Maharaji: An Invitation 1997-06-01 E107 CD

Maharaji: An Invitation 1st June 1997 E107 CD
Avery Fisher Hall, New York Public Program

Maharaji, as Prem Rawat is widely known, speaks to people around the world about the possibility of finding inner peace and contentment. He started addressing audiences when he was only three years old. At the age of 13, he was invited to address audiences in London and Los Angeles. Since then, he has presented his message to over 6.5 million people in more than 50 countries. Speaking at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, he recently said, The peace that we are looking for is already in the heart. It needs to be felt, and I can help you get in touch with it. Maharaji's message is more than words. People who listen to him express finding profound inspiration, a fresh perspective on life and peace within themselves.

This is a wonderful opportunity to talk a little bit about what I do. I go around, travel, talk to people. But it is not so much that it is embedded in words. Because if it was only words, then it would have no substance. It would be just ideas, thoughts, quotes, stories. And one could hear it, perhaps contemplate, and then, as we do with most things, discard and go on. But what makes it different is not so much the words, but what I actually offer people. For me, I need, in my life, to feel. I think. It's not like I think. I think. But I need to feel. I understand that I have capacity for thought. And this capability that I have to be able to think is incredible. But I also know that I have something more precious than that. And that is the ability to feel. I will not be able to feel everything. Nor will I be able to think of everything.

But when I feel, I have to think. And that is a distinction. That is a difference. When I feel a cool breeze on a hot, sunny day, I need to sit down and figure it out. Gee, you wonder what that really was. I am content in feeling. Not necessarily that I am content in thought, because thought can lead me to have more thought. And in fact create a necessity for more thought, and more research, and more thought, and more discussions, and to borrow other people's thoughts. Sometimes I have to borrow other people's thoughts, because I have my own. But I can never borrow other people's feelings. I have to feel it for myself. To see a sunset, and if I can describe to you a sunset, it will only be in thought that you will be able to receive it. But I know. Because you are so very much like me. You are like me. We look alike. Thank God. We look alike. But that would cause a confusion.

Yesterday I had to clear immigrations. And this very nice gentleman walked up on board, and we had collected all the passports. And he said, you know, you can't do that. I have to go to every person, and then every person has to present their passport to me, and then I look. And that's how it's really supposed to be done. So anyways, he grabbed all the passports, and he opens the passport. And it was funny, because he looks right at the picture, he calls out the name, and then he's looking around, who is this person? And everybody's standing right there. He has to call out the name. I mean, he could have just looked at the picture and said, oh, that's yours. No, it was the name that had to be called out. It was very official. He was doing his job. That's fine. But he would be really confused if we all had the same name and the same face. So we look alike. Our backgrounds are not the same. I was born in India. Some of you were. Some of you weren't.

Your life has taken many passages and taken you through completely different ones than mine. You're different ages. We're all different ages. Maybe there's a coincidence. And maybe we have the same birth dates. But the point is, set aside everything else. You and I are very alike. You need to feel and I need to feel. We both favor joy. I figured this one out. And the way I figured this one out is I figured that when people are in pain, they'll go to their temple, they go to their church, they go to their synagogue, and they pray to God, please, enough. Get me out of this mess. But I know of anybody who goes to their temple or church or synagogue and says, God, this is enough joy. I cannot tolerate this anymore. Take some of it away. I know of anybody who does that. So I figured, if people do that, they have an immeasurable capacity for that joy in their life. Like I do. Like you do. And even though we can think of fantastic things, like I need to feel, you need to feel.

And in this life, we cannot simply talk about joy. We need to also feel joy. But what kind of joy? Maybe we usually look at joy as being different kinds. Maybe we look at all joy as being the same. But believe me, joy is, there are different kinds of joys. Maybe somebody really gets overjoyed looking at the fall in October. Well, you're going to have a hard time trying to see that, especially in the northern hemisphere around June and July. You're going to have to wait for November. That's November dependent joy. A lot of people go fishing. Of course, it's not just a question of going fishing. It's a question of catching something, too. And I figured that one out, because there is this channel. You watch it, and they get excited. They're just sitting there, and they look pretty bored. And then when the fish bites and the thing happens, they get really excited. So I figured that's fish dependent joy. And you need to have a fish on the other line. And then when the fish gets away, that joy disappears. Ah, it got away.

We have children dependent joy. So far, they're little, cute, and cuddly. Everything is fine. When they get too big, cumbersome, obey us. They look at us in turn. The joy becomes shaky. So we have many joys. And since we have the same kids, we have the same hobbies, we have those things in common. Those are not the joys that I'm talking about. The joy that I speak of is the joy that is based upon my contentment, your contentment, as an individual. The joy that I am talking about is not fish dependent. It's not kid dependent. It is you dependent. It is me dependent.

Is there something like that? And when you look at so many people talking about so many things, and you know, people have always talked about different things, whatever the needs were, whatever people figured people would like to hear, people talked about it. You can look at it through the history, through the ages. People talked about chariots, people talked about horses, people talked about fireplaces, people talked about tiles, people talked about woodworking, people talked about all of these things.

Some people talked about salvation, some people talked about God, some people talked about religion, some people talked about… I mean, whatever the need was. So there are people who talk about all the different things, but there is a streak. It goes far back in time. And there have been some who have talked about one thing consistently. So you have this very wide variety of discussions going on, but there has always been this one discussion that seems to be through and through solid. And that discussion says, or that talk says, or that message says, what you are looking for is inside of you. Very old message. What I am looking for is within me. Could it be? Meaning, I have to substitute? Because how many of us always figure, well, you have to substitute.

You have to compromise. You can't have everything in this life. You've got to compromise. There are certain things that are too high to touch. You can't get to them. Certain things are unattainable. And somebody has been saying rather consistently throughout years and years and years and years and hundreds of years and hundreds of years and hundreds of years that what you're looking for is inside of you. If that's a thought, who cares? But if it's a reality, that's a very exciting prospect. If what I'm looking for, and perhaps I even know what I'm looking for, to put it another way, at one of my events, I think it was Barcelona, I said, you know, I prepare these speeches. It's not like I sit down and write these speeches. I speak from my heart. I come out. I say what I have to say. So I said, what if that which you are looking for, you never lost? And if you just think about it, if I never lost it, but I'm searching for it, but I never lost it, the implications are grand. You are searching for something you never lost. So if you're searching for something you never lost, you're going to end up creating something that you have lost. So you can search for it. And if you end up creating that which you never lost, but you think you lost, a lot of things fall into place.

Because what if what I am looking for is inside of me? If what I am looking for is that simplicity and that simplicity is inside of me? I know you love simplicity, because I do. And there isn't a single person yet I have come across who doesn't. Simplicity. Things that require justification and things that do require justification. To be complex requires justification, and I need to find the justification to be complicated. But somehow, when it comes to being simple, I can't justify that. Why should I be simple? And there's only one justification, and it seems rather weak. It feels good. For most people, that's rather weak.

It would be stronger if it was said, but it's written. It should be complicated. It's terrorized. It should be complicated. To be in the darkness, I need justification to be in light. There is no justification. To hate, I need justification. Why I hate. Oh, there's this reason and this reason and this reason. And you and I hear it. And to love, there's only one. It feels good. And that seems to be a rather weak one. When it should be the strongest one, it seems rather weak. Why should I live and exist in a situation where I am not happy? Requires a lot of justification. And people have them. And people come up with new ones. But to live in a place where I can feel good, that's the only justification.

And that seems rather weak. What is it that I, in the depths of my heart, in the depths of my soul, in the depths of myself, as me, not interacting with society, not interacting with family, not interacting with friends, but interacting just with myself. What relationship do I want? Who do I want to be? Who am I? Am I this complicated mess, a participant to this complicated mess? Or am I a simplicity, as simple as one breath at a time? Am I this complicated person who can transport in thought and imagination faster than any aircraft known, any vehicle known, from here to the other side of the world? In my thought, I can create fantastic cuisines. In my thought, I can create fantastic palaces. In my thought, I can have whatever I want. Of course, it doesn't help me in reality.

In reality, if I'm thirsty, I need water. Not a discussion of water, I need water. And more stronger my thirst, deeper my thirst, more prevalent my thirst, proportionally, the strength of my desire to want that water. And abate anything that prolongs, even if it is a discussion, reading book, doing research, or anything else. If I'm dying of thirst, I just want water. Please, just give me water. talk about water. show me an ad for water. I want an introduction. Can you imagine opening up a water bottle and it plays a whole song before you can completely twist the cap off? Can you imagine a water bottle with a little battery and a speaker and you go click, it goes to stop, at the first click, and then it gives you a whole lecture. I'm telling you, I'll tell you what'll happen. They'll come up with an opener that you can open the other side. So you even have to go through it. Just turn the bottle, pop this thing, and drink the water. It's as simple as that.

Am I as simple as that? That I can admire, and in my admiration, I can be happy? That I seek one of the simplest things, contentment? That I seek joy? That I want pretenses, I want reality? That when it really comes down to it, the packaging isn't the issue, the substance, the content is the issue? That it isn't the words that will satisfy me, but I need to have my heart be content, be content, and then I will know. Then if you are like that, then really there is very little difference between you and me. Because I'm like that too. Every day, I want to appreciate. I know the time flies, but my blessing is being manifested one breath at a time as I exist. It is not in speculation that I can live or what will happen tomorrow to me, but I can only live now, and be happy that I exist.

Because if you want to tread in the inner field of contentment, then I have something for you. I can help. That's what I offer to people. Otherwise all these would just be fancy words. And it isn't in the words, it is in the feeling. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, there is a picture within you. And not even a thousand words can describe it. There is a feeling within you, not even a thousand books could describe it.

There is contentment. There is an understanding. There is a feeling within you. Like it is within me. And when I connect with that, it does not change my outside circumstances. It doesn't. That's not what I am trying to pursue. Because I realized a long time ago, that when I am cutting okra, and I cut myself, it is not the fault of the knife. And it is not the fault of the okra.

Nor can I blame my one hand and say, why did you cut the other one? I realized a long time ago, it's my fault. Maybe that's the reason why I haven't cut myself in a really long time. No, I do cook, believe me. I cut and chop vegetables. And I realized that I am the one who is responsible for all those things that are happening around me. I am.

When my kids do something that I like, and maybe it comes as a surprise. Oh my God. Jeez. But then I understand. Hey, I should have been ready for it. It comes with the territory.

If you buy a car that has four tires, and one of them goes flat, be surprised. It comes with the territory. One of my favorite examples, the first time I gave it was in India, was, you know, if I were to make an announcement, a buffalo has been stolen. I said, only those people who own a buffalo would be affected by that. In India, they could really relate to that. Those people who own a buffalo, big deal. So if you own a buffalo, nobody tells you it could be stolen. But that comes with the territory.

That which is, and one day won't be, be surprised, it comes with the territory. That's the law of nature. be surprised. That is how things work around here. This is called planet Earth. Women and men these days, they look at their faces, Oh God, we can't have wrinkles. Everybody is trying to be young. Young, young, young, young, young. The only ones that are trying to be old are the teenagers. And these are the early teenagers. They're right around that 13, 14 and 15 year mark. I'm 16. They're the only ones who are trying to be old. Everybody else is trying to be young. Youth. Hello, we live on planet earth.

Planet Earth has this funny thing called time. It affects everything around here. I mean everything. It affects water, it affects clouds, it affects air, trees, even rocks. And of course, all living things. Inclusive of the human species. The coming and going, the passage of time, affects us all. Then, what is important? Time tempers importance. You cannot control time. That's a misunderstanding people have. Time management, you can't do that. That's not possible. Time is nothing you can control. In fact, you can't even tell what time it is. Really, you can't. Because by the time you look at what time it is, that's not the time anymore. It's gone. You can only control what you do in the time you have. That's all you have control over. You have control over time. So get that straight.

When you're sitting in an airplane, you can make your seat recline, and the back go down and up. That doesn't mean the airplane will. You're not actually flying the airplane with that little button going back and forth. So when you feel like landing, you go, OK, I'm ready to land, and you recline your chair. It doesn't work like that. You gotta know that. When you do that, it's only your chair. Not everybody's chair either, only your chair. And in this life, time tempers me.

To see what is important, it makes that, that is important to me, even more important to me. It makes me want to know, want to understand. And today, I'm also telling you that what you are looking for is inside of you. Because some things change. And one of the things that doesn't change is this possibility of being content in this life. That's when it becomes a gift. Otherwise, without contentment, it's pretty sad and painful. Or it can be. When it is content, it is beautiful.

Every human being, like me, is a package of seeds. And if you looked at a package of seeds, you look in the front, and there's a picture of what the plant looks like. And it's pretty pathetic, usually. Because seed companies are pretty low-budget stuff, so they actually spend a lot of time getting the printing right and everything. So it's a pretty cheap-looking picture. And if you smell it, it doesn't smell anything like a rose or whatever you're buying. Just remember, the seed inside the package is far more beautiful than the picture on the package. Just always remember that. Thank you very much, and good night.