibly real that it is beautiful. I talk about a joy that is so real that it is not connected to yesterday or tomorrow. It is only in the present, in this moment called now. I talk about a happiness that is your happiness – not dependent on anybody else or on any circumstance or any situation, but just on you.

I talk about a wealth that you have, a wealth that is priceless. You cannot sell it, and you cannot buy it. Because you have it, you are the wealthiest person on the face of this earth. What is it?

Let me begin with a question: What makes a cow happy? I've been around cows, and I can tell you one thing. What makes a cow happy is just being a cow. When is an alligator happy? When it is being an alligator. You could take an alligator and put a diamond-studded chain on its neck, try to put lipstick on it, tie it to a very expensive chair that used to be Napoleon's, and say, "You look beautiful. The lipstick really brings out your lips, and you're sitting in Napoleon's chair." But the alligator doesn't really care about those things. It just wants to be an alligator and do its alligator thing – whatever that is.

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

A cow being a cow is happy; a dog being a dog is happy; a cat being a cat is happy; and an alligator being an alligator is happy. So the question is, What makes you happy? You have probably seen those commercials where people are sitting on the beach, drinking beer, roasting some poor animal on the fire, and saying, "It doesn't get any better than this." I disagree, but this is what they want you to think. Before you answer the question of what makes you happy, keep one thing in mind.

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The alligator was not dependent on anything else – just being itself was what made it happy. For the cat, it was just being a cat.

It would be a sad day if your happiness depended on someone else or something else. Then your life would not be dedicated to enjoying happiness, but to being around the person who makes you happy or preserving the situation that makes you happy.

That might answer some of the questions people have about what we are doing in this world. We try to preserve all that we like and think is good. The whole world is busy trying to do just that. Nobody's enjoying themselves because enjoyment is not important. What has become important is making sure that those circumstances and those people are there.

How many parents whose children have grown up wish they could all come together the same way they did when they sat around the table laughing and having a wonderful meal? How many parents try to re-create that again and again unsuccessfully? It's only the parents who are into it – not the kids. The kids are saying, "Give me a break. I have my own life; I want to do my thing." And the parents say, "No, no, no. We're going to re-create that exact scene. Weren't we all having a good time? Let's do that again." Pictures on the wall.

Can true joy be dependent on anyone else? We are talking about the truest of all joys. The truest reality. Is it harsh? Or is it sweet? For those who have felt it, the truest reality is the sweetest reality. It's a reality that says, "I exist. I am alive. The most beautiful gift, the most incredible wealth of the breath is being given to me, and I am conscious. I am aware. I have the capacity to understand. Not only do I have a yearning to be happy, but I also have the source of happiness within me."

FOOD AND HUNGER

We sometimes forget that both things are important – having the yearning to be happy, to be in peace and having the source of happiness and peace inside of us. If you have food but don't have hunger, having the food is like, "Hmm. Wait." But when you have hunger and you have food, you say, "Ah. That's good."

A lot of people ask me, "So how do we get to it? Where is it?"

I tell them that peace isn't the problem. Peace is inside of you. The problem is the yearning, the hunger. Standing in the middle of a field where vegetables and fruit are growing, the issue isn't food. The issue is hunger.

You are looking at tomatoes, but not the same way a hungry person does. The hungry person says, "Tomatoes!" while the person who isn't hungry asks, "What kind are they? Do you think they're a bit green? Can I touch one?" It's a different mind-set.

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Why do I use the word hunger? Why don't I use the word need? Let me draw a distinction. Somebody can actually make me feel like I need something when I don't, but if I am not hungry, nobody can make me hungry. Hunger is something I have to feel and know.

Some people are more interested in asking, "Where do I get peace?" It is within you! And I'm not the first one to say that. Hundreds and hundreds before me have said, "Peace is inside of you. Peace is possible." The problem isn't peace. The problem is, are we feeling the hunger for peace?

Why do I use the word thirst? Nobody can create it for me. Either I am thirsty or I am not thirsty. Somebody can tell you that you are not really thirsty. But you know when you are and when you are not. It's the same with being sleepy. You can get into bed, turn off the lights, and lie there awake. Either you are sleepy or you aren't. When you are sleepy, what difference does it make where you are? You could be in the cockpit of an airplane. The two engines in the back are just humming along. Hmm-mmm-mmm-mmm. The air is still, and you are flying across the Atlantic with hardly anybody to call – just sitting there. Hmm-mmm-mmm-mmm. I have seen the best of pilots fall asleep.

That's when I tell them, "Go take a break. Go in the back and take a few minutes to sleep."

"Oh, no, no. I'm okay."

"It's okay! This is human. You are tired, you need sleep. Not a problem."

TRUE REALITY

Some things are so innate to us, they are not influenced by other things. The issue is your desire for peace, for that reality, for that joy. Unbiased. Because the true reality is not whether you are rich or poor. The true reality isn't whether you are healthy or sick. That can change in a day. You can show up at the doctor's office, and the doctor tells you, "You're going to die." The next doctor says, "Oops. Wrong medical result. You're going to live. It's okay." One day, you were thinking, "Oh, my God! I'm going to die." The next day, "I'm okay, I'm healthy."

We have seen that with the business of being rich or poor. A person is really rich, and the next thing you know, it's all gone. "Oops." That's not the reality.

What is the reality? That you are alive! Somebody might be thinking, "What kind of reality is that?" It's the only kind. It allows you to be rich and allows you to be poor. Allows you to shed a few tears and allows you to crack a smile. Allows you to dance and allows you to sit still. Allows you to be an uncle, a mother, a dad, an aunt. Without that reality, there is no show.

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Reality is simple. What is unfolding every day is not your life. It's the drama in your life. You really have to understand this. What is changing is not the book; it's the pages that are being flipped.

You came into this world, and you will come into this world but once. How absolute is that? Extremely. And it's happened. It has taken place. That's when the book opened. Now the pages are being flipped, and you're reading. And what is on the page? Some of it is your wants, your wishes.

Everybody has a desire of some sort, somewhere, buried. There are some who wish they were taller, while the ones who keep banging their heads against everything wish they weren't so tall. Those who are overweight wish they weren't overweight. Everybody wishes they were better-looking. Some people wish they were born to rich parents so they could do anything they want.

Everybody has a little wish, a little desire. We try to make sense out of why things aren't the way we want them to be. Some people turn to the stars – literally. "Pluto was here, Uranus was there, so that's why today is not your day."

DEPENDENT ON WHAT?

And then there are people who are very scientific about it. They say, "I'm a self-made person." Not really; your parents made a contribution. Once I was driving somewhere, and the person I was with said, "So-and-so has finally come to hear you. They never wanted to before because they felt they were self-made and they didn't need help from other people."

I said, "Oh, so they were dependent on that – that they don't need help from other people." But you still need the help from the farmer to grow the vegetables and the grocer to make sure that they are available to you. You still depend on the person who cooks. Or, if you cook yourself, you depend on utensils and the fire. You depend on water coming out of the faucet and all the people who make it possible at the waterworks department. You depend on the pilots who take you where you want to go – not where they want to go.

We'd like to think we're independent, when we actually depend so much on so many. That's not the issue here, though. The issue is, in your independence, are you dependent on you or not? It's a tricky question. How can I depend upon myself if I don't even know who I am?

WHEN I AM JUST ME

An alligator knows who an alligator is. A cat knows who a cat is. A dog knows it's a dog. The human being, with the biggest brain for the body size, thinks, "Hmm. Who am I? Who am I?" With the run of the earth and the surface of the ocean, the human being asks, "Why am I here? What am I doing here? "

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For those who have
felt it, the truest reality
is the sweetest reality.
It's a reality that says,
"I exist. I am alive."

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Maybe I will be the happiest if I can be just me. If I only knew who I was. Who am I? Things change. I remember a time in my life when I was very young. I didn't go to school. Play, play, play. I was the youngest, and I would get up really early in the morning. I couldn't wait to get up. I would be lying there, looking at the window to see the first tinge of light so I could dash outside. I used to watch in incredible amazement how the dew was changing colors, sparkling like diamonds when the sun's first rays hit it.

When I was put in kindergarten, I remember I was crying and crying. My home was better. And then I got usedto it. See the change? I actually got usedto it. And I traded getting up in the morning and watching the dew for kindergarten.

Then I was enrolled in school, at St. Joseph's Academy. And again I remember crying. I didn't want to go there. It was new; it was different. All my friends were back in kindergarten. And I exchanged kindergarten for St. Joseph's. Things kept changing. I kept exchanging. Changing/exchanging. Changing/exchanging.

In some of that, there were things that were not good, and they went. And there were things that were superb, and they went, too. Indiscriminate throwing out of stuff. And the only thing that has remained constant has been the coming and going of breath. And the desire to be fulfilled.

WHERE IS HEAVEN?

Even when I am fulfilled, the desire to be fulfilled grows greater. It's like love. When you don't love, there is no love. When you love, you love even more. Then you can love even more, and more, and more.

A lot of people think their objective in life is to be fulfilled so that they won't have the desire to be fulfilled. That would be a sad day. When you fall in love with someone, you don't fall in love so that you can stop loving, do you? You fall in love so you can love even more. So you can feel that love more and more. And that has remained constant for me.

When I was growing up, I was the youngest. Now I'm grown up. The only thing that has been constant is this breath that keeps coming. It's a gift. And I accept that, and I understand.

It is true that I'm happiest when I am me. When I am who I am – someone who breathes and feels gratitude in my heart for being alive, a thankfulness that I am alive.

There are people who are so busy trying to figure out what's going to happen to them when they are not alive anymore that they have forgotten how to live. They are so preoccupied with the heaven after death that they have forgotten the heaven on earth. Voluntarily, they have walked out of the Pearly Gates.

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There is a heaven on earth, and you are equipped to take full advantage of it. Where is this heaven? It's not in some building. This heaven is in the heart of every single human being. The power that created us and knew us so well must have thought: "If I create a heaven that's a physical place, I know these guys will forget how to get there. They'll misplace the address. Get lost. I know what I will do. I'll place heaven within them. So wherever they go, one thing they can't do is get lost."

When you can experience that joy in your life, when you can understand the value of breath, you have truly begun to understand what life is. Right now, you understand your responsibilities, your chores, your duties. You don't understand life. And believe me, this world needs to understand what life is all about. So much energy is spent just to destroy. Destroy, destroy, destroy. There is so little that brings peace to people.

AWAKEN THE THIRST

Wherever I go, I say to people, "What you need is peace," and they understand. That little example I gave you about people on the beach with some beverages, sitting there with a fire roasting some kind of a creature saying, "It doesn't get better than this" – a lot of people won't understand that. One, they haven't seen that commercial. And, two, "What? It doesn't get any better than that? What does that mean?"

There is a heaven on earth,
and you are equipped
to take full advantage of it.
This heaven is in the heart
of every single human being.

But when I say ileac , understand. Is this an accident? When I say life,

understand. When I say breath, people understand. The value for people to recognize and understand the preciousness of this gift, of this wealth, is the same – whether they're in Japan, in Africa, in India, or in Australia. There are some things that are innate to all of us. We may look different, but we're not. We may talk different, but we're not.

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How can I
depend
upon
myself
if I don't
even know
who I am?

We all need to believe. Especially when we don't know. I offer the possibility of knowing. Knowing you. So that you can be you. Because without knowing you, you cannot be you, and if you cannot be you, you cannot be happy like the cat, and the crocodile, and the cow. It's important for you to know yourself so that you can be as happy as you can be.

This is how simple it is. I know some of you probably wanted to hear the most sophisticated, mind-boggling thing there is. I'm sorry. It's simple. What you are looking for is within you. And that's not the issue. The issue is the thirst. The issue is the hunger. The day you awaken that hunger inside you, you will find what you're looking for.

Maybe you pull into a gas station and ask the attendant, "Where is Rose Avenue?"

If I was the attendant, I would ask you, "Where do you want to go?"

You say, "No, no. Tell me where Rose Avenue is."

I say, "No. Where do you want to go?"

And you say, "I want to go to the flower shop on Rose Avenue."

And then I will tell you, "There is no flower shop on Rose Avenue. It's on Rose Street."

Do you want to go to the flower shop? Or to Rose Avenue?

This actually happened to me one time, in reverse. I went to a place where I was going to speak, and there was an avenue and a street of the same name. The address on the invitation cards was the avenue, and where they really wanted you to go was the street.

But regardless of that, where do you want to go? People tell me, "I'm looking for this, and I'm looking for that." And I say, "Where do you want to go? I am familiar with this area – just tell me where you want to go, and I'll give you very simple directions to get there."

Too many people are caught up in the logistics of street names. They argue and fight with each other. "No, it's not Avenue. It's Boulevard." Have they ever traversed those streets? Not a footprint. Nobody has walked on those boulevards since the day the cement was laid down. The arguments are about the street names. Somehow, the destination has been forgotten, and street names have become important. In the world of the heart, in the world of this inner-scape, destinations are important, not street names.

Awaken in you, then, the thirst to be fulfilled. When the thirst to be fulfilled is awakened in you, you will find your destination.

There is a saying: "Where there is a will, there is a way." The problem isn't the way; it's the will. Some people say, "I'm looking for God. I want to see God." What God?

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With a beard? Eyes? Light? Void? A few particles? Planet? Palm tree? Mango tree? What? The god you're looking for is in all those things. And what does that which is in everything look like? Have you wondered?

If you are clear about what you want, the best place to look for it is inyou, not somewhere out there, because what you're looking for is within you.

YOU CAN KNOW

What is the way? Not the problem. Ignite the thirst. Ignite the hunger for knowledge, for understanding. Don't become a parrot: "Polly want a cracker. Polly want a cracker." Polly does not understand what Polly is, and Polly doesn't have any idea what a cracker is.

Know. Do not repeat – know. Understand. That's your potential. That's one thing you can do. You can know. And you should know. You should be clear. This is your potential – to be clear.

Some people are going to say, "I've heard this before." Good. You obviously didn't pay attention. You're hearing it again. Other people will say, "I've never heard this before." Good! You finally heard it. So pay attention. And fulfill your possibility. Find out who you are so you can be who you are.

Whenever, wherever, even in the darkest hours of pain and suffering, be who you are so you can be happy. So you can be content. So you can find peace in this life. That is important.

There are many, many important things that you have to do. Place this one at the top, and then all that needs to fall into place will fall into place.

When the thirst to be
fulfilled is awakened in you,
you will find
your destination.

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In this life you are a solitary traveler. And if you don't understand the nature of the journey, you will get lost, because this is the only journey that, by default, cannot go in a circle.

What's the agent that doesn't allow you to go around in a circle? It's called time. Even if today you do exactly the same thing that you did yesterday, it won't be yesterday. It'll be today. And if you plan to do tomorrow exactly what you did today, it still won't be today; it will be tomorrow. You can't go around in circles. So where are you headed? Where is this journey of life taking you?

THE RIVER OF LIFE

You know that there are three major events that happen: One is birth. One is existence.

And you know the third one, right? Everybody knows the certainty of that one.

The river of life begins with a drop, and it stops when it merges into the ocean. I am not talking about the first drop or about the merging. I am talking about the flow. In this journey of life, you're flowing.

I am talking about the solitary journey of a human being. This is just about you and the breath that comes into you and fulfills you. I'm talking about the kindness that you have been given that you do not see as a miracle.

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It is so unfortunate that you do not see your existence as a miracle until it is too late. Bad habit. Bad idea. You can change it. You can do something about it – start to witness it.

Here is the most normal thing that happens. The most incredible normal thing. It does not even take an effort. Breath comes into you. And it fills you. With what? It fills you with life. You live. You exist. You can think, you can see, you can admire. You can touch, feel, analyze, laugh, cry. You can be a dad, a mom, a brother, a sister; you can be whatever you are. Courtesy of life. Incredible miracle. Unbelievable. And it comes and it goes. Can you capture it? Can you capture its essence – as a moment? Can you feel it? Can you be fulfilled by it? The answer is yes.

WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED

Please, don't start thinking, "I have to create this. I have to manufacture this. There is a mine somewhere that I have to detect and get to." No. The peace that is already within you – can you feel that? The answer is yes. That's the good news.

What you are looking for is within you – that's the good news. "Know thyself." That's excellent advice. It was rolled out a long time ago.

What is the longing in your heart that has always, always been there? What have you really wanted? Not the glitzy present, but what have you really wanted? What you have always wanted is to be content. What you have always wanted is to feel good inside.

You and I are the same.

You, too, want to fly in
the space within.

For that, you need very
special wings.

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How do I know? Have I been reading your diary? No. Have I been bugging your home? No. How do I know? Easy. Because I am like you. Your aspirations and my aspirations are not any different. I, too, long to be content. I, too, want to feel free. I, too, want to feel peace in my life. I, too, know my agenda – that every day I need to make a little effort to court contentment in my life. It's the same for me and for you.

Get in touch with that longing. It must be a strong longing because we work so hard to make sure we don't listen to it. God forbid we have a moment of quiet. What we might not hear! And, when it is perfectly quiet, a comment has to be made. "Oh, it's so quiet." And what is the biggest punishment? Solitary confinement. To be all by yourself.

ME WITH ME

I'd have thought that that would be a reward. Finally, you get to be all by yourself.

"Oh, thank you!" But it's, "Oh, no! Me?! Me with me?! How many days?"

If I cannot actually be comfortable being with myself, then I am missing something. Then this traveler is going somewhere that's not pleasant. And when it is not pleasant, there is a justification for why it is not pleasant. "Karma? You must've done something wrong in your last lifetime."

No. Ask yourself, What do I know now? This is what is going to help me – not what I was before. What do I know now? What am I now? I'll tell you what I am now. I am a human being – a seed that encapsulates within it every dreamable possibility. That's who I am. That's who you are. And of all that is possible in this seed, there is one possibility that is incredibly special. That possibility is being able to feel peace.

The journey is afoot. It is taking shape. There are no "wills," "musts" and "shoulds." It is happening. You and I are the travelers. And no one has the luxury of saying, "Hold on. I'll just go around in circles till I figure out where I want to go." It's all started. It has begun.

A KNOW-HOW

To take every step of this journey with great delight – that is what the Knowledge I offer is all about. A know-how to be able to access the inner peace. Knowledge of the self.

This is what I give – to those who want it. Some people say, "Well, if it's so good, give it to me now!" Do you think that if you take a handful of seeds and throw it on a paved parking lot, the seeds will germinate? Is the idea just to throw the seeds? That's not how seeds germinate.

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Knowledge is a seed, and it will only germinate when it is given to those who want it – not with doubt, but with clarity. Not with curiosity, but with certainty. I give this gift to those who want to know. Those who don't want to know, I wish a good journey in life. My advice to them is: Whatever you do, do it consciously. Not with your eyes closed, but with your eyes open. You have one life. Get it right.

There's only one life. There are many days. They are for practice. Many days but one life. Get it right so you can get every day right. From the bottom of your heart, enjoy every single day. Enjoy the most priceless thing there is – every breath that comes into you. You cannot buy it; you cannot exchange it. You cannot give it. It's yours.

You and I are the same. You, too, want to fly in the space within. For that, you need very special wings. And that is what I give to those who want to know.

I am a seed
that encapsulates
every dreamable possibility.

That's who I am.
That's who you are.

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What we sometimes forget, and it's not a question of sometimes, but most of the time, is what is variable and what is permanent.

There is a beautiful saying by Kabir: "This illusion doesn't die. This mind that goes after the illusion doesn't die. The hopes don't die. The wants, the desires, the lusts don't die. What dies is you."

When I first heard this, I thought, "What?" But then it made sense that we are here on this boat that's going down the river, and somehow we have convinced ourselves – how, I don't know – that the boat is not moving. Every time we look up, we see the scenery changing, and we say to ourselves, "Amazing. The earth is moving! Look at all those trees – they are moving. Look at all those houses – they are moving. Because, surely, the boat that I am in is not moving."

THE GRAND ILLUSION

So here we are on the face of this earth. And we're trying to conquer the "Grand Illusion." According to Kabir, it'll go on. All the things that we are trying to conquer, all the things that we are trying to stop or get on top of will be there as a trap for others, long after we've gone.

The only thing that won't be here is you. You are the variable. It's not the trees or the houses that are moving. You are moving. You may not like it, but that's the truth.

And when people don't like to face the truth, they try to explain it away. People want to explain life. People want to explain what is good. People want to explain what is truth. People want to explain what is salvation. And these are things that can only be felt but not explained.

Maybe there are some things in life that can be explained: how an airplane flies, how a building stays up, how a lightbulb comes on. But if you are thirsty, you cannot satisfy the thirst by explaining water. You need to drink it. If you are hungry, you cannot satisfy your hunger by explaining food. You need to eat it.

You cannot explain what life means. You need to feel it. You cannot explain your breath. You need to breathe it. You cannot explain what this existence means. It can only be felt. If you understand that, an entirely different door opens up to you. You begin to understand by feeling – not through explanations. You begin to understand the preciousness of life, the joy, and the truest responsibility to be in gratitude to the most magnificent power that has made it possible for you to be alive.

Not just for one minute, five minutes, ten minutes. To actually feel the eternal gratitude. That's what it means to be alive. Not doubt. Not confusion. That's not being alive. Not pain, not suffering, not misery, not darkness. Not sorrow and lamenting and wishing. Being alive means to be crystal clear.

WISHING, WISHING

You have been wishing since you were very young. And at the end of each wish, did you not tell yourself that if this wish came true, this would be it, no more wishes? And when the wish came true, did you stop wishing? No. You had a new wish.

In your life, it has not been that your wishes haven't come true. Actually, if you look back, more wishes have come true than you even care to remember. But you were never careful about what you wished. Just wish, wish, wish. And boom. They came true.

It's amazing how many wishes have come true. But what did you wish for? Did you wish for contentment? No. You used your wishes to try to be content the way you thought would bring contentment. First, you were on what I call the "No. 11 bus." You were on your feet, going everywhere. Walking, walking, walking. And you were healthy. Then what did you wish for? "I wish I had a bicycle so I could get around quicker." So you got a bicycle, but you still had a problem. Somebody might steal the bicycle, so you had to buy a lock and key.

When it's raining and you're walking, you can find a dry place somewhere to stand. If you have a bicycle, you have to figure out what to do with it.

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So, once you realized the bicycle was no good, what did you wish for? You did not wish to have the bicycle taken away. You wished for a scooter. Then everything would be fine. Now, of course, once you have a scooter and then a helmet, you fall down and break your elbow. More problems. But did you wish for the scooter to be taken away? No. Now you want a car. And by the time you get your car, you forget why you even needed a car. But now you have one.

IMAGINING THE PERFECT

And the car brings more problems. You have to get your driver's license and insurance, make car payments, keep the car clean. But when you were wishing for your car, the car you imagined never needed gasoline, never needed maintenance, never needed spare tires, never had any problems. It was the perfect car that just ran and ran and went much faster than even possible. And it was always the perfect temperature inside the car because it was all in the imagination.

Imagination. What have you imagined for yourself? Unfortunately, you've even imagined how God should be, with a little help from those who whisper in your ear, "God is like this and God is like that." You have imagined God. And not only have you imagined God, but you have also imagined how your whole life is going to be, haven't you?

In your imagination, you have a perfect picture – just like you had of the car that never needs gasoline, is always at the perfect temperature, never breaks down, never needs washing or waxing or a parking space.

You have imagined this entire existence and what it means. Day after day, this monster that you have created could never survive except that you keep feeding it with explanations. Every day, you have to explain what happened. You have to explain what it means to be alive. You have excuses for why you were unable to feel gratitude, why you lived another day unconsciously, why you stayed away from all that you know, in your heart of hearts, is good. Another day and another day and another day. And before you know it, you run out of days.

And then you know! You know all that you should have done. You finally know without a doubt all that you should have done. But now you don't have the means to do it!

WILL YOU COME BACK?

Shocking, isn't it? People have explanations for that, too: "Life is cruel." Or, "It's okay. I'll be back." How do you know?

It is very important to have memory. If you have an iPod, first you need to know if it is yours or not. Somebody else's isn't going to have your music on it. It's very important to remember. Otherwise, you wouldn't know if this was your house, or car, or watch, or jacket, or shoes. When you go from this world, all that is severed.

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It's not about your future
and not about your past
but about this moment

If you came back and you remembered everything, you would have a predicament because you would go to the mirror and say, "That's not me! I used to look like this. I had a mole here, and my nose was different, and…" You would never feel comfortable with yourself. "Who am I? That is not me."

So, this explanation of coming back is not so good. "Oh, but we have proof! This one guy…" That's not proof. That's just claims. People go into certain parts of the mountains around India, and they are told, "You were an elephant." And the explanation-eater accepts this and says, "Oh, good. Thank you." Of course, the explanation-eater doesn't think, "So what? Why are you telling me about my last lifetime? If you really dare, tell me about tomorrow."

In our household, my mother decided we had to have a resident pundit. I would go up to him and say, "What's going to happen tomorrow? Are we going to get a test in school?" That would completely fry him, because then I'd come home the next day and say, "It didn't happen. You were wrong."

TELL ME ABOUT NOW

It's easy to tell me about my last lifetime. Any idiot can do that because there's no way to prove it. Now if you really think you've got something, tell me about tomorrow. What time am I going to wake up? Which toothpaste am I going to use?

Telling you about tomorrow is a guessing game. Telling you what you were in your last lifetime is total nonsense. What I am teling you about is what is happening in this moment – that breath has come into you. It's coming and going, and you're alive. And because you're alive, of all the feelings you can feel, there is one that is supreme – and that is called joy.

Of all the states you can be in, there is one that is the most supreme – and that is the state of clarity. Of all the things you can have in this moment, there is one that is the most supreme – and that is contentment, peace. That is your reality. This is not an explanation. It is a reality that you feel in your life. And the possibility is to feel it every single day. Not once, not twice, but every single day, every single moment for the rest of the journey. That's what I have come to tell you about.

Not many people have the courage to tell you this. If the whole city is full of cats, what will you hear? "Meow." And if the whole city is full of dogs, what will you hear? "Ruff!" That's how it is. If you live next to an airport, what will you hear? Airplanes. If you live next to a freeway, what will you hear? Cars. If you live close to a hospital, what will you hear? Sirens.

So when you live in the world of explanations, what will you hear? More explanations. But more explanations are not what you need. What you need is real water to quench your thirst, not an explanation of water. What you need is real food to satisfy your hunger.

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IS THE HUNGER FOR PEACE REAL?

If you were hungry and went to a restaurant but didn't eat anything, you would still be hungry. Satisfying your hunger is not about explanations or ideas. It is not even about being close to food. Can you imagine if that were the case?

Tomorrow, we could begin the project to eliminate all the hunger in the world by taking a slice of bread, wrapping it in Saran wrap, and letting people pass it from one to another. And let's be reasonable and let them really feel the bread. We'll give everybody two minutes. And if they want to, they can even flip it over.

But as ingenius as that solution is, it won't work. It's stupid because it has nothing to do with reality. In reality, each one of us needs to eat – not hold food, focus on it, or imagine it. None of these things are any good when it comes to real hunger.

So, if we know it won't work with food, why would it work in the inner realm? Is the hunger for peace an illusion? Or is it real? Is the hunger to be content an illusion? Or is it real? A very good question. And the answer is that it's not an illusion! It touches every single human being, and it has been an issue since time immemorial. And what people have done is to learn how to evade the issue – not tackle it but evade it.

I tell everyone who will listen to me that you don't need to evade it. Peace is real, joy is real, contentment is real, and there is a way to get to it.

It's been proven again and again. Year after year, generation after generation, those who have applied it in their lives have gotten more than they could ever imagine, and those who have not applied it in their lives have gotten nothing.

This message is very clear and simple because it's real. It doesn't need to be complicated. It doesn't need facades.

Somebody told me, "Here is a person who is very independent." I said, "He is dependent on being independent." We would all like to be "independent" because we are so dependent on being independent. Another explanation.

EXPLAINING HEAVEN

We're drowning in our own explanations. Why do you have so many explanations? You cannot explain it. Who can? Everybody has an explanation. Why are there people dying? People have explanations. Why are there hungry people in this world? People have explanations. But why do you have so many explanations for these things? Nobody knows.

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Why are there so many explanations of how to get to heaven? "This is how you get to salvation; this is how you get to heaven. Just do this, this, this. No problem." When people tell me this, I always say, "Are you coming with me to guarantee it?" What if at the gates of heaven, they said, "Nope." Then I'll call that person over and say, "Talk to this guy. He said no." And, of course, I would tell the person, "I have two pieces of bad news: one, I'm not getting in, and, two, you're not getting in, either."

Is the hunger for peace
an illusion? Or is it real?

Gates of heaven. Why gates? We picture God with big eyes. Why eyes? You need eyes, not God. If a car created you, you wouldn't have eyes; you would have headlights. You wouldn't have eyelids; you would have wipers. You wouldn't have teeth; you would have a radiator. And you wouldn't have hands; you would have wheels. If a car created you, that's what it would do. And when human beings try to create a god, that's exactly what they do. Eyes, judgmental; heaven, gates. The creator of all those things is not God; this is man's imagination. This is human beings: have a gate and a gatekeeper!

Don't you think God could have come up with a better system than to have a gatekeeper and a book? Of course. But this is a car creating a human. This is a human creating heaven.

HOME IS NOW

People have their explanations, their ideas, but heaven is here – now! It's not about your future and not about your past but about this moment. This moment is singular in nature. Beautiful, pleasant. Peaceful. Enjoyable by all human beings. It is so beautiful, so amazing that even hearing about it can bring peace in a person's life. That is its nature.

It is in this single moment that you exist. Feel at home in this moment. You have made yourself feel at home in tomorrow. That's not yours. Feel at home in this moment called now. Feel at home in gratitude. Feel at home in peace, not in confusion. Feel at home in the feeling, not in explanations. Feel at home in your truest self.

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If you want to be independent, then be independent of confusion. Be independent of doubt. Be independent of all that is not yours. And feel. Feel reality in its magnificence. Not from fear. Because fear is not yours, either. You were made to behold joy.

This is what belongs in this vessel, in this human body. This is what it was made for. Not all the other stuff.

So, what are you going to do? I know there are people who are going to talk about it, try to explain the unexplainable. Don't waste your time.

YOUR CHOICE

Who you listen to is up to you. That's always your choice. You can listen to the voice inside of you that says, "Everything is wrong." Or you can listen to the voice that says, "Be. Be free. Be clear. Enjoy this life. Enjoy this existence."

Many people will tell you that you don't have a choice. I tell you, I know you have a choice. Every day you hear the two voices; you have a choice which one to listen to. You won't be able to stop hearing them. That is the nature of ears. But which one you pay attention to is up to you. It's not up to the voice. Knowing – that's half the battle. Know. Understand. And be fulfilled. Every day. No excuses. No explanations. Be fulfilled every single day.

I'm on my way to India to little villages that I didn't even know existed there. Talk about explanations. There are so many explanations in India. When I talk, people say, "I have never heard that explanation before!"

When I tell them, "This is not an explanation. I'm offering you the real thing," they are shocked. "Really? This is not your imagination?" "No. This is real." You can feel it. You can feel that peace in your life. This is not just pictures of wells and rivers and people dancing in the water. This is the real thing. It's so straightforward. It's so simple.

So, take the steps in this life. Know it is your boat that is moving, not the trees, not the houses. They will be here after you have gone, and others will pass and make the same mistake as you did. But you can know who is moving and who is not. You don't need to make mistakes. Enjoy.

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For some people, it's very important to capture what they call "this moment that will only come once." It might be their child's first birthday or graduation day, or this day or that day. Their understanding is that it only happens once, so they'll bring their camera to capture their child's first word or first birthday.

Once, I was watching a reality TV show where people stand in front of a judge and present their grievances. A woman was getting married, and she went to a lot of trouble to make sure that everything was perfect. Of course, you can surmise from the fact that she was on the show that things didn't go very well. A bit of a problem happened, and she was really, really angry: "It took so long to get everything just right, and then this guy came along, and he did this, and he did that." And the poor man says, "Well, I'm sorry, but …"

We find these things amusing. We see a mother or father freaking out and saying, "Get that picture, get that picture. My flash didn't go off. Get new batteries …" People go through all this because it's so important to capture that moment.

But did you know that this life is also a one-time event? What provisions do you have to capture it? This is something to think about. We buy a camera to capture one of the events in a lifetime. But what do we have to capture a lifetime itself, which is also only going to happen once?

The truth of the matter is, we have no resources for that. We don't look at it that way. We refuse to believe that life is a one-time event.

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Let me be a little more precise about this one-time event. Zoom in. This isn't just a question of a lifetime being a one-time event. Every breath is a one-time event. The breath you just took is never, ever coming back again.

I'm not trying to scare you. It's not scary; it's profound. When the world scares you, it's not profound. The difference is that one scares you and the other makes you realize something.

I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just pointing out the obvious – that the breath you just took is not coming back. And you can do something about it. There are tools to go inside and savor the moment, and when you have, you've captured it. When, at the end of the day, your heart is full of gratitude, you just captured the day. You didn't waste it. When your life was lived in gratitude, you didn't waste it. You captured it. That's how simple and profound it is when I allow the moment to touch my heart, when I allow my consciousness to be there. When I accept. Not reject – but accept!

WHERE ARE YOU?

You wake up in the morning to a new day. Good things will happen, and bad things will happen. A day is very much like that. Not everything will be how you want it. Even if it's your birthday, it's not going to be exactly how you want it to be.

Let's say an hour represents a day. A few good things, a few bad things; dull moments, bright moments; action, no action; surge of action, flood of action; frustration, calmness. Then let's say a day represents a week, a week a month, a month a year, and a year a lifetime.

Things will happen, but it is not what happens that is important. What is important is where you are at. There can be chaos, and if you've had a good sleep, your stomach is full, and everything happens to be pretty much okay with you, it's all right. No big deal. Even getting a ticket or missing your flight would be okay: "Ha, ha, ha – I missed my flight."

It's how you are that matters. That's just the way it is. If you haven't had a good night's sleep, or if you're hungry or you're running late, then you don't need a ticket or a missed flight to feel terrible. Anything will do it. It could be that you went to the bathroom and there was no more toilet paper. Now, when you really think about it, could a bit of tissue have a devastating impact on your life? If you missed your coffee, do you think your whole world would fall apart? Logically, no. Illogically, yes.

How does that happen? It's simple. When the gears are grinding inside of me, what difference does it make if everything else is running smoothly?

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If your car gets a flat tire, do you look around to see if anybody else has one? If your car runs out of gas, do you look around and ask, "Has anybody else run out of gas?" No. You know it relates only to you. Your running out of gas doesn't mean that everybody on the same road is also going to run out of gas. That sounds stupid, doesn't it? But that's what people do in their lives.

Something happens because their internal gears are grinding, and they look around to see if anybody else's gears are grinding: "Let all the people whose gears are grinding come together and share the experience" so they can feel relieved that they are not the only idiot on the planet. Here, camaraderie counts.

When the gears are grinding inside, what difference do you think camaraderie would make? Peace is not an object that grows on a tree or something that is going to appear in a box on an altar in your house. Peace is something that has to happen for you. For the world to be okay, you have to fix the gear inside of you that's grinding. You don't have to fix the world.

Some people think you have to fix the world. "It's the world's fault. So, fix the world, and I'll be okay." No. Do you really think it would help if you took ten gallons of gas and put it in everybody else's car except yours? Of course not. Put that ten gallons in your car. That's all you have to do.

This is serious because life is a one-time event. It's not going to come again. And the point of life is not that it only comes once. The point is to be fulfilled.

THIS HEART IS MY FRIEND

It's not about a threat but about recognizing the reality of the situation and doing something about it rather than getting distracted. So much that you do is merely a distraction. Maybe you don't think of it that way, but maybe that's how it is.

The priority of the heart is quite clear. I thank God for the heart, because without it, what would my life be? Where would my sanity be? What could I truly understand? How would I know when I am satisfied? How would I know when I am content?

I would be like a goldfish. Those things can eat until they explode. Right outside my office, I have quite a large pond. The fish in it know when somebody's coming, and they just look up at them, moving their mouths out of the water as if to say, "Feed me, feed me." It doesn't even matter if you feed them. If you turn around and walk back, they'll do the same thing: "Feed me." There's food everywhere, but they look at you like, "Feed me."

Without this heart, where would I be? This heart is my intelligence. This heart is my sanity.

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Did you know that
life is a one-time event?
Zoom in.
Every breath is
a one-time event.

I have two friends. One is my heart, and the other is my mind. One friend says to me, "You have the right to be conscious. You have the right to be kind. You have the right to be fulfilled." And my other friend says, "You have the right to be unconscious. You have the right to be angry. You have the right to be mean."

Two friends in this world. One would be called bad company. And the other one? Good company.

THE GREATEST TRUTH

Take it one step further. Keep the companionship of truth. People have made truth out to be horrible. Somebody comes to us in tears, and we say, "Tell me the truth. What happened?" Parents do that to their kids. They know the kid stole whatever is missing. They just want the kid to say it.

Is that "truth"? No, truth – the real truth – lies within you. Unwavering. Unchangeable. Undefinable. You cannot speak it, but you can experience it within you. Beautiful. Amazing. Uplifting. And the greatest truth for you as a human being can be none other than to be fulfilled. Then every breath is filled with gratitude, and no matter what you do in this world, you know where you are connected.

When you are connected to that truth within, you become like a mother with a newborn baby. Wherever she goes, her attention is with the baby. Whether she is watching TV or she goes into the kitchen, her attention is with the baby. It doesn't matter what is happening; if she hears the faintest cry from the baby, she will drop everything and go there.

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You have the right to be conscious.
You have the right to be kind.
You have the right to be fulfilled.

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That's how you need to be, too. Whether you are driving a car, flying an airplane, or diving underwater, be connected to that inner place. That is the most ideal position you can put yourself in.

THE PRIZE IS FULFILLMENT

The consequences are nice because there is joy and gratitude, and the day is not wasted. You have allowed your heart to fill with gratitude. You have allowed your heart to fill with that feeling. You have captured the day. You've allowed the breath to be captured. The heart is your camera. Capture the moment. It won't come back again. Be. Exist. Flourish. Enjoy. Simplicity awaits you.

The prize is peace. That is the greatest prize that can ever be – to have fulfilled a human life. Can you think of any greater blessing? That is to be blessed. One breath comes, and it's a blessing. You just got touched.

Do you realize that the moment the breath fills you with life is the shortest distance there will ever be between the finite and infinite? It is the shortest possible line that can be drawn between the two extremes. Into this finite being, the infinite came. You got touched. In that moment, you are a part of the universe. You're not separated from it. You are living; you exist. That's what this whole universe is about.

You want a miracle? The fact that you exist is a miracle. You existed yesterday. That's a miracle. You got up this morning. What a miracle! When you sit there listening to me talk about it, it makes sense. Then you leave here thinking, "Me? Miracle? No way. I want a miracle. God, here is my lottery ticket. Make it win, and that'll be a real miracle."

If you do not know the value of what you have, then "empty-handed you came, and empty-handed you will go" becomes your truth. That's a shame. Even though you came empty-handed into this world, you certainly don't have to go empty-handed.

That feeling is being given, not only once, but in abundance. You can never run out of it. You can definitely have enough anger to kill you, but you will never die of kindness. The feeling within is given to you with no limits. Take as much as you want from that treasure. It is the one thing that most people have the least of in their lives. Talk about irony.

Fulfillment is not limited by your age, your gender, your height, your weight, how much education you have – not by anything. Fulfillment is fulfillment, and it is being given freely to every human being on earth.

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DUALITY STOPS, SINGULARITY BEGINS

Bring acceptance into your life. What is acceptance? To receive the gift that is being given without standing over it and saying, "Let me alter this." You don't alter a sunset. You don't alter a crescent moon or a full moon.

When you accept each breath, it becomes different, subtle, simple, joyous – and the heart is the judge. It is silent without the absence of sound. It is. And it is within you. It is a breath, and it's so much more. It is where duality stops and singularity begins. It is the only place where there is a distinct separation between feeling and thought, where the mind cannot actually think about what you are feeling because it is beyond its perception.

A great duality is created. And in that duality, you pick a side. When you pick the side of the heart, when you pick the side of that feeling inside, you will notice the singularity.

This is where answers begin to come, but there are no questions. It's unique. You have the answers, but you don't have the questions. This is where you are fulfilled, but you were never hungry. This is where your thirst has been quenched, but you were never thirsty. This is where you are, without being. You become one. The doubts are no longer there if there is acceptance, if there is understanding.

This is the pulse of life. Go inside and experience that, because there is nothing like it. Nothing.

When, at the end
of the day, your heart is
full of gratitude, you just
captured the day.

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