Maharaji in Vancouver 2006-05-24

Maharaji in Vancouver, Fill This Heart, Massey Theatre, May 24, 2006 CD SAL-001-C

It's been a long time since I have been in Vancouver, but I'm here to offer this evening to talk about that one simple thing that dwells in the heart of every human being. I'm not here to pretend I know everything, but what little I do know, I know that we all have been blessed. This is not about comparing one life to another life. This is not about saying to someone, you have this, but I have this. This is about looking at your existence, your life, unrelated to everything else. Just you. That's how you came. That's how you exist. And one day when the time comes, that's how you must exit.

We look at our relationships, we look at our accomplishments, we look at our responsibilities, and this is how we judge. This is how we judge who we are. Who are we? What are we? One moment, we can be sitting in our living rooms, be the virtual emperor of the world. And the other moment, just like that, unanticipated, we could feel smaller than a little ant. And there is no road, no gate, no light, no speed bump between the two. Not even a little sign of caution, hey, you're entering into bad territory. No, it's just you're there, and boom, you're on the other one. If there is something to be learned from the bad, if there could be anything like that, then learn about your frailty. That you are fragile. That there is a need for you to be in that center. There is a need for you to understand every day. There is a need for you to be in clarity every single day. This you will only learn from your frailty. Very well established this, that when the good times come, we become blind to all the needs that we really have. When the good times come, it's like I did this, I accomplished this, I did that, I did that, and I've been doing this, and I did that, and I've got to go do this, and I'm busy, and I'm needed, and I'm this, and I'm that, and da-da-da-da-da.

But in frailty, you learn a lot of things. The 14th century poet goes that who truly your friends are, it is in that time you find out. Not before. How supportive your religion is, that's when you find out. In the times of trouble. And how patient you truly are. You know, people think they're patient. I'm patient, I'm patient. But in the times of trouble, that's when you really, really find out how patient you are. So all that bad has something good to offer. And that something good is for you to walk this life with eyes wide open, not closed. With consciousness. With understanding what each breath brings you. It's amazing. The most priceless gift, the most priceless gift that cannot be transferred, you cannot give that gift to somebody else.

The gift of this breath. Given in such abundance. And yet, most people, in whom this breath comes and goes, have little understanding about it. We breathe. The only time we think about it is if we have been running. That's it.

It never comes in twos, it never comes in threes, it only comes once at a time. And the other time we worry about it is when it stops coming. So what does it mean? What does this breath mean? What does it mean for you to be here on this earth? What does it mean to be alive? There's such a misconception of being alive. People take, this is my life. People have their job, they have their family, they have their car, they have their cat. They have their dog. Their pet chinchilla, their pet raccoon, whatever it is. Snakes, lizards. And this is my life. Is it? Is it? All my responsibilities, that is my life. Is it? Because when that all starts to change, what am I saying? When it all starts to change, will it change? You want it to change. Will it change? Of course it will change. And when it changes, what happens? You go, I understand this. Why is this changing? It can be one little piece of information. It can be one little news. The doctor calls you up and says, oh by the way, you're dying. That's a wrong number. The doctor says, you're dying. It wouldn't be the first time doctors have made a mistake. But the doctor calls you up and says, you're dying. You didn't know that? What do you need? Evidence? Ever driven around a graveyard? All those people who are lying there have a message for you.

This will happen to you too. I'm not here to dictate to you the good or bad. No, no. I'm just trying to tell you the nature, your nature, my nature, the very nature that we live in. This is how it is. I'm not here to talk to you about what is not. I'm here to talk to you about what is. I was just talking with someone and I was giving them an example that you could be in the middle of a desert, desert, and for thousands and thousands of square miles or kilometers of sand.

Nothing grows, hot sand. And then there's this one place where there's a little spring. And for that little blade of grass that is growing next to the spring, it is not about the hundred thousand kilometers of desert. It is not. It is about this one inch diameter little spring from which the cool crisp water flows. It is not about all the things that we know. It is not about speculation. It is not about what will happen to us after we die. Because that is still being speculated on. People still argue about it. But it is about this lifetime that we have. It's about this existence that we have. It is about this blessing that we have. We look for miracles. We want a miracle. But we have no eye for a miracle. We know what a miracle is.

We think a miracle is when milk starts coming out of the walls. And we think that's a miracle. Wow, look, milk is coming out of walls. There's a caveat. So far that wall is not in our house, especially in our bedroom. Can you imagine if the bedroom walls, just the milk started pouring out? Immediately you'll call an exorcist. This is wrong. But if the milk is coming out in the neighbor's house, a miracle. And we think we understand what a miracle is. We think we know what a miracle is. But we.

Because if we did, then we would understand that the coming and going of this breath is a miracle. That our existence on the face of this earth is a miracle. This is the miracle. When you see another human being, that's a miracle. When you see yourself, that's a miracle. When you understand, that's a miracle. When you feel peace, that's a miracle. When you feel joy, that is a miracle.

When you feel clarity, that is a miracle. When you feel love, that's a miracle. When you feel good, that's a miracle. A real miracle. Because it's in the simplicity. It is in the simplicity that God resides. It is in the simplicity that the peace resides. It is in the simplicity that your heart wants to dance. Not in the complicated. Not in the arguments. Not in the arguments. For those who are in love with this existence, there is no argument. There is no argument. Those who have no idea what this existence is all about, all there is is argument. Because their whole understanding is based on fiction, not reality.

The other day, I turned on the TV. There was a documentary on. It said, yeah, and they were talking about this. Hell is just outside of Jerusalem. And I was like, what? This dreaded place that nobody wants to go to is just outside of Jerusalem? And when I was in Israel, my driver said, please come to Jerusalem. I went to Tel Aviv. He said, it's a short drive. Just come to Jerusalem. I said, no. Take me to the airport. I have to leave. And he goes, come on. You know, it's just a short drive to Jerusalem. And I went, oh, God, thank God I didn't go to Jerusalem. Hell is right outside.

And what they were talking about, the description of hell, of kind of where it began from, was this place where it was just horrible. Smoke, people would throw their fire there, their garbage there, all the stuff. Uncooked food, not used food, rotting, things and creatures crawling around. And probably from the historian's perspective, that's kind of where the idea started. Hell. And then they showed pictures of it now. And it's very beautiful. I mean, it's like a park. I guess they had so many tourists coming to see the hell that they kind of cleaned up the place and, you know, planted trees and nice grass and things like that. And so where's heaven? I mean, I have seen advertisements of places that say God's own country. I thought this everywhere was God's own country. So, see, fiction, reality. There is a hell. It's not fiction. That hell is inside of you. And it's painful. And yes, it's full of leeches. And it stinks. Absolutely. And it's dark. And when you're there, you want to be there.

And yes, there is a heaven. Of course, there is a heaven. And that heaven is inside of you. And it's a nice place. Hell, you get tired of real quick. People have come to me and people have said, I feel like I'm always confused. I'm so sick and tired of the confusion. Nobody has ever come to me and said, I'm just so happy and I'm just so sick and tired of being happy all the time. I just can't stand it. Can you fix it for me where I'm not happy anymore? Nobody goes to a temple to say, God, too much. You know, you've given me too much. No more. No more Mercedes. No more Rolls Royces. No more houses. I've had enough. No, people go and say, please give me another one. Fiction, reality.

Can we learn to live in fiction? Of course we can learn to live in fiction. And we do. And pretty soon, the line between believe and know starts to get blurred. What do you know? Not what you believe. What do you know? What do you know? What I believe. I go around the world.

I see people. They have their beliefs. They do. There are people who say, no, no, no. You got to pray to the God. That's it. Period. Then the other ones, no, no, no, no, no. You know, for this thing, you have to pray to this God. For this thing, you have to pray to this God. For this thing, you have to pray to this God. For this thing, you have to pray to this God. What do you know? No. A bridge you can put both feet on, not just, it's nice. Because bridges are not for looking. They're for traversing, untraversable chasms, gorges. That's what bridges are for. So if your bridge in your life is just for looking, I guess there's no harm. But it's a waste of time. The deepest gorge is the gorge of ignorance. The deepest gorge. And across this gorge, you need a bridge. And this bridge needs to be solid. Not something that sways. Not made out of paper mache. Something that can hold your weight. Your weight. Because you're the one who needs to walk across it. That's what knowing is. Not ideas. Not philosophies. Not saying, well, so-and-so said this, so it must be true. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Your mother may have been a wonderful cook, but that didn't mean that she didn't burn food. Your mother may have been a wonderful cook, but that didn't mean that you loved broccoli. The taste of the food is when the food is put in your mouth. Not by who made it. Not for how long it cooked. Not when it was made. Oh, it's fresh. So? If it's fresh junk, what difference does it make? You put that food in your mouth. You taste. It doesn't matter. No repertoires of introduction need to be given. And it's just, this person, what this person, what you're about to eat is going to be good because so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so-and-so made it. And you put it in your mouth, you go, that's junk. Oh, no, no, it's not junk. You know who made it? It's not about that.

It's about what you know. What is clear, what is obvious in your understanding, in your life. It is not about all that desert. It is about that little spring. Because for that one little blade of grass, it has made it possible for it to be there. All that sand isn't doing that. It's not that sand that is doing that. It is that little spring that is doing that. It is that little spring that is making that possible. In your life, it is not about what that does not exist, but about what does exist. And what exists? Then let me tell you what exists. This breath exists. And inside of you, the infinite well of serenity, of good, of peace, the real peace. That in the middle of the battlefield, you can feel the feeling that resides within you. That in the middle of a conflict, you have serenity. That in the middle of the darkness, you have light inside of you. That every day, God comes and blesses you. And that you feel alone, you never should. For that beauty has made a house within you. Not somewhere else. Within you.

This is where I'll be. This is where we'll both be. You and I. Let's see. Let's see. Let's feel. Let's understand. Let's enjoy. Enjoy. To fill this heart, to fill the cup inside, not with sorrow, but to fill the cup inside with joy, with gratitude, with understanding, with clarity. This is the possibility. This is the possibility of being alive. Not a debate. Not a question. Not a theory. Not a philosophy. But something real. As real as the water. As real as the food that satisfies my hunger. As real as the water that quenches my thirst. As real as the bed that I lie on and fall asleep. As real as the awakening.

Awakening every day. As my day begins, as I arise, as I look, as I see, as I feel, my understanding. One step at a time. One step. Not two. Not three. Not four. One. Beginning with my clarity. Could it be that that's life? Not the dog. Not the cat. Not the lizard. Not the toilet that always overflows, unless you treat it right. Not the oven that's mismarked when it says 280 degrees. It's really 560. Not the car that has its own mind of when it's going to start and not start. Not the garage door that with the remote has to be pointed a certain way before it will actually open. But do you know, could life be that? Could life be so simple? No pretenses. When all is well, it is easy to pretend. Now everything is great, and everything is fine, and everything is just beautiful. And then comes the dring, dring. Hello? Yeah, this is your doctor speaking. I have some bad news for you. Are you sitting down? What, what? What, what is right? What, what? Uncertainty? Right around the corner? And for someone who understands, in that uncertainty, it is in its own place, because there is always a certainty that is in its own place. That even in that, there is no mixing. There is a fiction, and there is a reality. And the reality, even in that moment, is that I am alive. So simple. I say this from my experience.

I talk to so many people. They write to me, and they say, you know, I've been diagnosed with this, or I've been diagnosed with that, and I have a very few days left, and I want to talk to you. And I meet them. And I, I know if it would be appropriate or not. I always tinker this within my head. What should I say to them? And invariably, every time I am face to face with them, I say, how are you? How are you? How are you? And a slight twist. Have you ever asked yourself that? How are you? How are you? Not somebody else asking, or not you asking someone else, how are you, how are you, how are you, how are you, but how are you? How has it been? What have you learned? What was the last crop like? Was it good? You are a farmer. Whether you like it or not, you're a farmer. And whether you like it or not, you are always sowing seeds. And just like the nature of the seeds, they grow. And the question is, how was the crop? Was it good? Were you happy with it? Will it remove your hunger? Is that what you wanted? Or was it a lot of weeds with a few grains here and there of actual food? And if it was, then know that those seeds came from your own hands. No one else's.

And if it wasn't good, no problem. I'm not here to say, oh, that's a problem. Oh my God, you had a bad crop. Oh, that's it. No, no. I'm here to tell you, if you weren't happy with that crop, sow another one. Why not? What's stopping you? Sow another one. And this time, make sure the seeds in your hands are the right ones. That's what consciousness is all about. That's yeah. Before you say, yeah. Nothing is so certain. You have the opportunity again and again as the day comes. And as the day is telling you, try again. Go ahead. That's why life is a wonderful teacher. That's why life is a wonderful teacher. It doesn't say, you flunked. That's it. No. It says, let's try again. Let's try again. And again. And again. Till we get it right. Get it right. Where it feels good.

Where the bridge is solid. And to walk. Not in myth and mystery. But to walk. Take a foot. And to know before you take that step on that bridge. It is. It is solid. Ever before you set one foot on it. With confidence. With a smile. Confidence. And you know. When you know, you have confidence. And when you have confidence, you smile. It's okay. Because you know. You take a baby. Toss them in the air. They like it. But the first time, it's like, the baby doesn't know. The baby doesn't know. It's like, ahh. And you're smiling because you do know. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. But when the baby gets to know, what happens? Again. Again. Again. And the father or whoever is tossing is like, oh, my hands are getting tired. But no. Again. Because it is fun. Not the first time. First time is like, ahh. Are you gonna catch me? I know. That is, I know. Life should be again. Again. Again. Again.

Not, ahh. What is this? People go. I've seen people go in God's house. I'm in God's house, you know. I'm not gonna do anything wrong. I'm not gonna do anything right. I'm gonna walk down properly here, you know. God is watching. I'm in his house. He's watching. What do I do? Because there is a house. And it's really God's house. And that house is in you. Truly God's house. Beautiful house.

Have you established a connection with that beauty that is inside of you? If you haven't, every day is gonna be ahh. And when you have, it will be again. Again. Again. And again. Possibilities, possibilities, possibilities. You exist, be fulfilled too. You exist and because you exist you can be fulfilled. If you were not existing you could not be fulfilled. I couldn't talk to you, you couldn't talk to me, this would not be a happening thing. But because you exist, distinctly there is a possibility of being fulfilled. Peace is a reality. It's not a fiction. It's not a bunch of things happen, that's peace. A lot of people think peace is when you walk over to your neighbor, you know, the neighbor is just there, come on, and when everybody takes their door locks off, that's peace. They think that peace is when you're speeding along the highway, the officer pulls you up and say, and can I help you get there faster? You see, peace, the quest for peace has been around for as far back as people go. In peaceful times it has been talked about, in times of war it has been talked about.

In conflict it has been talked about, in peacetime it has been talked about. But seemingly it was peacetime, still peace was being talked about. Good times it was talked about, bad times it was talked about. Peace. Some people think peace is on top of mountains. Some people go, they get to a nice place, oh it's so peaceful. I've seen that. People go, you know, near the edge of the water, someplace in Australia, oh it's so peaceful. Take a few steps in there, Jaws himself is waiting. I mean, they're probably in there looking at everybody going, no, that one doesn't look good. They get, there's abundance of sharks and abundance of people. It's like, no, that one, no, skip him. Let's go for that one. That one looks good. He's just had a good meal and he looks good. That's not what it is. People think, oh, if I renounce everything, I will have peace. Have you noticed people who renounce everything must announce it? I get it, but it's like, they must announce they have renounced. Everybody has to know every day, I've renounced, I've renounced, I've renounced, I've renounced, I've renounced, I have not renounced announcing I have renounced, but I've renounced everything else. So what have you renounced? What have you renounced? Thoughts come, thoughts go. Thoughts come, thoughts go. Ideas come, ideas go. Could be doing this, could be doing that. I wish, I wish.

You know, I was talking about the prison. Think about this. This is kind of curious, absurd, almost absurd, curious. We all spend so much money securing our premises, our house, but these guys have got serious security in prison. Nobody's coming in. They have armed guards, huge walls, alarms, bells, whistles, everything. I wonder if that makes them feel more secure. I think so. Then there's people wondering where their next meal is gonna come from. Well, they have to worry about that. They're gonna get three square meals a day. Then there are people who are wondering when we're gonna sleep tonight, but these guys have to worry about that. In fact, they'll be forced into their place where they have to sleep tonight. They have to worry about running water. A lot of the things that we run around for, they've got it, but that's not what makes it good. That's not what makes it good. One day, I was sitting there, thinking, especially after the prison, I was like, oh my god, so many things that we work to secure, they've got it, secured, guaranteed for X amount of years. No other way. The government would have it no other way. They want to get out. That's all they think about, out, out, out, out.

And we think, oh, security, I want to be secure, I want to make sure my food comes from somewhere, my housing, my this, my that. And then the whole process of going back and forth in this wheel, we forget who we are, our humanity, our existence. Security has to be that that bridge is secure, that'll take us across that chasm. That's the reality. For you, for me, it's no different. That's the little that I know. That's the little I know. I'm here. I'm alive. One day I have to go. It's not about the one day I have to go that I care about. It is the day today that I care about today. I care about today. You should care about today too. That's what you'll get. That's what you will get. If you do decide to find that beauty within, good. If you decide not to, it'll still be there. It's not going to go away. It'll still be there. You just won't know it. That's the difference of knowing. That's the difference of knowing. So know if you can in this life.

Because of all the things you could do, there's this that you can do too. If you want to really explore a frontier that has never been explored before, then within is the final frontier. Undiscovered. More infinite, some say, than the space. Deeper than the deepest ocean. Within all of you. That's what I do. Go around and those who are interested, they can pursue this more. It's possible. A lot of people, the first excuse, it's not possible. Okay? It's not possible. But for me, it became a possibility. Somebody showed me and it was real. You can gamble. Uncertainty is not possible. Or know that it is. Thank you very much for coming this evening and I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful existence. Thank you. Good night.