Maharaji: Conference Hall Rome, 2004-07-27

Maharaji: Conference Hall Rome, July 27 2004

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 speak 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. His message is more than words. For those wishing to make peace a reality in their life, he offers inspiration and guidance. People listening to him express finding profound inspiration, a fresh perspective on life, and deep peace within themselves.

Introducing Maharaji to members of the Italian Parliament, Emilio Colombo, former President of the European Parliament and former Italian Prime Minister declared that Maharaji looks at peace as a disposition of the spirit, as a seed which needs to germinate, grow, and bear fruit in the heart of every man. President Colombo said that Maharaji's words provide an occasion for deep reflection and deserve to be heard because they're an invitation to explore and express the values residing within us, treasures very often ignored or neglected.

Well, thank you very much, President de Colombo. And we are here, and as he mentioned, to listen to something about peace. Now, let me just preface a little bit.

Because in this world where so much is going on, so many issues, so many ideas, so many inventions, so much technology, why am I talking about peace? Not as an option in life, not as something that would be nice to have, but as a fundamental thing that we all need. Fundamentally, every day that we awaken, every day that we exist. And when I mean we, what I'm really talking about is each one of us, each one, beyond the barriers. Many times when I have been flying high in an airplane, just for fun, I make an announcement, and I say, down there is the border of the two countries. And amazingly enough, people start to look. Because so many things we begin to believe. We begin to believe our differences. The world teaches us differences, and we begin to believe differences. You are from this country, you are from that country, you speak this language, you speak that language, you like this, you like that. But we forget that the fundamental thing that drives us is exactly the same. We forget that we may be speaking a language, but what we are saying is exactly the same thing. When somebody says, I am thirsty, it can be said in many languages, what it means is exactly the same thing.

I am thirsty. So then, is peace such an alien thing to us, or should it be such an alien thing to us? When the desire for the peace is so fundamental to each one of us. The question isn't peace. The question is, do we feel the thirst for peace or not? The question isn't the treasure. The question is, has it been discovered? Because once the thirst for peace is understood in a human being's life, then the result is very obvious. The result will be that the person will look for that water, that they will look within for that answer. I see labels, and I see thousands of labels in this world. And I know why the labels were placed there. Many labels in this world were placed way before I was born. But I know that people believe in these labels, and nobody questions these labels. And when people say that the definition of peace is absence of war, people go, that's it. There is a war that rages on inside a human being that is far more ferocious, far more ferocious than any war on the outside. And this war that rages on inside a human being continues well past the ceasefires. And it is the manifestation, as the President said, that gets reflected, and we see the wars. We see a sense of imbalance, but we recognize what is causing it. And our solution becomes, let's get two sticks and give them to the person so that they fall off. But we ever try to deal with the solution of why is this person out of balance.

What I need in my life, what I need in my existence, I have to acknowledge. If I want peace in my life, I have to acknowledge. I have to say, yes, I feel the thirst. I have to say to myself, to myself, in the simplest of words, because I can use fancy words to impress other people, but I cannot use fancy words to impress me. If I want to impress me, I have to use the very thing called truth. And the truth, maybe to the world is a scary word, but truth is what this heart wants to hear. That yes, that thirst needs to be quenched, this is what this heart wants to hear. Peace is peace, however you get it. What do I offer to people? First thing that I offer to people is you need to acknowledge.

Secondly, with these eyes, we can see the world. With these eyes, we can see everyone else's eyes. But if we want to see our own eyes, with these eyes, we need a mirror. A mirror so that it can reflect back what we want to see. I too need a mirror if I want to see the that I have. I too need a mirror if I want to see the beauty that I have. Not be in fear, not be in doubt, but I have to garner passion for clarity, garner passion for that love, garner passion for that peace, garner passion for that truth, garner passion. I know about the passion for all the other things in this world, but what do I know about the passion, the passion to be alive? The world comes and descends upon me and says, you should be this, you should be this, you should be this. But whoever tells me, you know what? You are alive.

You exist. Is that too simple? Because when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, ideas, I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this. And I know that for everyone sitting here, it is very much, what is my agenda? What is my agenda? Well, the first agenda should be, my goodness, I am alive. Can I be thankful for being alive? And then people say, how can you? This I find amazing, because people ask this question. How can you in this world be thankful for being alive? There's so many problems. And I say to them, when you were born and you took your first breath in your life, how many problems did you have? How many? None. You took that breath and you were alive. And you took another breath and you were alive. And you took another breath and you were alive. And every day it has been just that. And yet, we keep forgetting what is important. So then, does not the staircase to that peace, does not that journey to peace begin with the acknowledgement, in earnest, of those simple things that we kept forgetting? The simplest of things.

The gratitude for life. The gratitude for this existence. The gratitude. The gratitude to be.

Why do I say this? Why is this important? Because it is the only way you can balance. Because right now, this life is not balanced. Right now, on one side is a simple breath, and the other side is disproportionate problems. When there is that acknowledgment, when there is that gratitude, when there is that understanding, then person starts to see things in proportion. Not disproportionate, in proportion. And when I see things in proportion, that what is important to me is that peace, then that is the day I truly start searching for peace. Before that, it's like going to a party where I want to be. So go, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, thank you for inviting me, goodbye. Is this life a party where I want to be? Hello, hello, hello, thank you, goodbye.

I mean, it has to mean something. That peace has to mean something. The ideals, so much is left to the governments. Governments will bring us peace. Governments will bring us peace when peace is inside of every single individual. In this world, look around you. The dissatisfaction that you see on the outside is lined with incredible satisfaction on the inside. The poverty that you see on the outside is lined up with incredible richness on the inside. The incredible doubt that you see is lined with incredible clarity on the inside.

And I'm not the only one to say this. Socrates, a long time ago, said, know thyself, yourself. In this world, in this life, we are more interested in knowing other people. And in this life, we have been introduced to other people, but nobody has introduced us to us. Never comes up in a conversation. Let me introduce you to you. No, meet this person, meet this person, meet this person, meet this person. For me, the day we all, not just the people, but everyone, begin to acknowledge that that peace is inside of us, then that is the day I feel there will begin to be a difference. The day that that becomes an earnest truth for us, not just a passing fancy statement. Something to talk about, something to remember, then that is the day we can start to feel a difference, because we can begin to feel a difference in our own lives. Our own lives. Then that is the day I can begin to acknowledge the simplicity, because what have I seen of the world? Have I seen simplicity? Or the complexity? Wherever I go, what do I acknowledge? I acknowledge the complexity when I need to see simplicity.

The simplicity of my existence, the simplicity of being, the simplicity of this peace within me.

Now, invariably people come to this point, it's like, okay, this all sounds really good. I agree, almost. Now, how do I get peace? Because, all our lives, when we wanted to buy a tie, I need a new tie, go to the shop, go through the ties, pick the tie we want, pay for the tie, and walk home. Want a suit? Go, go to the shop, look at the suit, select the suit, buy the suit, go home. How do you get something you already have? This is the problem. How do you get something you already have? You can't go to a store and buy it. No credit card, you can pay with it, because you already have it. There is only one way. Because if you want to get what you already have, you must find it.

And peace, you already have inside of you, and it needs to be discovered. What does it begin with? It begins with acknowledgement. What does it begin with? It begins with understanding. And where does it end? Hopefully, it ends in quenching the thirst that has been discovered. The thirst that is inside of you. And what kind of thirst? That thirst for which the water also lies inside of you. The completeness of what I am talking about is so incredible that for most people, it is I never heard something like that before. Maybe not. But both the elements, the thirst is within you, and the water that will quench the thirst is within you. The joy is within you, and the want for joy is within you. And it is through the glasses of simplicity that we can even begin to understand what this is. Through life, acknowledgement of that life, can we begin to understand what this is. Simplicity, simplicity, and what you are looking for is within you. Nothing to buy, nothing to conquer, but to acknowledge. I'm very, very thankful that I was invited here today to be able to speak.

And I really hope that whatever happens in your life, that you find that peace within, inside of you. Because it's there. And because the thirst for it is there. And I look at it in a very simple way. I have been around the world, I have seen people of this world, and I know a lot of people see a lot of different things. I see something very simple. I see people, and I see a smile that is saying, I want to laugh. And I want to laugh, not because something is funny. I want to laugh because I am fulfilled. Every human being on the face of this earth has the right to be fulfilled, to be fulfilled, in the most truest and earnest way. And I thank you all for listening to me, and I thank Presidente Colombo for inviting me and giving me this opportunity to speak to you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.