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Peace is not a novelty. Peace is not a new thing. Peace is innate and necessary for our survival, for our well-being. We look at so many things, and sometimes we forget the very fundamental things.
There is a story of a man who inherited a beautiful island. And it was beautiful—beautiful beaches, trees, birds, flora, fauna. He could see the island, and his simple wish was to go to there, but he couldn't swim. He tried to go by boat, but he couldn't cross the reef. So he had a brilliant idea: "I'll make a bridge." He didn't know how to make a bridge, so he went to college to learn how to build it. He studied and studied and learned how to do it.
Then he realized that he needed money to build this bridge and he didn't have any. So he went back to school to learn how to make money. He went through a business management course, got his degree, and started one business venture after another to build the bridge with his newfound knowledge. Some failed, some succeeded. But by the time he had made enough money to build the bridge, he could hardly see the island.
The point of the story is that every human being wants to be content, wants to be happy, wants to feel peace in their life. It's important. Excitement is fine, but there has to come a point when we can retreat within and feel the tranquility, the peace, and the joy in our lives.
If that one element is taken away, the person will ultimately stop enjoying everything. Success will look like failure. Failure will look like even a bigger failure. And everything that we are will come unglued.
I am here to remind you of something you already know—how important it is for all of us to be in peace. And yes, be in peace with all our differences.
That's the challenge, because if we say, "Peace will come when all our differences have disappeared," we're going to get old fast, and peace is not going to happen. The idea of peace is not new. There has been an effort to have peace in every single civilization. The question is: Why can't peace be in our lives now? The peace I am talking about is not a result of things on the outside; I am talking about searching for the peace that resides within.
What I really, really want is not somewhere out there, but within. I have to acknowledge my own thirst, my own feeling. I have to acknowledge what is knocking inside of me saying, "Be in peace." Not tomorrow, not day after tomorrow, but now. I need to feel that feeling of being fulfilled—with or without all the things that are going on.
Is peace possible? Yes, peace is possible because peace begins with you. Nobody's going to haul peace into your home. Peace is not pizza that can be delivered by a phone call. Peace is within you. It always has been. It's going to take addressing the feeling that is within. That's how peace is going to be felt.
Feel what is inside of you—the desire to be fulfilled. That is why peace is possible.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
Maharaji speaking at the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations, at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, where the UN Charter was signed sixty years ago.
You have heard about peace in many different ways. Maybe this is just one more perspective, but it is a perspective that comes from the heart.
Peace. We think, "Peace. Yes, something over here called peace." When I travel around the world and mention the word "peace," everyone has a different reaction. It ranges from "I've heard about that" to "It's a waste of time" to "I am interested in peace."
The most significant statement is: "I am interested in peace." I, as an individual, a person—not a label, not a box, not a globe—but a living, breathing, human being whose existence is priceless. This is the opportunity each one of us has been given.
Peace is a feeling—a feeling of non-duality, a feeling away from doubt, a feeling of me. Me understanding my existence. Feeling peace—not in turmoil, not in war, not in controversy, but in the serenity of existence.
There is more to you than you realize. There is another chapter here that hasn't been opened. Maybe there is a treasure trove that has not been tapped yet. Maybe there is another room to this villa, this mansion, this house, that has not been looked at.
The desire for peace transcends every barrier. Even those who have been incarcerated desire peace. Those who have little to eat also desire peace. And those sitting in giant mansions desire peace. Peace is one of those things: after a bowl of food, I still want to be in peace. The worst war is the war within a human being because there's no ceasefire to it. You can't put a brake on it; you can't negotiate with just one party. And the trouble with the war that rages inside is that, even if you win it, you lose because it's with yourself.
This is your life. Sometimes we forget what is being created here. This is no ordinary construction site. Done well, it will be better and more beautiful than the Mona Lisa, more grand than the Statue of David, more magnificent than the Sistine Chapel.
Who will be the admirer? Admiration and simplicity are the guardian angels of this beautiful experience called peace. They are the towers. In no uncertain terms, know the value of this existence, the value of this breath, the desire for peace that we carry in our hearts. There is a part of us that has beckoned us to be in peace again and again, that when we are in turmoil says, "This is no good. You don't want to be here. This is not acceptable."
I'm talking about the peace that can be even experienced in the middle of war. It's not about the new or the fancy. It's about the good old heart that's always been there. It's about the good old breath that is as old and fresh and new as nothing I've seen. I cannot compare it to dew or to the rising sun or to a new star, because when that breath comes into me, it is so new that it is incomparable. That's my potential. I can be fulfilled like you can.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
I talk about the possibility, the life we have been given. With all our responsibilities and the things people tell us, we forget what we have been given.
I have a little story, and it is about a man who used to dream of all the things he wanted in his life. He wanted to marry this beautiful girl, have a good-paying government position, have some land. He was very good at dreaming, but he had no sense of reality. Things would happen all day, people would send him letters, but he would ignore them.
One day, he got old. He looked at his life and thought about his dreams, lamenting that none of them had become a reality. Then he saw a big pile of letters and started opening them. To his amazement, there was a letter from his girlfriend who wanted to marry him. So he called her, and she said, "I waited for you, but I got no answer, so I went ahead and got married."
He opened a letter and it was from the king, offering him a great job. He called the king, and the king said, "I waited for you, and you never responded, so the job was given to someone else."
As he opened each letter, he realized that all his dreams had come true, but he wasn't there to accept them. If only he had seen the reality, he wouldn't be lamenting. He could be celebrating.
I'm telling you this story because it is like that with us. We also have our dreams, our hopes, and our aspirations. At the base of every hope and dream we have lies the wish to be fulfilled, the wish to be happy, the wish to be content.
A letter comes to us every day in the form of breath, but we don't open it because we're too busy dreaming, trying to come up with formulas and ideas of how we can be content. But happiness itself is included in each one of these envelopes of breath that the Creator gives us. When it is too late, then we look at them and start to open them. Then we say how precious they are, and we look at all the ones we have wasted.
It is so important that we acknowledge the reality of this existence. We get so busy painting our ideas of how this life should be that we actually miss what is really happening. We walk with a bag on one side that is good and a bag on the other side that is bad. Everything we pick up goes into either the good bag or the bad bag. Take away the good and bad, and it is what it is. When you can see it as it is, it is beautiful. When you were young, you had this ability. You could see something for what it was—not good and bad, right and wrong.
If you want that joy in your life, bring back the heart of a child. When we can once again see with the pure eyes of our heart, we can see what we have been given, that the gift of existence means something. Not "what I have accomplished" but "I am alive." Life unfolds, and the gift is presented again and again. If you open this package, in the heart of it all you will find beauty, simplicity.
Go within and feel that beauty, that contentment. Find your comfort, your joy, in this reality. Find your shelter in this beautiful place.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
Human beings are not made for stress. What causes stress? Confusion. Lack of priority. When we don't know what is important. All of a sudden, we're running around all over the place, and the result is stress.
Some people say, "Do this, and it will take away your stress." I say you shouldn't be stressed. As a human being, get your life together. Understand what is important to you. You are not made for stress. Mentally and physically, you break down under stress.
That's why my message is unique. I say, "Go inside and experience that feeling that is within you. Experience that peace, experience that joy. Again and again, hone in to your basics, to your fundamentals."
Do you realize that you can experience happiness? Think about that. You can experience joy. That's really, really amazing. People wonder, "Can animals experience it?" You are an animal! You belong to the same group. And you can experience joy. There are all those experiences out there. Yes, you can experience pain, you can experience all those things, but you can experience joy. That should be amazing.
You are an instrument. Any instrument can play off-tune as easily as it can play in tune. It's easy to be off-tune. You can put the key anywhere, and it will be off-tune. To be in tune is a very narrow band. There's only one place, one tightness of the string, where it will be in tune. And that's where you have to be. Nowhere else. Otherwise, anywhere else, off-tune is off-tune, but if you want to play in tune, there's one place.
It is so important to have someone who can talk about the real peace and real joy, someone who can remind you again and again to be focused, be centered, and evolve. There is so much to learn about you and the value of the breath that comes into you—to fall in love with this existence you've been given and have a heart full of gratitude.
I am like the tuner. I'll make sure the instrument is in tune, but you play. After the instrument is tuned, I give it back to you and say, "Play." You play. With this instrument create the sweetest music you have ever created. Play like you have never played before. Play with your heart. For whom? Play for yourself. A lot of people don't understand that. "That's selfish." Do you want to know the secret of the best musicians in this world? They play for themselves. When they do, it sounds wonderful to anyone who hears it. But when a musician starts playing for others, the music is over.
A lot of musicians will be playing and then all of a sudden close their eyes. They don't want to see anyone. They just want to be one with the music because it has to come from the heart. It cannot come from the head.
Sing for yourself. Play for yourself. Play and enjoy. That's when real music comes out. You are alive. You have that beauty in you. Accept that. How fortunate you are to be able to feel that beauty and joy in your life.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace Permalink
In this world, everyone has a different idea of what peace is. To someone, peace is when countries stop fighting, or when their neighbor is quiet, or Sunday morning when there is no traffic, or when the sun comes out and the birds start singing.
Let me tell you about a peace that is not bound by definitions, that is not outside. Outside everyone is screaming, "This is what's important. This is what's important." There was a time when the only thing that was important to you was what you felt from within—the want to be content that is so innate and fundamental. Even if your mother or father said, "Be quiet," you cried because you had a need. When that need was fulfilled, you were fine.
In my life, I want to feel joy, contentment, just like that child. Today, so much has come between me and that contentment, that simplicity, that beauty. And no one threw it at me; I invited it. I need to see clearly who I am. My desire for peace has to be crystal clear every single day. Nothing can come between that and what I feel. My heart is saying to me: Be content. This is a journey. You have come here. You are dancing, moving, seeing, thinking, experiencing. And one day, all of this will be no more.
Enjoy this time that you have—not in a fake way, but in the real sense. Not to say, "Look what I have," but, "Look what I have discovered." Discover what already exists within.
I talk about our similarity, not our differences—the thirst of the heart that is the same for every single human being. I have traveled this earth many times, and I have never come across anything called "the world." I have only come across people. This is who we are. We are this moving miracle, this dancing miracle—the miracle of all miracles.
You want to hear about a miracle? You are a miracle. In you comes this breath that is the kiss of the Creator coming into you, touching you, bringing you life. Life is the magic that allows you to see, to hear, to feel, to think, to smile, to be, and to feel happiness, joy, peace.
Peace is looking for you. Are you looking for peace? This is not coincidence or imagination. It has to be real, and peace has to be felt.
People say, "Isn't that selfish?" Is enjoying the sunrise selfish because the joy of the sunrise is within me? Is happiness selfish? When a baby smiles, is that selfish? Which grandmother, mother, or father thinks it's selfish when their little baby waddles up to them and gives them a big hug and kiss? That's not selfish. "Ah, he kissed me. He came to me!"
In the same way, this breath came and touched me. I embrace it back and feel the gratitude. When the heart is full, there is gratitude.
In your life, allow yourself to feel peace, to be filled with gratitude. Unwrap what you have been given—a gift you haven't opened for a long time. It's about you—your journey, your ship, your boat on this ocean. It doesn't matter how young or old you are, the time has come to open the greatest gift of all.
Maharaji
