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What I talk about is so incredibly simple that, when we try to look at it from our complicated ways, we totally miss it. What I address is not an invention. It's not as though last night I had a fantastic dream in which I came up with a new way of making everybody a billionaire. This is not an invention of a pot that will cook without heat or a bulb that will light without electricity.
We are always looking for shortcuts, and these shortcuts start to become our miracles. They become a way to break free—to reach out for dreams that are more fantastic than we could ever imagine.
Fortunately, reality is more beautiful than any of my dreams. The thirst I have within me is simple and real. It is a thirst for the water I already have within me. This is the beauty of what I address. I'm sure you've gone to seminars or lectures or listened to them on that magic box called the television. It is amazing. Somebody is always trying to sell you something even though you don't need it.
I travel the world and tell people what they already have. Society isn't set up for that.
In our lives, how long do we continue living on what we don't have when what we do have is amazing? What do we have? Let's begin with the simplest of things. Let's begin with breath. Breath is amazing. It comes one at a time—not a hundred or fifty at a time, but one at a time. It touches you and brings you this thing called existence. Because you exist, you are an uncle, a father, a mother. You see green and blue and yellow and purple. You care about summer. You prepare for winter. Because you exist, you can say, "I love you." Because you exist, you can say, "I hate you." Because you exist, you can say, "I need you." Because you exist, you can say, "I adore you." It is all because you exist—compliments of the breath that comes and fills you again and again and again without judgment.
In our lives, in our societies, we are judged, and we return the favor by judging everything mercilessly. Because we are judged, we judge right back in return. We judge so much that we can judge even when we're asleep. We don't even need to be awake. Every day we judge: good/bad, right/wrong. "This is terrible. This could be different. Why is it this way?"
You've heard of the word "gift." The gift of breath redefines the word. It does not come packed, tied with a silly ribbon. It comes openly to you. All you need to do is to be aware of your existence. You are alive and this thing called breath is coming into you. All you need to do is to be conscious that you are surrounded by the most precious gifts. These gifts are being given. Take them. Take them and keep them.
There is a thirst that is not for water, but for something else inside of you. The question is: How apparent is it? It needs to be incredibly apparent before you will take any action. This is not a thirst for water or for soda. It is the thirst for peace, for contentment.
This is your existence. This is your life. It is unique and you are here. There are three laws that existence follows: you weren't, you are, and one day you won't be.
The magic of existence is in the middle where you exist. That's where you can feel. That's where you can understand. That's where the possibility exists to take on the challenge of fulfilling one's self. Not on the outside, not in this world. It is on the inside.
In your darkest hour there is a candle, and the candle is lit. If you want proof, take a breath. There is your proof. The candle is lit, and even in your darkest hour, you do not need to experience the darkness. Even in those moments where there is pain and suffering, there is a place inside of you that dances and expresses joy. In the middle of sadness, there is joy. How appropriate.
For a lot of people, the formula for bringing light into their lives is to remove the darkness. It doesn't work like that. You cannot take a bucketful of darkness and throw it out the window. Try the other way—just bring in the light, and the darkness will automatically leave. In the middle of mayhem, in the middle of a fiasco, there is clarity. There is a rhythm that is so amazing, so sweet. Again and again it has knocked on your door and asked you to let it through.
In our adult lives, we get quite busy. What does "busy" really mean? While we are redefining things, let's redefine "busy." Being busy is another way of ignoring something. Sometimes we use those words when somebody asks us to do something we don't want to do. We say, "I am busy." True, you are busy, but doing what? You are busy ignoring that thirst, busy ignoring the call of this heart.
Liking joy is not something I learned from anybody. It is something my Creator placed so fundamentally within me, within you. Nobody taught me how to laugh, and nobody taught me how to fall in love with laughter.
There is something so fundamental inside of me that wants to be busy enjoying. The good news is I can be. A lot of people have the misconception that, if you want peace in your life, you have to hand over everything you have. You do not.
There is only one place left where you can have true peace, and it happens to be inside of you. That's the good news. You don't have to give up anything. All you have to do is turn within.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
In a world where so much is going on—where there are so many issues, ideas, inventions, and technology—why am I talking about peace? I talk about peace, not as an option in life, not as something that would be nice to have, but as a fundamental feeling we all need to feel every day we awaken, every day we exist. When I say "we," what I'm talking about is each one of us—despite our barriers or differences.
We begin to believe in our differences. Sometimes when I am piloting an airplane, I make an announcement, just for fun, that just below you can see the border between two countries. Amazingly enough, people start to look. The world teaches us differences and we begin to believe in them. "You are from this country, and you are from that country. You speak this language, and you speak that language. You like this, and you like that." We forget that the fundamental thing that drives us all is the same. We forget that we may be speaking different languages, but what we are saying is exactly the same. "I am thirsty" can be said in many languages. It means exactly the same thing.
When the desire for peace is fundamental to each one of us, should it be such an alien thing? The question isn't whether we want peace. The question is: Do we feel the thirst for peace? The question isn't whether the treasure exists. The question is: Has it been discovered? Once the thirst for peace is understood in a human being's life, that person will look for water, for peace. They will look within.
I see thousands of labels in this world, and I don't know why they are there. Many labels were put on things way before I was born. People believe in them. Nobody questions these labels. When people hear that the definition of peace is the absence of war, they say, "Yes, that's true." There is a war that rages on inside a human being that is far more ferocious than any war on the outside. This war continues way past the cease-fires. The outside war is the manifestation or the reflection of the war within. We have a sense of imbalance, but we don't recognize what is causing it.
I have to acknowledge what I need in my life. If I want peace, I have to acknowledge it. I have to say to myself, in the simplest of words, "Yes, I feel the thirst for peace." I can use fancy words to impress other people, but I cannot use fancy words to impress myself. If I want to impress me, I have to speak the truth. Maybe to the world, truth is a scary word, but truth is what the heart wants to hear. That thirst needs to be quenched. Peace is what the heart needs to feel.
The world descends upon me and says, "You should be this; you should be that." Who just tells me, "You are alive, you exist"? Is that too simple? As soon as my alarm clock goes off in the morning, thoughts come about all the things I have to do.
We keep forgetting what is important. Does not the journey to peace begin with the acknowledgement—in earnest—of those simple things we keep forgetting? The gratitude for life. The gratitude for this existence. The gratitude to be.
Why is this important? It is important because it is the only way you can find your balance. Without that, our life is not balanced. On one side is a simple breath, and on the other side are disproportionate problems.
Look around you. The dissatisfaction you see on the outside lines up with incredible satisfaction on the inside. The poverty you see on the outside lines up with incredible richness on the inside. The doubt you see lines up with amazing clarity on the inside.
When we begin to acknowledge that peace is inside of us, there will begin to be a difference. The day that becomes an earnest truth for us, not just a passing fancy, we can start to feel at peace.
Where does it begin? It begins with acknowledgment. It begins with understanding. Where does it end? Hopefully, it ends with quenching the thirst that you have discovered within you.
What kind of thirst is that? It is a thirst for the water that also lies within you. The completeness is so incredible. Maybe you have never heard of anything like that before. Both the elements are within you. Both the thirst and the water that will quench the thirst are within you. Joy is within you, and the want for joy is within you. It is by looking through the glasses of simplicity that we can even begin to understand this. What you are looking for is within you. There is nothing to buy, nothing to conquer. There is only something to acknowledge.
I hope that, whatever happens in your life, you find peace within you. It is there, and the thirst for it is there. I look at it in a very simple way. I have traveled around the world, and I know a lot of people see a lot of different things. I see something very simple. I see people. Every human being has the right to be fulfilled.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
I'd like to talk about something very simple—the story of every human being. This story is quite interesting because it definitely has some action, some drama. Sometimes there is comedy, sometimes a little tragedy. That makes it interesting. So, what is the story? I don't have to tell it. You already know it because it is your story. It's about you, not about me. It is not about a king, a lion in the jungle, or a little mouse. It's about you.
As long as breath comes into you, as long as you are alive, the story is not finished. It is still evolving. At least one part of its evolution depends upon you. Some people say, "I am bound by destiny. Whatever happens in this world, I'm not responsible for it. Whatever I do, somebody up there is pulling the strings and I am dancing—I'm a puppet."
I'm not going debate that because it would be pointless. What is not pointless is that a certain part of the story is dependent upon you. You control the outcome of part of the story—not all of it, maybe, but a certain part of it.
The part of the story you control is about real joy, happiness, contentment. It is also about recognition and about looking within and finding answers to the questions that you may not yet even have asked.
This story begins with you: "Once there was a living, breathing, unique person." There is no one like you. There may be someone with the same hairstyle or someone who has the same clothes, but there is no one who smiles the way you do when you are happy. No one can smile like you. No one can be thankful quite like you. It is your expression of gratitude, of joy, that makes you unique. You have been given your own palette of expression. Even if a person doesn't want to, they express. You don't have to know a person's life history to see that they are sad. You don't have to know about the person's life history to see that they are happy, and you don't even have to see a person's teeth to see that they are smiling. You can look in their eyes and see the expression of joy.
What we feel inside, we can express. What can we feel? We can feel the ultimate contentment; we can feel peace. This is what we have the capacity to feel. Therein lies the reality of what is possible.
All these things point to the beauty within you that is waiting to shine. You recognize beauty because you are familiar with beauty. You understand joy because you are familiar with joy. These things are not unknown to you. What do we do in our lives? We ignore. We ignore what is real and we ignore what the heart is saying. No one tells us, "This should be your priority." Everything else is our priority.
Here is an analogy. You are going on a long journey through the desert, and you have done a very good job of packing. You have packed clothes, shoes, a little tent, and food. You have even packed a little hat with a solar fan to keep you cool. You have already packed fifteen suitcases of things.
Then I come along. You are very proud of everything you have done. Everything you have packed shows meticulous planning. Then I ask, "Did you pack some water?" People have different reactions to this. Some say, "Thank you. Thank you for reminding me to bring water. In making this incredible list and being so immaculate in packing, I completely forgot." They pack some water and they have a great journey.
In this life, keep it simple. Keep it real. Keep it so you can walk with pride every day and not be burdened with so much unnecessary stuff that you carry with you.
In this life, we need to stand on our own feet. We need to stand proud because we are alive. We need to stand straight, not hunched over by the burdens we have accumulated. Of all the things we need to pack, we need to pack that which is essential, and we need to know what is essential.
Let me take water wherever I go so that, when I am thirsty, I will be able to drink and quench my thirst. Let me take food with me wherever I go so that, when I am hungry, I can eat and satisfy my hunger. Let me take an umbrella with me so that, when it is hot, I can open it and sit in the shade and rest a while.
Understand in your life the meaning of being alive. Then understand the need of your heart to have peace in this life. Peace, you need. A story is being written. My suggestion is that you start writing it, because it is going to be written whether you write it or not.
Why not have a beautiful, happy ending to this story? It's your pen. Change the tragedies. Joy? Give it more. Humor? Give it as much as you want. It's your story.
It's up to you. Peace, you need. Ask your heart. Your heart will tell you. This is what the heart has been saying since you were very small. You have ignored it, but you don't need to. I am here to remind you about that.
Some people wonder, "If I attain peace, will I still love my family?" Of course. Some people think that, to attain peace in this life, you have to give up everything. No. You don't have to give up everything. All you have to give up is your sadness, your hate. All you have to give up are things you don't want. If you really want them, you can still keep them and have peace, because peace is not an absence of something. Peace is very real in itself.
The main thing is that you need to have peace in your life. Write the story right. The person who is going to read it is you. Make it good; make it interesting; make it real. Make this breath count. Make this day count. Make this life count. It is a gift unparalleled.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life | Permalink
