Prem Rawat: Peace Needs To Be Felt 2002-09-12

Rawat is in a very good mood this night. He was smiling a lot after a standing applause welcome and was quite probably thinking about how the speech would be advertised as if he was actually addressing the United Nations General Assembly.

The AI transcriber I use is confused by Rawat's long pauses between phrases and often transcrbs sections of his speeches as many very short sentences. I no longer atempt to edit these into standard length sentences if it is intelligible.

Prem Rawat: Peace Needs To Be Felt, UN Conference Center
Bangkok 12th September 2002 DVD 03V1 PNTBF

Prem Rawat speaks to people around the world about the possibility of finding inner peace and contentment. Speaking at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand, he recently said, the peace that we are looking for is already in the heart, it needs to be felt and I can help you get in touch with it. He delivered his first public address in India when he was only four years old. At the age of 13, he was invited to address audiences in London and Los Angeles. Since then, he has presented his message to over 4.5 million people in more than 50 countries. For those who wish to make such peace a reality in their lives, he offers a practical way which he calls Knowledge.

Thank you. It's a privilege and honour to be here this evening. And it's a greater privilege and honour to address the issue of peace. Peace begins with every single human being. It is not an issue of institutions. It is something that has to be felt. It is something that has to be experienced in the heart of every person. We do so much in this world to try to make ourselves comfortable. We do so much in this world to make a better life. Everyone who can, in his or her own way, tries very hard to better themselves. And yet, we spend so little time understanding the dynamics of what causes this to happen. What is it inside you and me? What is it inside every person in this whole world? That is pushing them, forcing them to evolve into a better situation. To be more content, to be more joyous, to be more in peace.

Peace is like a seed. Waiting in the desert to blossom. It sees no distinction. It doesn't care if you are rich. It doesn't care if you are poor. It doesn't care which religion you belong to. It doesn't care if you are fat. It doesn't care if you are thin. And it doesn't care which country you live in. But what it does care about is that water. Just like in the desert, all these seeds that are lying in wait. Waiting for that right time to come. Waiting for that opportunity when indeed water will come. In your heart also lies the seed. Wanting and waiting for nothing else but to be fulfilled. To be fulfilled. For the thirst of peace to be quenched. To once again feel whole. And not segregated. Not separated.

By all the other issues that penetrate our lives. So many things have come in. Priority is not to be content anymore. The priority is to look after all the responsibilities. The priority is to appease so many that are on the list to be appeased. And where in this giant wheel of things do you sit? Do you belong? Are you the seed that is ready? Or do you have an agenda that says, well not right now. Few more years. Then I will think about peace. Then I'll think about being fulfilled. Because the thirst lies in wait. And lies in wait. And lies in wait. Like it always has. And like it always will. Always.

Breath comes. And each breath brings the possibility of being fulfilled. To me. That breath coming into so many on the face of this earth. So quietly. So silently. Is screaming a message. Very loud and clear. And what is the message? Now. Now in your life be fulfilled. Now. In your life. Find that peace. Now. In your life. Find that joy. Joy. The joy that doesn't come from the catalysts on the outside. But that is triggered because one has found their fulfillment. Because that's where peace is. It's not on the outside. Peace. Is within the heart. Of each being.

Absence of war is not peace. Because it is people. It is us. We're the ones who start the wars. When the differences become so great and the intolerance. Intolerance. Reaches epic proportions. Wars will happen. When I fail to see another being. As I see myself. Then wars. Will happen. When the causes and the reasons. Become greater. Than the sanctity of peace. Wars will happen. When I fail to realize. What is the value. The value of being alive. Wars will happen. And believe me. Believe me. Ever. That the war begins. Outside. It would have begun. On the inside. First. And the war on the inside. Is far more dangerous. Because it is a fire. That may never be quenched. And it can rage on. And on. And on. And on. In the battle outside. At least you will hear a noise. But the battle inside. You may not hear a peep. The battle outside. May have strategies. The battle inside. Maybe just going on. And on. And on. And nobody is even negotiating. Hey. Stop.

This is your time. On the face of this earth. This is your opportunity. To be alive. For me. When peace begins. Within me. And it has taken hold. Of me. When I have allowed it. To blossom. Then peace for me. Is also possible. On the outside. Then peace for me. Is also possible. A reality. Because I have felt it. Because. Peace isn't about. Words. It is about feeling.

Like to a thirsty person saying. Water. Water. Water. Water. Water. It will not quench their thirst. They need water. And not only do they need water. They actually need to feel. That their thirst. Has been quenched. Before. Before. They can say. Thank you. Before. They can say. Ah. That feels good. To me. That is the simplicity. That's what we have forgotten. That's what we have forgotten. That a hungry person needs water. Needs food. And more than food. Needs to have eaten it. And satisfied the hunger. It is the hunger. That is causing the problem. The hunger. The thirst. Needs to be quenched. The hunger needs to be satisfied.

The longing of a lifetime.

Regardless of how old the person is. It is a longing of a lifetime to be fulfilled. And what does it take? What does it take? Water comes. Water flows. And water. Water is water. Water is supple. Strong but supple. And maybe it comes across in its path. Against some rocks.

And rocks say to the water. You're water. We're rocks. We're not going to move. You move. And the water says. Okay. I'll move. And the rocks may even think. Oh for a moment. We won. They haven't. Because. As supple as that water may appear to be. It has one thing that is amazing. It has one thing that is incredible. And that one thing is persistence. Persistence. And you know what that does? It's amazing. That water will start carving the rock. Slowly but surely. And the next thing you will realize. Rock has moved and the water will begin to flow where the rock was. And look at the gorges. The canyons. Carved by water. I find that very fascinating. Persistence. Persistence. That's one thing rock does not have that water does. And for all the rigidity that the rock has. It has sacrificed persistence. Water. Has succumbed to being supple. But did not give up. Persistence. And who ultimately ends up winning. Persistence. That is so beautiful. Persistence. To persist. Not to give up. Not to give up. But to persist. Every day in the pursuit of that Joy.

Persist every day in the pursuit of peace. Persist, persist. And it doesn't matter who you are, how strong you are, how weak you are, but persist and that persistence, that's one quality each one of us has. Persist. And if you do, you will win. You will carve the rock. You will tame the rock. Persist. Persist in that quest for being fulfilled. Persist in the quest for feeling that peace in your life. Persist. People look like, well, you know, what can I do? Water doesn't say that. And people say, well, how do you know I will win? That's a very big statement, isn't it? Here I am telling you, and you will win.

A lot of people are like, mm, that's too far fetched. How do you know? Then go and see a river. Then go and see a gorge. Then go and see what that water has done to those rocks and has made them into sand. Sand. Powder. The indestructible ones, the hard, impervious to change. That's what a mountain represents. And yet for the water, let it come. Let it come. The water. I can turn the desert green. Wisdom, then, is to stay pliable. To learn from the water what it wants to teach you. This clear liquid can turn a desert green. This clear liquid has the capacity to cleanse and cleanse and cleanse and cleanse and cleanse. To take rocks and turn them into sand.

I, too, want to become like that water. I, too, want to never forget the joy of each breath. I, too, never want to forget the beauty of every day that is given to me. I, too, never want to ever, ever, ever underestimate what it means to be alive. I, too, want to pursue the interest of my heart. I, too, want to feel in peace. In peace. It doesn't matter where my ambitions take me. It doesn't matter where I go. I want to feel in harmony. In harmony with my life. I want to create a struggle where I'm going one way and my heart is pulling another. I, too, want to win. What else can I do? What else can I accomplish? But to have accomplished one thing.

That empty-handed I came, but empty-handed I did not have to leave.

If I can do that, that I can carry with me the joy of being alive wherever I go. The joy of being fulfilled wherever I go. The joy of being in peace wherever I go. Then I feel that I would have lived this life. And at the end, I have every right to feel the gratitude for being alive. Not just one day. Not just one hour. Not just one moment but for all of it. For all of it. With no restrictions. Generosity. Defined and redefined. As I accept every breath of my life. Nothing can be so generous in my wildest imagination that I have been placed here. And given, given one element. I have many elements. But one amongst all those elements that I have.

I can write. I love to fly. I can fly airplanes. I can fly helicopters. I can fly gliders. All those elements that I have. I can write poetry. I can do so many things. But of all those elements I have, there's one element. And that is that I can appreciate the gift of this existence. And of all those elements, that element is the most precious to me. Peace. Then when I begin to understand that. That this life is a gift. Because for many it isn't. And they do not see it that way. But when I begin to see that this is a gift. Then that is the day I have prepared myself for peace. And the day I start accepting this breath. That on the day I start accepting this existence. That is the day I will find myself in peace.

Not divisions. Nor multiplications. Nor additions. Nor subtractions. You know, so many people out there. That's the formula. You want peace? No problem. Divide your life. Divide your time. Five minutes for your children. Five minutes for your wife. Divide. And then you will be happy. Some people say, no, no, no, no, no. Multiply. And you say, well, I've been multiplying, multiplying. No, multiply some more. Then you will be happy. And some people say, no, no, just add. A little here, a little there, and you will be fine. And some people say, no, no, no, no, no. Subtract. Take away everything.

Go climb on top of a mountain. And that should bring you happiness. And I say it is not a question of additions and subtractions and multiplications and divisions. This is not about mathematics. This is about appreciation. This is not about formulas. This is about waking up in the morning. And not because you have a label on some wall going, be thankful for today. See, that won't make you thankful. You will read the label and you will go, huh, right. Again, thankful is a feeling. Which one do you believe in, the feeling or the word? Because if you have the feeling, you need the word.

Who cares? You feel. And if you have the word, it doesn't mean you have the feeling. They have nothing to do with each other. That's why people go around saying, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace. And nothing happens. So address the war here. Make peace here. And watch peace unfold. Because you know, of all the things we have tried in this world, there's one thing we have never given a chance. And that one thing that has not been tried in this world is peace. And I'm not going to say this is the time for peace. Because there's always time for peace. Always was, always is, and guess what? Always will be. Peace is welcomed any time. Because I am the seed lying dormant in the desert. And I'm waiting any second, any minute. Come rain, come, I am ready. Does not happen to be in the morning.

I have no agenda. I have no agenda. I am waiting for you. That is my agenda. Trust and faith. We have the intelligence. I know how big of an intelligence that little seed could possibly have. You would think with all the intelligence we would know what trust means. But we. So we need to go to the seed to learn trust. Because this thing is sitting in the desert. And there's only one evidence as far as it can see, and that is no rain. Right? And guess what it's waiting for? Rain. The only link there is, is the trust, and it does. And somehow the rain does come. It does. And I have a feeling that that seed knows more about that than I do. I have studied meteorology. I'm fascinated by it. I love that stuff. But I have a feeling that seed knows more about the rain than I do. Because for me it's just a topic of interest for that seed. It's its own life. For me, I'm just fascinated for that seed, its existence depends on it. So the seed is the expert, not me. Everything, like that seed, I want to learn, too, about that rain of the peace coming to my desert. Because you know, ultimately, my life depends on it, too.

And if I want to be an expert, maybe I should be an expert in peace. If I want to study something, maybe I should be studying peace. And if I want to be fascinated by something, maybe I could be fascinated by peace. And have the trust in my heart, like as that rain does come, that peace will come in my life, too. And that's my message. That's what I go around and I tell people. Look within you. And if you need help to look within you, I can help. I can help. But the trust has to come from within you. And yes, peace needs to be in everyone's life. So thank you very much. And it's been a great honor and a privilege to speak here to you tonight.