« 'No Limit to Joy' - by Maharaji | Main | 'Accepting Hapiness', by Maharaji »
What I talk about is something that is simple and yet profound. Some might find it too simple, but that doesn't mean it is not important. I talk about the simplicity of breath and the coming and going of each day in your life. I remind people that each day that comes is one of the most valuable gifts they will ever receive. Incomparable.
For a lot of people that makes sense, and yet it doesn't make sense. We know each day is important, but that's not the way we accept it. The importance of a day is based upon what we have accomplished. Our life has been placed on a scale, and the weights that measure it have been given to us by this world. Everything is judged by failure or success. Yet we have been given a precious gift.
We have anniversaries and birthdays, and we give each other presents. But would you give a gorilla something precious like a diamond ring? Why not? A gorilla has fingers just like you, but a gorilla would never understand its value. Give a gorilla a diamond ring, and he will try to taste it, find it unappetizing, and probably throw it away.
Are we like a gorilla that has been handed the diamond ring of life? In many ways, we do the same thing—taste it and say, "My life is no good. I've got to do this. I've got to accomplish this. I've got to climb this. I've got to be there. I've got to have this title. I've got to have this and that in my life." And what is forgotten is the value of existence, the value of this breath coming every moment and blessing us. This is the blessing. But we don't know how to accept it.
We make everything conditional in our lives: "You're a good son or daughter if you do this, this, and this. You're a good wife or good husband if you do this, this, and this. And you're a good friend if you do this, this, and this." But breath has no conditions. When we are given breath, we are not told, "I'll give you this breath if you do this and this." It is given freely, without judgment.
When you look in the mirror, the face you are looking at is not asking for judgment; it is asking for admiration. It is asking for acceptance—acceptance of this life, acceptance of this breath, acceptance of the simple thirst of this heart.
The joy that you look for, that you search for every day, is searching for you—to embrace you, to accept you, and to fulfill you. I'm here to tell you that the peace you are looking for is inside of you.
Discover this life you've been living. Discover it the way it is meant to be lived—in joy, in gratitude, in beauty. Discover the potential of each day. Discover the rhythm as the sun shines on the horizon, light comes, and awakening happens; and then comes the sunset and sleep—everything is erased and another day begins. Discover that.
That's what this existence is all about. That's what peace is all about, because peace is not in yesterday and peace is not in tomorrow, but peace is today. Tomorrow is anticipation. Yesterday is just memories. And today is the gift. The truest gift. The most important gift.
Maharaji
