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
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
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
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
The life, this existence, is pure by nature. You are pure by nature. That is your nature. But there are things that come in and cause doubt and confusion. That's why it is so important to have someone who can clean, who can help you straighten out your priorities, put you back in touch with your heart, with what is important.
We look at our situation and say, "It's hopeless." I look at it and say, "No. Wash it. Here is the soap." When you wash it, the dirt is gone. Cleanliness isn't poured over the shirt. No. Soap has the capacity to bind with dirt and take it away as it is washed. And purity returns.
Let me give you an example. There is a tiny mouse that lives in Africa. This little mouse doesn't have big teeth or big claws to defend itself against the eagles or hawks that attack it. It has only one thing—speed. It can run really fast. But by running fast, it is very easy for this little mouse to stumble and fall and get swooped up. So this mouse has a strategy.
The strategy is to use what it has been given—speed—and to make sure the road is clear so it doesn't fall. It has researched all the routes from its home to the places it needs to go for food. Meticulously, it keeps those tracks clean—no twigs, no rocks, nothing. When it spots a hawk, it runs fast and makes it back home. The strategy works because they're still around.
It's only a cute little mouse, but can we learn something from it? That's what we need to do in our lives, too—keep those tracks clean. If we can keep those tracks clean, when that time comes that we need to use them, we'll make it.
There are people who will tell you, "Chant this mantra and clouds won't come." I say, "No matter how hard you try, clouds will come, and it will rain. You cannot change that. So carry an umbrella—the umbrella of clarity. When it rains, simply open up the umbrella." Why do you want to change the clouds or the seasons? It's going to rain. When it does, open up the umbrella, and you won't get wet. Go out, but take the umbrella.
Some people say, "I don't need any help—my life is going nicely, my business is doing really well." I stand at the crossing and say, "It's going to rain. It's going to rain." Some people who don't know about the umbrella say, "I don't understand what he's saying. I don't get his message." Those who know say, "Thank you for reminding me. Let me go get my umbrella. I don't want to leave home without it."
There is so much that is waiting for you. Inside of you, there is joy, peace, fulfillment. Accept that. It can be there always, but remember, if it is raining, it is not just a question of having an umbrella. One, it has to be open. Two, it has to cover your head. You can't just hold the umbrella and say, "I had the umbrella open in my hand and I got wet."
I can just remind you. I cannot do it for you. I will never walk behind you with an umbrella. I don't do that and have never done that. But I can remind you, I can show you, and I can guide you.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
Sometimes when I sleep, I dream that I'm talking to people. Here is one story that I dreamt recently: There was a man who bought a house, and he realized there was a serious shortage of water. So he did some research and found a place to dig for water. He bought a spade and started digging, but it was very hot and difficult. One day, it reached the apex. He had been working in the heat, and he was so thirsty that he realized if he didn't get water soon, he would die. So he started yelling, "Water, water, water."
Somebody heard him, came to him, and said, "Come with me. I will take you to water."Then that person took him by the hand behind his house and around the nearby mountain, and there was a huge river flowing with beautiful, clear water. When the man saw the water, he jumped into the river. He cooled himself, drank the water, and was content. Then he came out, thanked the person who had helped him, went back to his house, picked up the spade, and continued digging his well.
The river was not that far from his house. After he found the river, he didn't need a well, but he was so into digging that it became more important than finding the water itself. So much time and energy had been put into it that, even after finding water, he kept digging.
My experience says that if I have discovered a river, I don't need to dig a well. The river is much more beautiful. Maybe I didn't know that there was a river so close, and I didn't create that river, but somebody helped me discover it.
Like that river, there is a joy that is the same for everyone—the real joy. The real joy is not about accomplishments. The real joy is about discovering the peace within your own self. Find the river within you. Find the joy within you.
You might say, "I don't think there is anything within me; it's all outside." What about the people who for centuries have been saying, "What you are looking for is inside of you"?
Maybe you're digging the well, and you are hot. All I am saying is there is a river in your backyard. Would you really say, "River or no river, I'm going to dig this well. I have a spade, and I have already spent so much time on this. I can't stop now."
Our lives have been what they have been. In a desert, there is sand everywhere, but there are also incredibly beautiful flowers waiting for rain to come. Then it will become an oasis. Maybe in our lives all we have seen is sand, but let the rain of understanding come and turn this desert into an oasis. Let the seeds germinate that have been waiting and waiting.
Make your own decision how important peace is to you, how important it is to be fulfilled. This is a process of discovery. You can't say to a thirsty person, "But you've just had water." Not unless he's actually had water can he feel satisfied. It is the same way for you.
There is a wonderful possibility within you—not in a book or on a mountaintop, but within you. Discover that possibility, be fulfilled, and enjoy this existence. Learn while you can learn. Grow because you want to grow. And feel peace because you want to feel peace.
If you want that, I can make it possible. This is what I do. I know peace is possible. Why? Because it resides within you.
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
What I have to say is really quite simple because it deals with every individual. I go around the world telling people that they are alive and that's what means the most. And it needs to mean the most to you. You, yourself, need to understand the preciousness of your existence.
Peace begins with the understanding of what we have been given—this life. This existence needs to mean something. When it means nothing, human life—the one thing that is irreplaceable—has lost its value. Causes become greater than life itself, and life becomes a meaningless commodity in this great market where things are being traded all the time.
Today the sun rose, and you awoke. What did you think about? Your responsibilities. How do I know this? Because that's what we all do. I'm not excluding myself. I need peace, too, like you. I am in the same boat as you are, and that's what qualifies me to talk about it. If I were in some other boat, it would just be ideas and theories, but I am in the same boat.
You hear about the frailty of life. Yesterday, somebody told me that a very good friend of mine passed away. I stopped and thought about it. And I understood in that moment—once again—how precious life is and that no day can be wasted. I understood once again that, of all the gifts I have been given, the greatest is the breath that comes into me every moment.
Every day is like one lifetime: the sun rises and I am born. All these things happen. Some things happen that I am in control of, and some things happen that I am not in control of. Some things happen that I like; some things happen that I don't like. But whether good or bad, right or wrong things happen, the sun does set again, the eyes close, and I fall asleep.
I want peace every day. This is my ambition. Everyone has their definition of what they are looking for, and they look in so many places for the one thing that is within. What we're looking for is happiness, what we're looking for is contentment and the avenues to get to it. So we search, and we search, and we do what is necessary. And in all our searching and all our doing—who do we forget? Ourselves.
Whatever the equation is that you have created, please include yourself in it, because without you, without your heart, without peace in your life, there can never ever be peace in the world. The solution lies within—in understanding that, yes, peace is a possibility. Peace begins with you. Peace is possible for you. Yours is this life—the gift you have been given. Awaken and accept it.
You are a tourist, and you have come here on an incredible vacation. What are you doing? Are you enjoying this existence in its truest sense? Or are you busy saying, "Let me fix the carpets, the walls, the window. Once I am through with this, I will really enjoy my vacation." By the time you fix all that, the vacation will be over.
Don't wait. This is your time. Grab the request in your heart for peace and find that contentment in your life. Peace is beautiful. Peace is real. Peace is that passion for existence when I am caught up in a feeling, an understanding, of what life means—every day, every hour, every breath. Then I can begin to savor what peace is all about.
Maharaji
in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Permalink
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
