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Every individual wants to progress in their life. The farmer plows the field, sows the seed, and every year, he hopes that he will have a better crop. We hope for some kind of progress in our life. What do we have to do for this progress?
In this world, there is no shortage of people who will give you advice, but it is all just words. It is not practical. What I say is words, but if you want, you can have progress in your life—practically. If just by saying "money, money, money," a person could become rich, there would be no trace of poverty. But no one becomes rich that way; a person has to work hard. If a person wants peace in their life, chanting "peace, peace, peace" won't bring peace. They will have to find something that can actually help them experience peace.
To experience the supreme joy in one's life is the best thing, and not to experience it is the worst thing. It is like a person who is thirsty, goes to a well with flowers around it, plucks the flowers, and goes back. He did not do the one thing he had actually come for. If he did not drink the water, he will keep feeling thirsty.
Whatever you do, you do it for joy. Within every human being, there is a voice—a desire to be fulfilled, to experience supreme joy. Why do you feel nice when you look at something beautiful? The work of eyes is to see, but where did that nice feeling come from? When you smell something nice, you feel nice. Where did this "bad" or "good" come from?
Everything has a law. The human being has just one law—the law of good. You need something good, something nice. You want something that gives joy. When you experience that supreme joy, your life will be filled with joy.
What is it that makes a human being dance? If you tell someone, "Your car has been stolen," he won't dance. But when a person is filled with joy from within, he starts dancing. And it is the kind of dance he can keep on dancing throughout his life.
People think you need to experience peace just once. Do you need to eat only once, as well? Do you need to sleep only one night? No. You have to sleep every night. You have to eat every day. The day you don't, you will feel hungry. The same is true of peace: you have to experience peace every day. Whenever you need it, you can turn within and experience that peace, that joy. Without dancing, you start dancing within.
Start understanding what is within you. When you experience it, you won't need questions. Without experiencing, all you have are questions: "Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life?"
Every individual has been given the gift of life and can experience peace. This world will not give you peace. The only thing that this world can give you is unrest.
Look for peace. Wherever you find it, it's good. And if you can't find it, come to me. I have a lake full of joy. I invite only those who are thirsty. Jump in that lake, swim, drink, and fulfill your life. When there is sorrow in your life, remember that within you there is a mine of joy. If you think you are poor, there is a goldmine of joy within you. All you need to do is dig. You can dig as much as you want. There will never be a shortage.
These are not just words. I stand behind every word. I can take you from the ocean of questions and put you in the ocean of answers. If you want, you can experience that in your life. If you are thirsty, I have a lake. The thirsty need water, and I have water.
Prem Rawat (Maharaji)
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: PeacePermalink
Coming back from a tour recently, it was very foggy driving home. We had to drive so slow. The fog was very thick—like soup—and we couldn't see. Being in that fog reminded me of what happens to us. When the fog comes, it obscures our vision and stops us from seeing what we need to see to proceed on this path of life.
This is important because this is but one life. It isn't just, "Here I am." This is everything. It isn't a question of comparison, of my problems, my dramas, my traumas. Is this a better day? Will tomorrow be a better day?
It is that you exist, that you are alive. It is about listening and understanding your own passion. Your passion. For me, it is to be quiet enough to begin to hear what my heart is trying to tell me. There is a lot going on, calling me, "Do this; do this; do this." There are a lot of things that disguise themselves as "fun," but my life, my existence, is not about the "fun." It is about feeling contentment, feeling joy. These are the needs of every human being—the wants, the desires, the wishes—above and beyond everything else.
People talk about noise pollution and air pollution, but there is a real pollution; it's called "thought pollution." A person is constantly bombarded, "This is important; that's important; yes, that's important."
Do you realize what is being sacrificed? Your time on the face of this earth. Your possibility of being fulfilled every moment is being sacrificed. And only you can answer this question: Can you afford that? What is the most important thing to you?
I realize that I cannot afford the fog, and that's a good realization. Drama, trauma comes—I cannot afford that. I want to understand the passion of my heart. Somehow, this person was created and given the ability to feel. And of all the things that I can feel, I can feel joy, I can feel peace, I can feel that feeling within me, and that is the most magnificent.
What is the basic wish that has already been given to you? Listen to it. Understand what it is saying, how it is addressing you. Then you can fulfill it. But first you need to know what it is. And it has always been the same.
Unless that one thing is fulfilled, all the explanations and ideas can be there, but if that basic and fundamental need is not fulfilled, what is the point? And who are you going to rely on? This is something that you have to do. You have to understand that this is your life. You can make it happen—that joy, that beauty—every day in your life. And it's very easy. A lot of people think the only way it will happen is if I change the world around me. That's not easy.
People think they need to change their kids or their job or retire. Waiting—just think of all the things you're waiting for. You don't have to wait anymore. You don't have to change all the things outside; you can't. All you need to do is change your priorities. Just rearrange. Take the priority to be content and put it at the very top. That's all.
Contentment in your life is very possible. That is your possibility. Recognize it. Understand it. Grow with it every day. This is one of those things that does not stop growing. There is no limit. There is no limit to enjoyment.
There is no limit to clarity. There is no limit to joy. There is no limit to truest learning. There is no limit to understanding. You can never say, "I understand this too much." There is a limit to ignorance, but what limit is there to understanding? Understand every day that there is a beauty that I can fill myself with today. Again and again and again.
Maharaji
