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There is pseudo-peace—a dreamt-up peace that you think exists but is not really there—and there is real peace. Which one do you have?
It's so important to build our life on what's real—to build our understanding from experience, not just ideas. Experience is something no one can take away from you. If you build a house of straw, the wind can knock it down. If you build a house of wood, it can be burned down. So build it from something substantial that will last.
You cannot just have a made‑up peace. You have a heart that feels, so feel peace. Build your house from your experience, and then you can live comfortably there. Build it in such a way that you'll be sheltered. When it's windy, it'll be calm inside. Fires and earthquakes can come, and you won't have to worry. You can relax, living your life in the simple sanity of saying "I know," not "I don't know." That's very important.
It has been said many times, "Reality is more beautiful than you realize." But so many people are afraid to see what's really there. They would rather live in fear than see reality. And yet, reality is exceptionally beautiful. It is the sweet and simple breath that goes in and out of you. It is your song, your symphony—you are playing a very beautiful piece of music called your life.
It's a beautiful thing—the life that we have been given. Every day we have to acknowledge that we're alive. The day we don't acknowledge that we are alive, we are unconscious. We are doing things, but we don't understand why we are doing them.
Enjoy what you have been given. Enjoy this existence. Enjoy every breath. This is the nature of a human being: what we enjoy, we remember, and we don't get tired of it. So enjoy every breath. Things will happen—good, bad, right, wrong. Somebody says, "No." Somebody says, "Yes." Somebody says, "This way." Somebody says, "No, not that way."
What is your vision? In your life, do you want beauty and joy? Keep that focus, and you will have it. Don't waste your time, because time is something you can't recover. Don't misplace your anger. If you have to be angry, then be angry at anger. Maybe somebody did something wrong, and they didn't know it. Understand one thing: in this game of life, you get one opportunity. If you understand what this life is all about, that's all that matters.
There is so much potential. I see a vision. I don't see obstacles. I don't see problems. Problem-solving is a human being's forte. We can problem-solve, but it's very rare to have a vision. Yet it is the vision that is important.
Don't compare today to yesterday and don't compare tomorrow to today. It is what it is. Accept the fruit of your effort. Enjoy that, and more will come. When you accept, your heart is touched, and magic starts to unfold. When you don't accept, everything freezes. And when you accept again, your heart thaws out and begins to dance once more.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
There is a story of a man who loved parrots and wanted to raise special ones. So he bought three parrot eggs, and as they grew, he taught them music, physics, and mathematical formulas. When they were older, they could recite these formulas and quack Beethoven's symphony perfectly. But one day the man died, and someone put them in a tree outside. They crawled up the branches, looking around their new home.
Then they saw another parrot and said to him, "We know everything. We can recite this formula and that formula." The other parrot saw a cat approaching and said, "Do you know how to fly?" "Of course we know how to fly. When pressure is created at the bottom of the wing, and there is low pressure at the top, we can fly." He said, "No, not the formula—do you really know how to fly?" "But we know so much, what difference could it make?" "The one thing you don't know you really do need to know, and because you don't know that, all you know isn't going to do you any good."
What is the significance of this story? The significance is that we have accomplished a lot in this world, but if we haven't accomplished the one thing that is so fundamental to us, all that we have accomplished isn't going to help us.
People are crying out for peace. Peace is not a luxury. Peace is as important as breathing air, eating food, and having shelter, because it is the fundamental necessity of every heart on the face of this earth. Peace is not a new concept. As long as there have been wars, there has been a voice that has called out again and again for peace. True peace, real peace—a peace that is experienced by every individual.
Peace is our foundation, but we have not discovered it. We have learned the technology to go to the moon, but we haven't explored the inner self. This is where you will find your peace. This is where you will find the reality that is with you wherever you go.
Peace begins with every individual and with the recognition of this heart, this life, this existence. We have always known that. It is time to stop hiding from the reality and open the gate for everyone to fulfill their fundamental wish for peace. This is our time.
Remember one thing: if human beings can start wars, they surely can make peace. There is no "they" that will bring peace to us. Peace is not going to come in a package or a box. Peace is not going to come as rain from the heavens. The possibility of peace has already been given to every human being on earth.
We have to discover it—discover within the need for peace—and then create an environment where people can be free to feel that peace in their lives.
It begins with each one of us. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. It will happen one step at a time, and that one step begins with you. If you can take that first step in your life, you can complete the journey of a thousand miles. And yes, peace is possible.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
This is our time—the time each one of us has been given. Yet we get lost in semantics—what is good, bad, right, wrong. What do we forget? Everywhere, someone has a request, someone has a prayer. "Make this happen. Give me a better job. Give me a better life." We forget what we have been given.
Somehow, we are unable to look at what is in front of us—the most beautiful, the most magnificent. There is no greater blessing than the coming and going of this breath. This is what we have. Everything else is changeable by its nature. You want things to be good, and when they are, you want them to stay that way. But they can't. They will change.
The whole world is willing to talk about the future. Someone sees you are doing well and says, "You have a bright future." How bright a future can you have? One certainty in your future is that you're going to die. Everyone is saying, "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up." What's waiting for us at the end? Nothing. Hurry up so you can meet nothing. But it's all acceptable to us. Why? Because the simple reality is ignored again and again—the reality that you are alive. You are who you are. And every day that comes, you are given an opportunity to recognize that.
The sun goes down, your body goes to sleep. The sun comes up again. You awaken. Here is your opportunity to forget the past and become busy with the present, but you don't do that. You go to sleep with the worries that have come from yesterday. This is who you sleep with. Some people wonder why their life is miserable. Look at the company you keep. You keep the company of memories that are gone.
Peace seems trivial now because you have a busy schedule. You have the whole world to take care of—all these responsibilities. But if you don't take care of your responsibility to the heart, what good is it? Your heart is a part of you, too. Unless you also use your heart—your inner wisdom—your life will not be complete no matter what you do.
Can you do that? Can you be conscious enough to understand the importance of this existence? Can you be conscious enough to allow your heart to fill with the gratitude that it wants? That's all. There are no other requirements. All you have to do is accept it.
This is the gift. Of all the billions of things that could be, this is you. You could have been an inch taller or shorter. Your face could have been a little different, but it isn't. This is who you are. Do you accept that? Or are you investing everything in what isn't? "I wish it was this way, that way." Is your investment in all that isn't or in all that is?
Awaken and open your eyes to the beautiful reality of being alive. Weigh every moment with the importance of this breath. With the sweetness, the beauty, the understanding, the clarity of your heart, take the steps needed in your life. And be content in the supreme joy that is always dancing within you. Let that become real for you. It is a beautiful process because life in itself is a beautiful, beautiful journey. Be fulfilled every day. This is what life promises: that we can be fulfilled every single day.
Maharaji
