Maharaji in Hamburg PWK-005 2006-05-07

Maharaji in Hamburg May 7th 2006
Living Beauty PWK-005

Prem Rawat, widely known by the honorary title Maharaji, has been travelling the world for more than 30 years, bringing a unique message of peace. He gave his first public addresses at the age of three, and by the age of 13, he was responding to invitations to speak in the United States and Great Britain [as Guru Maharaj Ji, The Lord of the Universe]. His message is from the heart. He speaks about the possibility for each person to find peace within, regardless of circumstances. Addressing a distinguished audience at the invitation of the United Nations Association of Malaysia, he recently said, Peace is a fundamental necessity and begins with each individual. And yes, peace is possible. Through the Prem Rawat Foundation, he also spearheads significant humanitarian initiatives [rubbish:: TPRF gives aid of $0.5 million p.a.] aimed at improving the lives of people most in need. From large cities to remote villages, millions of people around the world come to him for inspiration and guidance. Even as his audiences increase, Prem Rawat's message remains directed to each individual. If you are looking for fulfillment and peace, he says, the solution lies within. If that is what you want, I can help.

So, Hamburg. We're here to listen, to try to understand a little bit more. Because this life is always unfolding. Nothing is static. It's always changing, always moving forward. And we have to learn, in our lives, to move forward with this life.

Otherwise, we will be left behind. And when you look at this world, so many people have been left behind. Trying to catch up every day. Trying to do what is right. Trying to be simple by becoming incredibly complicated. Because we understand what simplicity really is. We think that if we give up everything, we'll become simple. This is not true. Just recently, I was in Montreal, and I was talking about how people who have renounced everything like to announce it. They really do. They go through great lengths to announce to the world, I have renounced. I have given up. And I want to show you that I have given up. I want to tell you that I have given up. And in trying to give up, they haven't given up what they should give up.

And hence, what is simplicity? If I leave my job, will I become simple? Because to understand simplicity, you have to understand what is making it complicated. And what is making it complicated? It's a beautiful couplet from Rahim, around the same time as Kabir, 14th century. And he said that this topic of the infinite is not a topic of conversation. You cannot talk about it. All you can do is feel it. Experience it. And then you will understand.

And the whole world wants to talk about it. They want to talk about what is infinite. They want to talk about what is God. They want to talk about what is life. They want to talk about what is this breath. They want to talk about what is good. They want to talk about what is infinite. They want to talk about what is life. You cannot talk about life. Life needs to be felt. Do you feel alive? And when I say this, do you feel alive? People will immediately go into the table of comparison. Of course I'm alive. Because of this, and this, and this, and this. But these are not the things that make you feel alive. When I got here, I asked my driver, how is Germany? He said, people have been very happy for the last three days. I said, why? He said, well the weather went from cold to really warm. Spring is here.

People are very happy. Somebody said that the drums of the breath, and this is the analogy used, drums of the breath beat day and night. A fool sleeps through it. And one who is awakened, this is a very funny word that has been used, and it can be interpreted many ways, but restless. The one who is awakened is restless because of these drums playing day and night. And restless can be negative. You can be restless if you're bored. And you can be restless if you're excited. And you can't wait. And that's the point. Are you bored, and therefore restless? Or are you excited, and therefore restless? Cannot wait for the next beat of this drum of breath. Cannot wait to hear it again, for it to go through you, to be mesmerized, to be elated. One more step, one more beat, to dance the dance of life. That is what feeling alive is all about.

Feeling, understanding every day in your existence what is important. That's what simplicity is all about. That's what simplicity is all about. Not wondering what is going to happen to me. What is going to happen? Am I, when I die, am I going to heaven? Oh, people are so incredibly obsessed with that. It's an obsession.

People say, well, we are here to suffer, and if we suffer enough, then when we die, we go to heaven. Well, there's incredible ways of suffering on planet Earth. One, live in the desert in the summer. In the winter, make your home North Pole. No air conditioning. No air conditioning. have heat in your house. You will suffer because of explanations. We lose the focus of what it is about. I'm not talking about referring to a book. I'm talking about you refer to yourself. Ask yourself. You. You asking yourself. Nobody else. What is it that you want in this existence? You. This is your life. You have been given this opportunity to be alive. In you beats the drum of breath. You have the consciousness. You have the awareness, or at least the possibility. You have the possibility to remember. You have the possibility to forget. You have the good. You have the bad. You have the right. You have the wrong.

Ugly and beauty is not very far. It isn't. How far? How far? I will give you an analogy. It is the thickness of a hair. That's pretty fine. You want to hear my analogy? My analogy is there is this beautiful, beautiful dish in front of you. Incredibly beautiful. And you look at it as it is offloaded by the waiter. And you're looking at it as it's coming towards you. And it is looking beautiful. And your mouth is just salivating. And you cannot wait. To eat it. And then it is in front of you. And you take your knife. And you take your fork. And you go. And there is a hair. And now you want it anymore. Take it back. You know whose hair it is. You know what this person looks like. I mean if you were the only one cooking in the kitchen, then it's your hair. You might go, okay, no problem. But you know whose hair this is. This could be a hair from a person who hasn't taken a shower for the last six months. Thickness of a hair. Thickness of a hair. This life, all the things, all the possibilities are in you. What do you want? Nothing is limited.

Nothing is limited. All of the possibilities are in you. What do you want? And the answer must come from your heart. From that one place in you that is sincere. The answer must come in a reality. The answer must come in a focus. The answer must come from that same place. It doesn't matter what you call it. The same place that has always been calling out to you. And what is it that you want? All of the other things. That's the list. They belong to you. I was just in India. Spoke to many, many people. And one of the things I was saying is that you think this house belongs to you. But the house knows. House knows. After you're gone, it'll house somebody else.

You think it's yours. It's not. But you call your own in this world. What is really your own? And let me explain what is really your own. This breath is your own. So it just came and went. And it comes again. And it goes. And it comes again. And that's your miracle. And that is the grace in your life. And how many times have you sat in a room and said, God, if you're really real, I want to see you. And God came. God came as this breath. And blessed you. That is the truest blessing. Truest, truest blessing of all. He came in no uncertain terms. Not a face and not an eye. A mouth and teeth. We need those things. We need eyes so we can see. That power does not need eyes to see. We need a nose to breathe. That power does not need a nose. But we give it a nose. That power does not need these eyeballs to go around looking at what is what, what is what. But we give eyeballs. This would be good. Who are you looking for? What do you want? What do you need?

You know you need, but do you know how many of your needs have already been fulfilled? Do you have any idea? A person who does not know the value of diamonds should not be sent to purchase diamonds. A person who does not know how to cook should not be sent to the vegetable market to choose the vegetables. It's very simple. A person who hates fruit should not be sent to pick the fruit out. A person who knows nothing about houses should not go shopping for houses. No value, no understanding. If you want to know in your life, because without knowing, how can you exist? Then you live in a world of total uncertainty. Everything becomes uncertain when you know. People struggle.

Who struggles? When you're driving and you think you're lost, what happens to your speed? It's an amazing little thing. It's an amazing little phenomenon. You're lost, you slow down. You know, you speed up. You struggle. In ignorance, a human being struggles because he's living in uncertainty. He's not certain about tomorrow. And when a human being is not certain about something, two things happen. Either the human being accepts that and says, I'm going to do something about it, or like most people, the human being makes up a story about tomorrow. And once the story has been made up, a human being will do anything to believe in that story, whatever it takes. But it's a story. And a story does not remove uncertainty.

Knowledge, knowing, understanding, these are the only things that can remove uncertainty from this life. So I can begin to then welcome what tomorrow is. Not what tomorrow brings, what tomorrow is. Because it is the beating of the drum of breath. And I want to be restless. To feel it again. To hear it again. And again, and again, and again. That's my truest wish. That's my sincerest wish. On one hand, I have a big long list of all the things on the outside. Yes, this would be nice, this would be nice, this would be nice, this would be nice, this would be nice, this would be nice. And all those things that I think would be nice may or may not happen. And my success and failure is not dependent upon those things, nor it can be dependent upon those things. My success and failure is my restlessness to listen to the drum of my breath.

That's my success. My yearning, my truest want, to feel alive. To feel alive. To feel this existence. To feel the blessing of my God. Come and touch me. Be given that. I want to be blessed again, and again, and again. I want to be dazzled by that miracle. I want to witness that. It's no uncertain terms. Existence is an incredible miracle. See, we think to us the miracle is when the milk comes out of the wall. Milk is coming out of the wall. This is funny. It really is. Because there is caveats in this milk coming out of the wall. One, the wall doesn't belong to you. Because if it's your living room, and milk is coming out of the wall, there's a problem. And when this kind of miracle happens where the milk is coming out of the wall, and it is your living room, you call an exorcist. Because this is not a miracle, this is possessed.

But when the wall is somebody else's, and not yours, then it's a miracle. Wow. And we think we know how to tell miracles. We think we know. When a miracle takes place, right under our nose, and we have no idea. Because people like to make up stories and believe in those stories. So somehow we can forget about what is happening now. Anything to forget what is happening. We contemplate. We say, I'm young, I'm old, I'm poor, I'm rich. And Sajja says one simple beautiful thing. That inside each one of us is the same thing. Inside each one of us is the same thing. The bodies are of different shape. Like a lamp. Giving out light will be the same. Whether the lamp is lit in a house of a beggar, house of a king, or house of a saint. Gives out the same light. No different.

We know about differences. We do not know about our incredible similarity. Incredible similarity. In this world, every human being wants to feel peace. In this world, every human being wants to feel joy. Doesn't matter what they call it. get caught in semantics. Every human being wants to feel love. Why? Because this is our nature. When we get tired of standing, we like to sit down. And if we can find a chair, fine. A bench, fine. A rock, fine. Grass, fine. Asphalt, fine. Sand, fine. A piece of wood, fine. And people get caught. Oh, but he's not really sitting. Because he's sitting on grass. That's not sitting. Sitting should be in a chair. So he's not really sitting. No, no, no, sitting is sitting.

When we get tired, we like to close our eyes and go to sleep. Why? Because this is our nature. I have seen it. I have seen it in cockpits. Sitting at 45,000 feet, going Mach decimal 85, 85% the speed of sound, thundering away. There you are over the North Atlantic, where so many airplanes and so many lives have been lost. But I have seen the best of them. Sitting there, quiet, at 45,000 feet, the hum of the engines. Mm, mm. Nobody to talk to, and I've seen them. And I have also seen them. And after doing that, wake up, look, and see me standing there. And like, pretend they're fine. So, you know, I fault them. I fault them. I still say to them, why you go back? And take a nap. 10 minutes, 15 minutes, you'll be fresh. I'll watch the airplane. No problem.

This is our nature. you understand that through logic, you cannot stop the feeling of wanting to know? Know that which will make you content. Truly content, not story content. Truly content. Because until that happens, you will have everything but satisfaction. You will have everything but peace. You will have everything but love. You will have everything but understanding. And those are the things you need. Those are the things you need. Every day, you need that. When you are hungry, you like to eat. When you're thirsty, you like to drink. This is your nature.

You think conquering your nature is the solution? You're wrong. Because that's what a lot of people think. I will conquer my nature. I will change it. How could you? I was watching a documentary in which said if the creation of Earth happened 24 hours, I was in millions of years ago, but if you make that 24 hours, that's creation of Earth, happened 24 hours ago, human beings have only been on the face of this Earth for 15 seconds. And you want to change? A little too young to change. I mean, we invented probably not even one second ago a device called a chair. And we're already fighting with it. We can't sit too long.

Why? Because we have a tailbone. You know from when? You know where our tailbone comes from? I wonder why it's called a tailbone. It happens to be at the end of the spine. And you're right there. You know why? Because we used to have a tail. You did? Now we have cell phones. And we think because we have cell phones, we never had a tail. Ask your chiropractor. Your cell phone has nothing to do with your tail. Bone is still there. Because we see all these advances. We see all these differences. We get all excited. We go, oh, we're so different now. No, you're not. What do you talk about on the cell phone? Anything new? Anything different? No? It's always, hello? Hello? Hello? You know when you used to say hello? As a kid, if you ever made that telephone out of cans and a string? You get it all the time. Hello? And you know you didn't need it. Because it wasn't that long. I thought you could see the other person. And you knew that it didn't work around the corner. It had to be straight. So you're looking at the other person. Hello? And then you're not sure. So you go, can you hear me? Can you hear me? And you're carrying on two conversations. One through this. Hello, hello, hello, hello. Can you hear me? Am I clear? Can you really hear me? And then the other one is through this can and this thread. So we think, well, Robert, we have changed. Look. Somebody gives us a piece of paper, says, now you are so-and-so. You're a doctor so-and-so. You're captain so-and-so. So I'm this. Now I'm this.

Somebody asked me this when I was in India. I did a TV show. National TV show. So the guy says to me, so who are you? What's your real name? I said, "me." Said, "No, no, no. What is your real name?" I said, "me. Me." Said, "No, no, no." What is in the passport? What is written in the passportt book?" "Okay, Prem Rawwat. Prem Rawat." I said, "Lino, really, it's me."

He looked at me. I said, let me give you an analogy. Let me clarify this for you. Obviously, you're having a hard time understanding me. So I clarified it for him. It's the analogy I gave. Imagine you're in a house. Everything is fine. Earthquake happens. House falls down. And now, you are buried in the rubble. But you're alive. And you hear a rescue party outside. What are you going to say? Help me. It's uncanny. Help me. All of a sudden, all the name disappears. It doesn't matter. You know, when you are in trouble, you're supposed to go SOS. And you know what that means? Save our souls. Not save so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so. No, just save us, please. We care who we are. Just save us. This is who you are.

You live in Europe. You have a place where you stay. You think you are free because you can come, you can go as you like. Last year, I was in a prison to talk to some people who have Knowledge. And there was quite a few people who hadn't had Knowledge but wanted Knowledge. So I went to see them. Beautiful, beautiful people, because they're people. They've done something wrong, obviously. That's why they're in prison. But I'm not there to judge them. The judge already did that. There was a judge. He judged them. He put them in prison. Done. And I didn't go there to free them from the prison. It wasn't a jailbreak. But I went there to show them the freedom inside of them. Because they still have it. Because the drum of the breath was still beating. And they should hear it. They should listen to it. They should awaken to it. This is how it should be.

Because that's the possibility. We think those guys are in jail. But they have to worry. ust think about this. Do a comparison. They have to worry about their housing. No rent to pay. Two, we always worry about our safety and security. They have very good security there. I was impressed. I mean, talk about security. It was amazingly unbelievable security. Something you have, they have. Food? You worry about food. They. Three square meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Every day. You have to go shopping for your food? Somebody else does the shopping, they bring it. It's amazing. And it's not about that. It's not about the food. It's not about the lodging. It's not about those things. It truly is about knowing the freedom inside. That's real freedom. Free to understand.

Are you free to understand? Or are you the slave of other people's ideas who prohibit you to understand anything else? Which one? Because if you're not free to understand, then you understand. You're not free. That's a good quote.

Are you free? Are you free to understand? Are you free to know? Are you part of a story, of a fairy tale that doesn't exist? Or are you part of a story? The times in life of you. In which there is no limit to appreciation. You see, when you cook, when you cook food, it is not about cooking. If you know how to cook food, it's all about cooking. But when you do know about cooking, the first thing you understand, it's not about cooking. It is about how can I make this taste wonderful? How can I bring the flavors of this dish out? It's totally different.

When you know about painting, it's all about painting. But when you know about painting, it's not about painting. It's about something else. It is about the dance of light. It's about the color. It's about the subtleties. It's about how it plays with your eyes. What can I put on this piece of paper? And what emotion will it spark? But when you know, that's what it is about. When you know how to appreciate, then it is, oh, you know, you appreciate life every day But it's not about that. When you really know about appreciation, it is to enjoy the uniqueness of every moment. Do you know every moment in your life is unique? Do you know that? Every moment in your life is unique. You will never have two alike, never. This is the science of living. When you begin to appreciate every moment, not by sitting there going, oh, there goes a moment. Uh-uh. To be ready for that moment before the moment comes. To have a heart so open, and an understanding so beautiful, and a yearning for appreciation so complete that when that moment comes, you see exactly what it is.

Because that is the only thing that is not fake. That's the way. Somebody says, you know, it's always, couples are always, do you love me? I was reading this joke book when, and they had a whole list of songs, country songs. Country songs in America, at least, tend to be very dramatic, you know. But this was jokes about that. So one of the songs, they said, top hit country song. How can I miss you if you won't leave me? So the protocols are, the other partner says, I love you. And you're supposed to say, I love you. But partner says, do you love me too? And you say, of course. And at that moment, your mind can be completely full of, I better turn off my computer, because I've got to go. Or you could be thinking of, man, I have to go to the bathroom. As soon as I hang up, I can't wait to go to the bathroom. But what comes out of the mouth? Oh, I love you too. Because this is the fantasy land. It is said I love without understanding. I understand without understanding. I know without knowing. And the subject of the infinite is dealt with by theories and lectures, when it is only the subject of feeling, not of words.

You do not need to live in a dream. That's what's beautiful about living. This is what's beautiful about living. You do not need to take your clues from a dream. That is what is beautiful about living. Only to close your eyes, only, to close them so that they can open in the land within. o rest in the most profound way. To come home for real, not in fantasy. To feel alive, not because somebody gave you permission to, but because you feel alive yourself. That you understand, that you're not borrowing somebody else's understanding, but you understand. That you understand and feel that this breath is a blessing because you have felt it, not because I said so. This is so beautiful. I know that the words alone are quite nice, but it's not about the words. It's to break through that wall of words and to go into its reality. Beautiful saying by Kabir,

… that I do not do rosary. My mouth does not chant anything. God does my meditation for me. And all I do is rest.

And when you say this in India, you get distinctly two reactions. Those who understand Knowledge, have Knowledge, practice Knowledge, enjoy Knowledge, they get a smile on their face. This is a cool, I mean, sitting from my perspective, it is so cool to see. They immediately start smiling because they know what I'm talking about. They know what Kabir is talking about. And those who do not have Knowledge, understand it, their jaws drop because one, now they have been placed in a very peculiar place. You see, there's a lot of people who have gone and done translation of Kabir and people read them. But the problem with it is that they have only picked stuff that suits their purpose. They pick up the stuff they understand, really. And so, therefore, you never see it. And this one, never seen translated, people get it. And then I say to them, I say, I can see it. Those of you who understand me, those of you who understand me. But the beauty is that those of you who do not understand me, can understand me. And I want you to be the one who does understand me. Because you can understand me. What is it? Another beautiful couplet.

That a drop resides in the ocean, everyone knows. But the ocean resides in a drop, only a few know. Think about that. A drop resides in the ocean, everyone knows. But the ocean resides in the drop, only a very few know.

I want you to be the very few who do know. And who's the drop? And what is the ocean? You're the drop. Me, you, we're the drops. And within us, resides the ocean. Not words, but when you can feel that ocean inside of you, then you will know. Then you understand, then it's clear. Then that's how it should be. Then all is correct and all is right. And then you feel alive. And you have to wait for spring to come. Even in the dead of winter, in poverty, I know, you know? I know.

Somebody asked me a question. He said, I'm poor, I'm uneducated, and I'm old. You think I can feel this peace? Now at first, you tend to dismiss what it really means. dismiss tears. Just think of it. In the fairy story, it says that if you are poor, you are no one. See, to you, it may sound, oh, this man, poor man. No, no, this is very serious. This is extremely serious. Because if you think about it, he has put three strikes against himself. He says, I'm poor, not rich, because I'm poor. My life means nothing. That's serious. Who came up with that story? Who came up with that story? I'm uneducated. I have no possibilities. I'm uneducated. I have no possibilities. And I'm old. I'm weak. And when the question was first asked to me, I was like, oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Of course you can feel this. Then I was thinking about this, thinking, thinking, thinking. Oh, my God. This man has been reading the wrong story. But you know what's dangerous? You know what's dangerous? It's the same story that was told to us, too. And we fear those three things, like this man does. Three things. ou fear, he fears. He doesn't wanna get old. You wanna get old. You want to be perceived as uneducated. And you dread being poor. And you thought this man was so far away from you? No. He was told the same story, and he bought it. You were told the same story, and you bought it. It's a fantasy.

What hope does a person have who lives in prison? What hope does this person have? But every day that this person sits down and accepts the gift of life, his whole life is filled with hope. And it's not about the story. It's about reality. About reality. This is how you should be too. Not about a story. Because you're not about a story. You're alive. Feel that blessing come in your life. Feel your God come in your life every time. Listen to the drum of that breath and dance to it. Be excited because you're alive today. Inside. Understand. This is not about conquering frustration.

That's what people think. Oh, yeah, so then if a person does all this they'll like… You can go right up to them and say your flight is not going to leave and they're going to stay completely composed. It's not about that. It's not about that. Bring a dog along and tell the dog, flight's not going to take off. And what will the little dog do? Be perfectly happy. You think that's what it's about? This is why you should leave everything and go on to sit on top of a Himalayan mountain. So that you can be just like that dog. I'm going to jail today. Perfectly happy. You can tell that dog, we're going to put you to sleep tonight. He's like, let's go do it. Will it be fun? Let's go do it. That's not the point of existence. Neither is it to become Superman.

The point of existence is that this beautiful painting that God has created called you and I to view it in the most beautiful way. In the most beautiful way. And only when that is happening in your life, in your existence, can you remotely even begin to say that you are alive. So yes, spring has come. But now you need to let the spring come in your life. The seasons go through every year. Season of life comes. So the spring is going to come. Are you going to let that spring come in your life? To bloom. To bloom. With certainty. With reality. With opportunity. Not a thought of tomorrow, but a yearning. Tomorrow again.

I can be fulfilled as I am, as I am, not by my faults, but by strength. Not by what I know, but what I am. It's a beautiful little journey. Going around, going around, going around. Got a lot of events to do. I've already done, you know, 30 odd events in India. A few here and there. Still many more to go. Most people want their events on weekends, but there's only 52 weekends in a year. Not everybody will get their events on weekends. There is a fire in the air. It's good. It's good. Let the good things happen. Let people awaken.

More people that can find that reality within them. The joy is the reward. The joy is the gift. So, no fantasy, but a reality. And reality is more beautiful than any imagined fantasy. So it was great fun to be able to come to Hamburg, to be able to do this event. And I hope that more and more events will happen. And they are. They are being looked at, put together. And it's a beautiful, beautiful journey. So thank you very much and enjoy yourselves. Thank you.