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Recently I was driving in very thick fog. We had to drive slowly because the fog was so dense, we couldn't see very far ahead. We were on a winding road going uphill, and soon the fog had completely shrouded everything from view. It was like soup. It reminded me of what happens to us. When the fog comes, it obscures our vision. It stops us from seeing what we need to see to proceed on this path of life.
This is important because we have but one life. This life is everything. It doesn't help to make comparisons between my life and other people's lives, or to compare today with yesterday. I exist. I am alive. I need to understand my own passion, what my heart is telling me—in each moment, to be quiet enough so I can begin to hear what my heart is trying to tell me.
The world is a big place. A lot is going on, and many things call to me: "Do this; do this; do this." Other things disguise themselves as fun, and they call to me too: "This is fun. Do this; do this; do this."
But my life, my time, my existence is not about fun. It is about feeling contentment. It is about feeling joy. These are the needs of every human being. These are our desires, above and beyond everything else. How cleverly they get disguised.
What is true accomplishment? What is true reality? What is beyond the fog? When I woke up the next morning, the fog had lifted, and it was the most gorgeous sunrise you could possibly imagine. The light was incredible. What a contrast it was from fog to clarity, from what I couldn't see to what I could see.
People talk about noise pollution and air pollution, but there is another pollution. It's called thought pollution. We are constantly being bombarded by thoughts. It is so easy to allow yourself to get sucked into that river, just going with the flow. "Yes. This is important; that's important."
Yet everything will change. Nothing is exempt from the touch of change. Time has watched Earth being made. It has watched it cool down and watched the oceans appear. It has infinite patience. It has watched everything change and change and change.
Somehow, the human being was created and given the ability to feel. Of all the things I can feel, I can feel joy; I can feel peace. And I have in this life the possibility of not being affected by all the changes.
Without a worry about tomorrow or yesterday, I can feel fulfilled. When that fulfillment is there, it is timeless. Everything else is bound by time.
Most fortunate are those who say, "What I need to do today is to be in peace." For them no explanation is needed. They understand the possibility that they can be content.
Life is not a conflict. It's this beauty that is dancing for you. Witness this most marvelous dance. Witness the surprise. Witness the most amazing thing that will ever be. In your day, whatever else you do, be fulfilled. It is possible.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
Translated from Hindi
When I talk about peace, many people ask, "What peace?" They don't understand the peace I am talking about. I'm not talking about a peace that has to be manufactured. I'm talking about a peace that has always been within us ever since we were born and will always be within us for as long as we live, until our last breath.
I am talking about you—personally. You are the one who experiences joy. You are the one who experiences pain. You cannot give your pain to someone else. And the joy that you experience cannot be experienced by anyone else, no matter who that person is.
Everyone's joy in this world is different. Everyone's joy is individual. When you feel hungry, it's you who feels that feeling. When you eat, that fulfillment, that satisfaction, comes to you. Another person can think about it, but the experience of hunger being satisfied can only be had by the one who is hungry.
It's a question of appreciation. In ancient times, when cities were constructed, it was essential that they be near a lake or river where water was available, because people realized the value of water. Water was needed for farming, to make bread, to grow food. A person needs water to drink, to take a bath, to wash, to put out a fire. Because people understood the importance of water, they acknowledged it. I ask people, "Have you ever thought about the water of peace that you desperately need?"
Many people say that if you want peace you must go to a mountaintop and become a hermit. Others say you can't have peace because you have to fulfill your responsibilities.
I'm not talking about sacrificing anything. Someone said to me, "I have a family. I have children. If I leave them, they won't be able to do anything." I said, "You don't need to escape your responsibilities—look after them as well as you possibly can. However, within you is a treasure of peace. No matter what is happening, no matter how much pain there is in your life, don't forget that the peace you're looking for is within you—always. It will be within you till your last breath. What is needed is that we turn inside and discover it."
Everyone, at least once in their lifetime, has felt incomplete no matter how much they have. There are so many misconceptions that what we are looking for is not within us, that it is somewhere outside and we have to look for it there. But the thirst is within us, and the water to quench it is also within us. Peace is a part of us. If we are able to recognize our thirst and reach that peace, we will find that we are complete.
When you recognize your thirst, that thirst will lead you toward quenching it. Peace will always be within you. If you don't want it, it is still there within you. If you want it, then you can fulfill your life.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
Translated from Hindi
Almost everyone is looking for something, running after one thing or another. It can get really frantic. But the person who is longing for what the heart wants has everything. That person has no need to be sad. Good wishes come every day in every breath. The person who feels gratitude for that celebrates each breath, each moment.
Traditionally, we celebrate birthdays with a cake and candles. However old we are, we place that many candles. We get very excited to blow out the candles, but what is being represented? If you think about it, it is all the years that are gone that are being blown away. And it's not just one year that's gone, it's every day—every breath—that passed by. How many moments, how many breaths, have we saved and appreciated? What we lose, we lose for a lifetime. Those moments will never come back. And what we save, we save for a lifetime.
The whole world around us is made from what grew, not what didn't. Don't pay attention to what isn't. Pay attention to what is. So, what is? In the middle of our pain, our suffering, we have this life, this body. In the middle of all that, there is the breath that is coming in and out. We need to pay attention to that, to what is, not to the time that has passed. That's gone.
We don't have the time that hasn't come yet, either. We only have today. Tomorrow will come, and what will happen then? A breath will come and then another breath will come. The coming and going of this breath is the gift. It's not about what's gone; it's about appreciating this life, one breath at a time. It's about you—your life—not the life of the other people around you. It's just about you.
What is important is recognizing the gift you have. When you go to an airport or train station to meet someone, you wait until you recognize them before running up to greet them. Recognition is important. When there is no recognition of the heart's thirst to be fulfilled, what I am talking about doesn't make sense. When your heart starts to recognize that thirst, you can move toward joy in your life.
The greatest thing in life is that as human beings we can experience supreme joy. For people who want this joy, who want to fulfill their lives, there will be joy and more joy. Just relax and enjoy the journey of life.Maharaji
