The Voice of Maharaji (Prem Rawat)

Touched by the Magic

You know, as human beings, there is a lot that is good. But there are certain habits we have that are not so good. And one of the bad habits we have is that we are so attracted to distractions. Any minor little distraction somewhere, and that's where our attention goes.

Why is that a bad habit? Because it robs us of the essential things we need to make this life a beautiful occasion. And this is the possibility. This is what you can do—you can make this one lifetime the most incredible time. How?

You are in this world; you exist. One day you weren't here; today you are; and one day you will die. I can guarantee you that you don't understand what that means—because of the distractions. When the time comes that you lose the capacity to be distracted—and such a time does come—then and only then will you begin to understand what life is about.

How do I know this? Have I reached that time in my life where I'm not distracted? No. But I also know that there was somebody who was kind enough to show me. Because when I get caught up in my own tune, in my own definition of what life is, I become careless.

Look at a person living an "exciting" life—bungee-jumping. This is what some people think is exciting. They actually challenge death, "Take me on!" And they think that's excitement. Or they climb a vertical rock without any safety lines, just using their fingertips and powder. The only reason Death doesn't take them on is because it is laughing so hard—just bowled over with laughter. One day Death sobers up. And just like that, they're gone. Their body becomes dirt again.

So what is life about? Is it about the excitement? Or is it about feeling a heart full of joy?

All the things that we think are important will one day turn around and become unimportant. I have been reading letters from people who are either at the very front of the line or maybe two or three people from the front of the line. The other day, I was talking to somebody, and he said, "Oh, so-and-so is close to dying."

I said, "Well, we're all in the process. Join the line." I guess some people are more in the front of the line, and some are a little further back in the line. But there is a line, and everybody is headed that way. That is the law of existence. And the law states: "You are here, but for a limited time." And no one—no one—gets to change that law.

People say, "Oh, but there are cryogenics and all those things." Excuse me, but this earth is made out of dust. The metal cylinder that holds the cryogenic agent and your head is made out of compressed dust. And the innate vulnerability of dust to return to the state of dust is tremendous. The miracle is not dust turning into dust. It is: How come it hasn't already? That's the miracle. Destruction should've happened a long time ago. I mean, all that needs to happen is for one small celestial body to head this way and get a little too close, and it will be pulled towards the earth. And when it does, it will obliterate this planet.

This dust is more fragile than a gold or silver leaf. Have you ever seen a silver leaf on a piece of paper? In India, they put them over dishes and foods. That silver is so delicate that, if you breathe the wrong way, it will just go all over the place. That is how delicate it is. And from this dust, many, many things have been created, like rocks and mountains.

I am here to tell you what I have been telling people all my life: Don't let another day go by without being touched by the magic of what has been placed inside of you. Don't let another day go by that is filled with doubt, anger, and confusion. Don't let another day go by without feeling the fulfillment of this heart. It is possible to be fulfilled in this life. It is possible to be in peace. It is possible to be conscious. It is very, very possible.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'Beyond Description'

Many times, I ask, "Does light really know about darkness, and does darkness really know about light?" This is a very interesting question, because maybe we wonder, "Isn't there some point where the two meet?" Think about it. Does light know about darkness? They have never met. Can they ever meet? I don't think so, because their natures are so fundamentally different.

It is the same way in the world of the heart. There are principles that guide and dictate the heart, and then there are principles that guide and dictate the mind. Do the two know about each other? I don't think so, because their natures are so fundamentally different. One does not rely on feeling or understanding. The other does.

There is something in you that, just by reading a description of food, can say, "That's good." But your nature is that only after food has touched the tongue and the aroma has reached the nose can you say, "Wow! This is good!" So for one part of you, description is good enough. For another part of you, something has to be real. Then, and only then, is it accepted. In that part of you that belongs to the realm of the real, there is something very beautiful called the heart. In the realm of the heart, description means nothing.

Imagine that you've bought a house, you're cleaning it, and in the corner, you see a shiny diamond. You pick it up, and your first reaction is, "I bet this is fake." But, if in that corner, there's a beautiful box with a fake diamond in it, your first reaction will be, "I bet it's real."

Aren't you curious which part of you dictates your life? Both are parts of you, no question about it. Which is the part that makes decisions for you? It's a very simple question, but it has incredibly profound consequences.

I'm not talking about decisions of what to eat, what movie to see, what clothes to buy, or even who to marry. I'm talking about the decisions that really matter to you. The heart is incapable of making decisions in an illusive world. It does not understand it. The mind is quite capable of making decisions in this world. It does understand it, because it created it. "We need this, we need this, we need this…."

The mind has made the world situation confusing. But in the realm of the heart, there is no confusion. There never was and never will be. In the realm of the heart, there is only one thing: To be fulfilled. To find that joy, to find that feeling—not a description of the feeling.

What I talk about is not dogmas, theories, descriptions, explanations. This is about finding the joy in your life. And not just once, but to have that joy available to you every single day for the rest of your life. That's it. If you're looking for descriptions, explanations, rules, something to believe in—you won't find them here, because this is the realm of the heart.

In the realm of the heart, there is knowing. To know, not have faith. To walk in clarity, not in doubt. People say, "Have faith, and that will overcome doubt." I say, "Have clarity, and that will overcome doubt." Which one? Faith or clarity? Clarity. Not just, "I hope, I wish, I pray." But, "The next step will be taken with clarity, not wishful thinking."

The joy that you seek already exists in the heart. All you have to do is awaken to this possibility. Understand. Feel. Do you understand who you are? You are conscious. Because you are conscious, you can feel the infinite. And when you do, joy happens—the truest joy. Not "Happy Birthday" joy. Not becoming a dad or mom joy, graduating joy, finding a job joy. It is the joy that happens when the consciousness experiences the beauty inside—that joy. The joy of being full.

So, while you have this consciousness, feel the joy in your life. This is who we are. Come and accept clarity in your heart. Pay a little attention to this other world that is also a part of you—the world of the heart, the world of knowing, the world of clarity, the world of simplicity. I guarantee you that you will feel good—a good that cannot be described in words. And then, walk every step with clarity, with confidence. Every day that you have, of all things that you can do, you can also be fulfilled.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Making a Difference

I have traveled the world many times speaking about peace. And people ask me, "How is peace going to be possible?" I tell them, "Maybe you have ten reasons why peace is not possible: There is too much greed. There are too many people who are hungry. I have 6.7 billion reasons why there should be peace on this earth—6.7 billion being the population of this earth, approximately."

I have the same interest you do, the same quest as you, the same dream as you. And we, the people, can make the difference for peace on this earth.

We have relied on institutions long enough. Institutions can bring us prosperity—ways to flourish on the outside. But when it comes to feeling the peace on the inside, this remains our responsibility. I have gone from village to village. I have seen the poor, and I have seen the rich. These are society's differences, the glasses they give us that say, "Look at me. I am rich; I am poor. I am tall; I am short. I am a woman; I am a man. I am educated; I am not educated."

These divisions have pushed people further away from each other, not brought them together. Look at the condition of this world. There are more educated people today than there have ever been. And look what that has brought. If the solution lies anywhere, it is, and has always been, inside of us. It is incumbent upon human beings to bring peace, to bring kindness to each other.

Peace and the quest for peace will persevere. You are the little seeds that, when they germinate, carry on the cause of peace in this world.

What is peace? People think, "If everybody had food, then we would have peace." Excuse me. Who creates food? Do people create food? No. We can sow the seeds. Nature does the work. Nature grows the trees and the fruit. Is nature partial to what language you speak? Is nature partial to any of the divisions that we have created? No. Can the people of this world be fed? Yes. What does it take? Kindness.

There is a saying: "If you are strong, you should be kind. If you are smart, you should be simple. If you are wealthy, you should be humble." I agree. The kindness that needs to exist is in the heart of people, but skepticism hides that kindness.

Some people say, "If all the children were taken care of, there would be peace." God takes care of that child for nine months in the womb. That's not where the problem begins. It's when the child comes into our world. Nine months—food, water, sleep—everything is perfectly taken care of.

I am not here to give you peace. I am here to put the idea in your head that peace exists inside of you. Start thinking, that's all. The thirsty will find the water, because they have the thirst. But if there is no thirst, they could be standing next to a lake, and it won't make any difference whatsoever.

I am saying, "Let us know the dream of our heart to have that crystal clear water." Everybody can not only drink from it but bathe in it. This is the dream; this is the possibility. One step at a time.  

People come to me and say, "Give me some peace!" How can I give you what you already have? You have that peace inside of you. The attitude that needs to change is: Is peace a possibility or not? This is what you have to decide. I have decided for myself. Yes, peace is a possibility. The drums of peace have been ringing on this earth for a very, very long time.

Your strength lies in understanding your thirst, your need to be in that joy, to be in that happiness. There is a dimension inside of you that is greater than all that you see on the outside. You are more than the sum of all the bad that happens in your life. Peace is inside of you even in turmoil, and you can experience that peace. It begins with understanding your thirst for it.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'Acceptance'

We all want to have fun, to enjoy. The most fun of all is to be alive. Not everybody understands that, because we get caught up in what "fun" is, what life is, and how that should be defined. And all of a sudden, we find ourselves coping with what is happening around us rather than enjoying.

Coping is totally different from enjoying in the truest sense. I'm not talking about parties and balloons, but about something so essential to a human being—the fun of the heart.

People say, "Life is terrible. If you think life is fun, if you think life is about joy, then you need a reality check."

What is your reality? My conviction, my understanding is that of all the days you have in this life, if just one day you are fulfilled, then this life was worth it. If it was just six hours, three hours, one hour, one moment, one second of being able to realize what you have been given—this life was worth it. You cannot realize what you have been given until you have accepted it from your heart. Look at what you have been given in its entirety. Even if it is for one second, it is so beautiful, so precious, that it is indeed enough.

When the call from within comes, when the heart says, "Be fulfilled," we ignore it. We think it is not significant enough, or we say, "I don't have time for this stuff."

We think that, as this breath has been coming and going, it will continue to come and go, and that there will be no end to it. Excuse me, there is. And the humility that it evokes is so amazing. It's not like a hammer falling down. It's a fine line. One day, I have to go. And when that becomes certain, the value of this time, this life, this breath becomes clear.

It's not about the beginning or the end of life. It is that one day, one minute, one second you are touched by the pure joy, the pure reality, that resides in you 24/7, that never abandons you. Wherever go, whoever you are, the gift keeps coming. All you have to do to put your world right is to accept it. That's all. You don't have to ferment it, reshape it, cut it, wash it, frame it.

Do you know what the greatest form of worship is? Acceptance. In that acceptance, in that understanding, clarity begins to come, not confusion. What comes with joy is clarity. These things are paired. Clarity is paired with joy, not with confusion. Confusion comes with doubt, anger, fear—all the things we don't like and don't know how to get rid of.

What is being offered is not just to feel that joy for one moment—which would be enough—but to feel it whenever you want to. There is no question that whenever you turn within—be it your last breath or not—you will be rewarded with joy, with peace.

What do you want? Look at your heart. It hasn't changed. You may have gotten older, but your heart has not changed. What you desired when you were very little, you still want today. And it's not the toys. It's the joy of being alive—to wake up, to want it, to grab it, to accept it in earnest.

I want you in your life to feel that feeling of fulfillment. That's all. I'm not here to confuse you or tell you that everything you know is junk. I'm not here to say you should follow a religion or not follow one. Do whatever you have to do. But of all the things you do in your life, do this one, too: feel fulfilled. And of all the things you do, do this one also: accept the gift that has been given to you so abundantly.

This breath, accept it. The day you do, that will be the most incredible act of worship you will have ever done. Your heart will instantly fill with gratitude. And when your heart is filled with gratitude, there is no greater heaven on the face of this earth. Time stops; worries are gone. The heart is filled with gratitude. The heart is the best. It will bring you back home.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'Walking with Strength'

What is this life all about? One day, we all have to go. You know that; it's in the back of your mind some days. Other days, you don't bother thinking about it. For most people, the subject is very unpleasant. But the issue is your existence—you being alive. Just what does that mean to you?

So many people say, "If we could just find a solution to this problem, everything would be fine." People everywhere basically know that they want to be happy. They want to be content. They want to feel good. Every human being is innately like that. This is our nature.

We seek equilibrium. The storms in our lives are not a good thing. When a storm comes, we seek shelter. We don't say, "I'm going out in the storm now. This is the perfect time." We need the equilibrium of feeling good. I'm not going to define "feeling good." There are certain things that work for you, and certain things that don't. Feeling good works. Feeling bad doesn't. You don't get bored with feeling good. When you are feeling bad, on the other hand, you want to get out of that situation. This is your nature.

Do you concur with your nature? Do you try to nurture a good feeling and perpetuate it as much as possible? Or do you carry around a pocketful of band-aids? A pocketful of band-aids is: "There is no way I'm going to be conscious or perpetuate happiness in my life. I will do things that are unconscious, and when I get hurt, I will simply pull out one of the band-aids, take care of it, and I will be okay."

Being unconscious will get you hurt—no question about it. When you don't listen to your own fundamental needs, something will happen, and it will not be pleasant.

So what is pleasant? Pleasant is when the priority of life is acknowledged and my heart is filled with gratitude. When I know the friend within, when my house is built on the foundation of knowing—not beliefs, wishes, and ideas—it is very, very pleasant. This is what life is all about—filling yourself with the pleasant, filling yourself with infinite joy.

Can life really be filled with infinite joy? Is that possible? If you doubt this, you don't understand the nature of what resides within you, because what resides within you is complete joy, complete clarity.

Think of life like this: It is your opportunity to spend time with the best friend you ever had. It is your chance to be with the ultimate clarity, the ultimate kindness, the ultimate joy. That's what a life is. It's not promised to be forever. But the possibility exists that you get to spend time with that which is the most beautiful. And that resides in your heart.

So, wherever you go and whatever takes place, just remember this: Life is not just ups and downs. They happen. That's our doing. By our unconsciousness, we allow greed, anger, and fear to overtake the sanity of being alive. If there is suffering on planet Earth, it is brought by the people, for the people. We are the ones that set the expectation of how everything should be. "You should be like this, live for this long, look like this, look like that."

Did God create the problems in this world? No. We did. It is about human beings. If you could just know that this life is the chance to spend time with that which is the truest, unconditional love… This is the opportunity for every living being to spend time with the Beloved within, to feel gratitude for life and rejoice. When that happens, you feel alive, and you begin to live. And the most magnificent movement is the coming and going of the breath. It needs no proof, no buildup. Its blessing is obvious. Is it obvious to you?

You exist. You are alive. Gather your strengths, not your weaknesses. What are your strengths? Your strengths are consciousness, kindness, understanding, acknowledging, rejoicing, loving. And when you walk with these, the outcome is beautiful. Every second you spend with the beauty inside of you, you are liberated. You are free.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'It's Your Choice'

Someone told me that they wanted peace so that they could give it to others. But you can't give your peace to anybody else, just as you can't give anybody your time. You cannot give a person who is dying even five more minutes.

Peace is very personal. By having peace in your life, you can become a catalyst for others, this is true, but you cannot give them peace. They have to find their own thirst, have their own understanding, and find that peace within.

That possibility is always there in your life. If you have the wisdom, you will take advantage of it. Sometimes people think wisdom is enlightenment. They see an old painting of a saint with a light over their head and think, "Oh, that's an enlightened person." But true enlightenment is when you recognize, and wisdom is deciding to choose the joy that is within you. It is not about knowing what's coming tomorrow. Problems come and go. If you have a problem, one day it will go just like it came. Things will change—you will change—but the passion for joy, for clarity, will remain with you for the rest of your life.

My thirst for clarity, for joy, has not changed since I was very little. Everything else has changed—my likes, dislikes, what I eat, what I don't eat. Everything has changed, but that thirst has not changed.

Choose that in your life. This is a choice that has to be made every day—to enjoy your life. You have to come as a free person, not with baggage, not in fear, because that won't work. Problems come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes they change their appearance. But what do you want in your life? This is a choice you're going to have to make.

People have hesitation. I cannot do anything about that because this is you. Personally, for me, hesitation is a waste of time. I can tell you a story about hesitation.

Once there was a man who went to a fair. His teeth were really dirty—almost black. As he was walking along, he came to a display where a doctor was selling medicine for 15 cents. The doctor was showing it to people and offering that if somebody came from the audience with completely black teeth, they could wash their mouth with the medicine, and their teeth would become sparkling clean.

This man wanted the medicine, but he couldn't decide. Maybe it's too expensive. Maybe he doesn't really want it. Maybe he does want it. Does it work? He's standing there thinking, "Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I?" He's got a five-cent coin and a ten-cent coin, and he's rubbing the two coins together over and over. "Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I?"

Finally, all the bottles are gone except for one. So, the man takes his coins, throws them at the doctor and says, "Here, I'll take it." The doctor picks up the coins and says, "With what?" The man said, "Well, I just gave you 15 cents." And the doctor said, "I've been watching you going, 'Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I?' And in this process, you have totally worn down the coins. They are no good now."

Hesitation is like that. The coins are our time. "Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I?" If you are ready to make the commitment that joy is what you want in your life, you will be welcome. It's never too late, but don't hesitate, because in hesitation, you're wasting your time.

When this breath comes into you—and it just did—nobody can say, "I have been breathing for 60 years, so it's okay if I don't breathe for six hours." No, it's not okay. Each breath is needed. Every day joy, peace, needs to be accepted, felt, understood. This is the dance. This is the symphony of life.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'Pulse of Life'

It's so important to understand the subject of this life. I don't think the importance of truly grasping what this means can be over-emphasized. As human beings, we have an incredible brain, incredible talent. We can accomplish so many things—almost too many. Because we are alive, we can experience peace and joy. We can go to the moon and create space stations. We can peer into the deep, deep reaches of the universe. And because we are alive, we can also create wars, decimate this planet, and make it impossible for everything to exist.

Cell phones have saved many lives. But the same technology that is saving so many lives is also being used in weapons and a weapons delivery system that is wiping out more lives than it is saving. And the saving might happen over a period of a year, but the destruction happens within days.

So, it becomes obvious that we have to choose. And what should our choice be? Well, to put it in context, there is a place you can go that is not really real. It's virtual. There, you can create an alter-personality of yourself. You can fly. You can do all the things you've always wanted to do but could never do, but only virtually, not really. In this virtual place, people buy apartments and sofas for apartments. But when you buy the virtual apartment and the furniture, you pay for it with real money. It's a million-dollar-a-day business—$365,000,000 a year. And it's growing. People even meet in this virtual place and get married!

I bring a message about reality, a message that says, "What you are looking for is inside of you."

Who are you? What are you? What is your core? We need to know that in this day and age more than at any other time. Otherwise, our choices will be virtual or make-believe, but the consequences will be real. Unfortunately, consequences are always real.

What is your real potential? There is a power, a beauty, that resides within. When I turn within, my heart is filled with joy, peace. I have to choose this every single day, because in this world, the line between the virtual and the real can become too faded. And I choose reality, because it is far more beautiful.

An Indian writer named Tulsidas once said, "All that you see is illusion. As far as your eyes can see, it's all illusion. If you want reality, turn within." The problem is that we don't like what we see, but we don't understand why. So we create an alternative world in which our fantasies can come true. People like Tulsidas said, "Turn within and all your fantasies will come true. The truest wish will come true." But we have to choose. Every single day, we have tochoose.

Reality is beautiful. Don't try to measure it, because contentment, joy, love, understanding cannot be measured. There is no scale for them. Understand. Open your heart. Look within and see how beautiful it is. Feel your life filled with joy, filled with gratitude, not explanations or ideas. This is reality; no formulas or philosophies are needed to truly receive the gift every single day.

You are the vessel for the sweetest satisfaction, joy—the pure clear water of contentment. When you are filled with this, you come alive, because that's what life is. You can understand. You don't have to be confused. It's that simple. Realize the pulse of life.

What an incredible opportunity it is to choose a gratification that is given every day when you turn inside. It's not about the struggles you've had or the list of failures, but about each success that took place. You will still make mistakes, but the beauty is it's not about mistakes or failures. It's not about the length of the night. It's about the rising of the sun. The light comes, and a new day begins.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'Bridge of Life"

I want to tell you a story. It is a very different story, because it's not about a king or a queen or romance or victory or failure. The purpose is not to occupy your time or entertain you. There is a simple and beautiful reality, and it's the most magnificent story. It is about what is—this beautiful creation in an incredibly hostile universe.

We've been given an opportunity to be here. Is that good or bad? That's not the point. Let me give you an analogy. Let's say there is a very beautiful painting by one of the masters—trees, ocean, clouds, sun—but you have never seen it. Then one day you do. However, the painting was packed improperly, and it rubbed against the box. The greens, blues, oranges, and whites have all gotten mixed up. It almost looks weird. All that is left is the master's signature. And you think, "He painted that?"

Everybody looks at reality with a twist and wonders why reality isn't beautiful. When it comes down to this little thing called peace, I have found that nobody in this world has a clue what peace is—none, zip, nada, no idea. It's so sad that it's almost humorous.

Some people think, "Oh, the end of war is peace." So you mean that before the wars began, there was peace, and peace led to wars? Some say, "Eliminate the hunger in this world, and there will be peace." Listen, there are people who purposely go hungry trying to lose weight. If you created a "hunger detector" and drove down all the roads in the world with it, and anybody who was hungry would get food shoved in their mouth, would there be peace? You would have more wars.

So we have concepts. It's as though we have a film in front of our eyes, while reality is sweetly dancing. All that you see that is so beautiful will not always be there. This time you have is about the opportunity to be alive. It is not about the semantics of your life. It is not about the circuit diagrams of your existence. It is not about all the other things we allow ourselves to be distracted by. Peace is. And peace manifests within the heart of every single human being. That is the only place.

Don't look at reality through the eyes of all these formulas. Look through the simplest eyes that you have been given, and what will you see? You will see a perfection, hear a rhythm, discover a magnificence greater than what you could ever imagine. That is what this story is about.

The viewpoint we have latched onto because of our ideas is so different that we are incapable of simply appreciating what is—just seeing, understanding the beauty of the breath that comes in and out. It is the simplest act that takes place. It happens naturally. And its existence verifies that you are alive. So powerful is this breath that as long as it is happening, all is well. And if it isn't happening, the story changes.

The coming and going of this breath is a gift. And absolutely, as long as the breath comes into you, all is well indeed. When you feel that simplicity, you can begin to hear the real rhythm of your life. You can appreciate what you have been given, and the story will be complete.

You will be set free when you understand that you do not need the support of all the ideas, that you can just stand on this bridge of life, and that it is solid, good, strong. You can jump on it, and it won't fall down. You will be able to appreciate its strength. And then your heart will fill with gratitude for all that you have been given. And when your heart fills with gratitude, you will have the answers without needing the questions. It gets better and better, because there is no limit to that better, and there is no limit to the ability you have been given to enjoy.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - "When Spring Comes"

Here we are in spring. And the tussle is on. On one side, winter does not want to let go of its hold. On the other side, the warmth of summer wants to break in. And this is played out in the skies, the clouds, the lightning, the rainbows, the sun. And on the ground are delicate little plants. They're fragile. Last fall, they gambled. "To survive the winter, we will need to shed our leaves." And they did. The gamble was, "Summer will come again and, when it does, we will be able to put out our leaves and once again become whole."

Now they are prepared, and the slightest hint of summer coming has spurred them to start putting those delicate leaves out again—ready to make that commitment to being complete.

My question is, are you ready for the spring in your life? If you are, I have some very good news for you: Spring indeed has come. Bloom! This is not the time to reason or question or argue whether spring has come for real or not. It is not the time to lament that leaves have to be shed again, so what's the point.

Do you know that every day you are alive, spring comes? Yes, pain comes, too. What is pain saying to you? "Hello, haven't we been a little unconscious lately? Awaken." When pain comes, people think, "Let's look at this. Let's analyze it." That's not what pain is for. The grinding of the gears inside is because something isn't right.

As a human being, you have a rhythm. And this rhythm says, "Move. March. Go. Move. March. Go." Move. Understand your mortality and be inspired to move on, not stop. Understand also that a part of you is immortal.

You're like a sandwich. One part of you, that you have paid a lot of attention to, is the wrong slice of bread. You should have paid attention to the other slice, because this one will disintegrate. That is its nature. Don't let that scare you. Let that inspire you to focus on the part that is truly delicious. And the inspiration to do that resides in your heart. Within you is the drum that plays the beat to know, to understand, to dance to the rhythm of the dance of understanding. "I understand what a gift I have been given. I understand my urge to blossom."

The beauty is, spring will come. And when I look at those tiny bright green leaves emerging, I say to myself, "Go. Do it. Don't be threatened. Don't be disheartened because it is cold today. However strong this grip of this cold is, it will be broken."

For you, however strong the grip of ignorance is, it will be broken, because the seeker within you is stronger than the sum of all the questions and confusion there is in this world. Such is the drive from inside. And this is the most beautiful drive—to search. If a person searches, I say, "Good. If you search genuinely, you will find the person who will fulfill that quest." It's called the thirst, the thirsty, and the water. Because there is a thirst, there is the thirsty. And because there is the thirsty, water will be found.

Some people go through a lot to find the water. And it will be found, because the water you are looking for is within. You don't have to go to a particular place. You don't have to look for an oasis or a well or birds or anything. Anywhere you are on this desert, every breath is pumping the most incredible water that will quench your thirst, day and night.

Look within your heart, and you will find the truest essence of your existence. Look within you, and you will find the most beautiful waters. Look within you, and you will find your answers to which you don't even have questions.

I'm talking about the passion and compassion in this universe and beyond, the most incredible energy that created the sun, the moon, the Earth from dust. From nothing to create everything. To create this Earth with ceilings without pillars, incredible textures of carpet, alive, beautiful, ever-changing. To create a magnificent light, made up of every shade. To create night lights that are unimaginable—the moon, the clouds, the stars, all of it. And for you to have the ability to witness this, not only to see but be able to admire. To make every day and never to make two alike—this is craftsmanship. To make the trees and snowflakes and never two alike. And to make human beings and never two alike.

When the rain pours and pours, remember the magnificence that you have been blessed with. Remember what the possibilities are. Remember that you're part of it all. You're not some abstract, good-for-nothing thing that just happened to be. When the craftsmanship is so good then every bit needs to be looked at and admired, nothing is frivolous. Not a grain of sand, not a leaf, not a snowflake, not a raindrop is out of place. And if you accept that, then you must also accept you're not out of place. See and understand the reality, because it is more beautiful than anything you have imagined. And as spring comes every day in your life, without hesitation, sprout.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

Prem Rawat - 'The Grand Miracle'

I'm not here to try to point out all the problems of the world, because there are too many. But, despite all the problems, all the things that are wrong, there are some things that are really, really good. Despite all the ugliness, there is something very, very beautiful. Despite all the mistakes, there is one thing that is perfect. And that perfection, that beauty, is in you.

There are people who like to point out all the problems, and in a way, I'm glad they do. But I think there should be some people who point out the good, the beautiful, because this life, despite all the problems, is beautiful. And sometimes, caught up in our troubles, our turmoil, our ideas, our concepts, we forget what we have been given.

Who are we? Are we just the sum of all the things that happen around us? Are we just people who wake up in the morning and realize our responsibilities, "I have to do this, I have to do this"? Or is there something more, something inside each human being that wants to smile, to be thankful, to feel gratitude, to feel joy?

I speak from my own experience. I have responsibilities. There are good days, and there are bad days. In the good days, I want to be happy. I want to feel peace. I want to feel connected to myself. Then there are the bad days. And even then, I just want to be happy.

Nobody can explain happiness. You know what it is. It isn't just smiling or laughing or a time of day when you become happy. Happiness comes because you feel good. We think it is feeling happy about something—our child graduates from college; we win a lottery ticket; we get a promotion. We think our happiness is associated with all these things.

There is only one person who can make you happy, and it happens to be a person you know very little about. Strange. You know about your friends, other people—your associates, your colleagues—but very little about yourself, who you are. And you are that one person who can make you very happy.

I see people driving on the highways honking their horns, yelling, screaming. Somehow I get the feeling that they don't really think life is important. They just want to get to where they're going. I want you to take a moment and understand something—that your life is incredibly important.

You're not a number. You're not a name. You are more than the sum of all your goods and bads. So many people live in fear. But there is a place inside of you that cannot have fear, where you can feel freedom. When somebody has to tell me I am free, I'm not free.

We have our formulas. Happiness has nothing to do with formulas. "This plus this, minus this, equals happiness." Either you feel happiness or you don't. Either you feel joy in your life or you don't.

What do you feel in your life? Because this life is the stage where peace will dance, where happiness will sing a song for you. This life holds promise after promise after promise, gift after gift after gift for you.

I have been watching spring coming. Ah, it is so beautiful to watch spring come. Right outside my office at home, there is a tree, and in the winter, it shed every leaf, down to just bare branches. And then slowly but surely, spring began to come, and not a day was wasted for those green shoots to start appearing. This I call dedication. This I call life. This I call "the grand miracle." If that tree was human, it would say, "Why are we doing this? Winter will come again, and I will have to shed these leaves again. So forget this—just hibernate."

It is not logic, but something that transcends logic. Love is not logical. These little shoots wait and wait. They can't forecast the weather. They don't think: "These two days are warm, but then the next two days it's going to rain again, so just wait." No. For them, it is: "Here it is. The warmth has come. The sun is shining. The temperature is right. Let's go." And as tender and delicate as those shoots are, even with two days of cold and rain, they keep on going. There is a drive that is more powerful. And this scene plays out for billions of trees every year.

Your spring has come. It is time to reach within and allow the hope for peace in your life to resurface, to see the good, to understand that good, to once again know and to once again say yes to what you have ignored for so long—you.

Prem Rawat

in Maharaji: Life, Maharaji: Peace | Digg it

The Voice of Maharaji

Prem Rawat on Life and the Possibility of Peace Within

Words of Peace Global

Related Blogs

Touched by the Magic

Prem Rawat - 'Beyond Description'

Making a Difference

Prem Rawat - 'Acceptance'

Prem Rawat - 'Walking with Strength'

Prem Rawat - 'It's Your Choice'

Prem Rawat - 'Pulse of Life'

Prem Rawat - 'Bridge of Life"

Prem Rawat - "When Spring Comes"

Prem Rawat - 'The Grand Miracle'

Themes

Archives

Magazine Articles (PDF)