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What does it mean to be free? People want freedom, but people don't know what freedom is. A definition of freedom has been created, and this is what people strive for. Ask them, "Do you feel free?" And they will say, "Of course, I am free, because of this, this, this."
Freedom is being free from fear, free from ignorance, free from doubt. Freedom is not just that you can come and go from your house as you please. You can be free and still be imprisoned. At least in prison, sooner or later they let you go. But if you are imprisoned by fear, by doubt, by anger, you may never make bail or get a reprieve. That prison is much more difficult to get out of—you may never be allowed to leave.
Be fulfilled inside. Every day, prepare for this life to be lived the way it is meant to be. Not outside. It doesn't matter what is going on outside. Be fulfilled inside. Don't gauge your life by all the things that happen in it. Look at the world within because there something very beautiful and simple is unfolding.
The challenge of the world is what you can accomplish. The challenge of the heart is: How much joy can you withstand? How much can you take? How much can you be fulfilled? The challenge of consciousness is: How keen and how aware can you be?
The challenge is to be in peace in the middle of all the turmoil that is there. Some people ask, "Do you need to change the turmoil in order not to feel it?" I say, "You don't."
This life is beautiful. It is. That's why it has been given to you. Its beauty only begins to be appreciated the day you begin to accept it, not to question or challenge it. This breath is a beautiful gift. How you got it, I don't know. The point is that you have it, and its beauty will only begin to unfold the day you accept it, whatever may happen. There is always a "whatever." I don't think there has ever been a generation of people who haven't thought they were invincible. The pharaohs thought they were invincible. Wrong assumption.
Today people say, "We've been to the moon. We have done this; we have done that. We have accomplished this; we have accomplished that." People feel the same invincibility that every single generation before thought they had, only to realize one day how fragile it all is. If there is a strength, it is the strength of existence.
You exist. Accept it. Be. That's all you have to do—be. Be present and you will feel. You will understand the rhythm of that beautiful drum, so strong and so gentle. You are alive, and that needs to mean the most to you. The most. It's a time that's limited. You don't know when it's going to be over. You don't get to know, because it is not the end that matters; it's today that you're alive. It is today that this breath came into you. It is today that a heart is crying out to be free. That's what matters. Let it matter for you.
If you've been asleep, awaken. Awaken to the wonderful possibilities. Let your life sparkle. That's the possibility. Peace is the possibility. Joy is the possibility. Fulfillment is the possibility. Accept that in your life.
Maharaji
