Prem Rawat in Asheville, 2009-00-23

Prem Rawat in Asheville, 23rd September 2009

In this lecture, we are going to look at how to calculate the value of a constant. So, made it to Nashville, again. And really what I've come here to talk about, this life, understanding our growth, what is this all about? You know, one thing that I have discovered is that so many of us sometimes are confused a little bit about all that that goes on in this life.

And some people are like, well, I don't know, you know, I don't know where it's all headed, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I don't know about this, and I don't know about that, and I don't know what to believe anymore, I don't know what not to believe anymore. And I think I want answers, but I'm not sure if I want answers, and who's going to give me answers, and who's qualified to give me answers, and whose answers should I hear? And somewhere I read this, and somewhere I read that, and somewhere it's this, and somewhere it's that, and some people believe this, and some people believe that.

Now, you know, there's a few things we're forgetting here in this confusion. This isn't about other people. This isn't about other things.

This isn't about other people's ideas. This is your life. Your life.

What you know is what you have. What you don't know, you don't have. And so after saying that, I'm sure some of you are going, well, aren't you going to say something more about this? No.

Because before I do, I want you to understand what it means to know. There are no exceptions. There are no exceptions.

What you know, you know. And what you don't know, you don't know. And what you don't know is not what's going to help you in this life.

And so now I'm sure there are people wondering, why are you on about this no business? What is this knowing? What are we supposed to know? You tell me. What is it that you should know? A lot of people look at life, that you are but a traveler on a journey. Are you? You see, I've used that analogy before.

Oh, this is a journey, you're a traveler. Then one day, I said, well, what if we weren't travelers? What difference would it make? Would it make a difference? I mean, life is afoot. Something is happening.

And what do I know about it? And why am I emphasizing no? Not no, N-O, K-N-O-W, no, to know. It's because before, you can think about enjoying. You know, and this is how it is.

You end up in a town, and you don't know any streets. You don't know where you are. And before you can think about enjoying, you need a few pointers of where you are.

You're not lost. You're on the right road to the hotel that you have made reservations in. And everything is okay.

It is essential for you, at any given point, to know that you are okay. I call it, all is well. It's good.

We are caught up in uncertainties. And something in us is intrigued by certainty. We are caught up.

Because God did give us a very good brain. And we use it. Not necessarily the right way, but we use it.

And we use it to form our beliefs. I believe this. I believe that.

I believe in this. I believe in that. But you see, you could go to each one of the passengers and say, you know what, everything will be fine.

On the Aloha Airlines. Everything will be fine. Everything will be great.

But nobody will breathe that sigh of relief that they did when they actually knew they were safe. A billion explanations will not do it. Because you need to know.

No speculation. You need to know. So, now that I have said all that, this brings us to a joke.

And I wrote this joke. Oh, it's been a month now. And every time I remember this joke, I start chuckling.

Now, I don't know why. Because it's not that incredible of a joke. As jokes go, I know much better ones.

But it is just a funny little joke. And I will tell you what this joke is. One day, little Johnny is in his classroom.

And it happens to be the art class. And the teacher has given an assignment for each one of the students to draw something. And there's Johnny in the back of the class.

He's got his tongue sticking out. And he's got his head almost on top of the paper. And he's paying attention to nothing else.

And he's just feverishly drawing. And he is just focused. And the teacher walked by Johnny and seeing that he is so focused.

She queried, Johnny, what are you drawing? And Johnny said, I'm drawing God. And the teacher said, but Johnny, no one knows what God looks like. And Johnny said, they will in a minute.

So, I don't know why, every time I remember this, I check out. Because the Johnny is convinced. Convinced.

This is not to be held up against for arguments, for speculation. He is convinced. This is it.

And we in our lives do a very similar thing. We convince ourselves of all those things that are simply beliefs. Now, I'm not here to knock down your beliefs.

It's fine if you believe. Perfectly okay. Believe me.

Perfectly okay. To believe. But belief can never be a substitution for knowing.

Belief is belief. Knowing is knowing. And so far, that's how you have it.

There isn't a problem. And so, what about the beliefs? Well, I have an analogy. Now, a lot of you have already heard this.

It's my favorite one, so it's been going around. I've been trying to put it away, but it keeps coming up because it is so good. Now, what we're going to do here, this is not a big exercise.

There won't be any quiz after this. But what we're going to do is for just a few minutes, if you will, please just believe that there is a cow here. No harm done.

This cow doesn't actually smell. It's not going to freak out and jump out at the audience. No, it's just a very well-behaved, very cute, wonderful, wonderful cow.

It's right here. Mostly white, a few black patches, long eyelashes, bushy tail. I mean, just wonderful.

There's the cow. And one of the most beautiful things about this cow is that this cow gives the richest milk. Now, is there a problem in believing in this cow? No.

Is there a problem in having tea at four o'clock in the afternoon? No. It's a pretty good time to have tea. Is there a problem having tea with milk and sugar? Or if you don't have sugar, just milk.

No. When does the problem first appear on the radar? If you're trying to have real tea and use the milk from this cow, it's the first time you're going to run into a problem. Because this cow, even though milk is supreme, but it's only make-believe.

Because the cow is make-believe. If you're having make-believe tea, there is no problem. Because this cow is... Just hold your cup under the udder, touch her, and she will turn around and give the perfect amount of milk without even touching the udder.

Fresh milk dropped right into your teacup. That's how wonderful this cow is. Remember I talked about the butter? It's so good.

If you are hungry and you decide to have a piece of toast with the butter from this cow, do you run into a problem? Yes, if the toast is real and you want to really butter your toast. If it is make-believe toast, you don't have a problem. This cow is good, good butter.

Can you talk about the attributes of this cow and how wonderful this cow is and how good the milk is and how good the butter is and how well-behaved she is and what a darling cow she is and how good she looks? Of course. For how long? As long as you want. How many books could you fill with her description? Millions.

Just keep writing. It's not a problem. But if you're hungry, you got a problem.

If you want the milk in your tea and the tea is real, you got a problem. That's it. That's the end of my analogy.

This cow is now going to leave. But we stay to understand that one simple thing of what it means to know. That's why I'm here.

I'm not here to lecture you. I'm not here to explain to you what somebody else wrote. I'm not here to provide you with theoretical conjectures of what your life might be.

I'm not here to tell you of the shortcuts you could take in your life and have this elusive pill that once taken, you will never have headaches. No. I'm not here to tell you, oh, you're all on a journey.

You're a traveler and I hope you get to a good place. No, no. I'm here to tell you something else.

A reality that you should know. A reality that is so sweet. A reality that is so wonderful.

A reality that is so profound. How do I know this? Is this a belief or do I know this? The answer is, I know this. And I know this because I know.

I know that the most beautiful and greatest gift of breath just came into me. I know. That's not... What was that? I know! I am alive.

Do you know what it means to be alive? No! Too busy chasing solutions to problems. Too busy chasing solutions to problems because problems are more important than the very thing without which there would be nothing. All that that you have you have because you are alive.

All your aspirations to be happy only exist because you are alive. Your kindness might think you're not kind but kindness is built into you. So whether you like it or not, you're stuck with it.

Oh, so is the other stuff. But so is the other stuff. And the other stuff that you are stuck with is kindness.

Is understanding. Understanding. Understanding cannot take place without... You have to know you understand.

Trying to understand without knowing is like hmm I think I understand. Oh, I'm sure I'm sure there are people here who have researched and searched and searched and searched and searched and searched for the answers. I have no problem with that.

Search as much as you can. No problem. But I have one little thing to say to you.

This is just to try to make your life easy and please, just think about it. If you search for something that you haven't lost if you search for something that you have lost that's one thing but if you try to search for something you haven't lost you're going to run into a lot of problems. Because you're searching but not finding because you never lost it.

And when other people will see you searching they will for your benefit give you advice. What are you looking for? What are you looking for? Where was it last? Have you looked there? Because all they're doing, they're trying to help you but they're taking you away from your focus. And what is your focus? Is your focus to search or to find? Because if it is to find don't be caught in searching.

Look. Actually look. Open your eyes and you'll find it.

Why? Because you never lost it. The divine that you search for is within you. You never lost the divine.

The day you lose the divine searching is out of the question. Out of the question. And when you search for something you haven't lost believe you, me you will find a lot of things.

Oh yes, you will. You will find an awful lot of things. Look at that.

That's interesting. And sometimes getting caught up in the search is so intense that the person says, I think that's what I was looking for. You want to know my twist on this? My twist on this is this.

Somebody, long time ago I imagine this person to be quite scruffy because this was a really long time ago. This was when we were kind of in the cave days. You know, and club days, club, not club club like dance club is club days.

You see, we were still clubbing. It was just different. But we had our club, you know, our our little, maybe no costume, I don't know, nothing.

And scruffy beard, hair, whatever. Standing somewhere, gazing out at a beautiful scenery across and asking this question. Why am I here? Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? Do you know that these questions are still being asked? In fact, well, if you haven't asked the questions, this is what I have to say to you.

There's only two kinds of people in this world. Those who have asked this question and who haven't asked this question yet. Sooner or later you're going to ask this question.

Who am I? What am I doing here? What is the purpose of my life? So you think somebody would be smart enough to write a book. You know, answers to the three most asked questions in the history of mankind. I mean, it would be popular, wouldn't it? And if you ever forget, I mean, three questions, I mean, how long would the answers be? Shouldn't be too, too long.

You could, that's something you could tattoo. A, answer A, answer B, answer C. Off you go. Nothing to worry about.

You got your answers. Why am I here? Yep, now I remember. And there's been plenty of philosophers who have said many things about these issues, but the way philosophers talk, you can't understand a thing.

And that's why in universities across the world, they're still trying to figure out what the guy said. Because, you know, this is the analogy I use. If there was a bee that landed on your head, a philosopher would say, hey, yellow has come to you.

Influenced by this yellow, and so close to nectar yet so far. Yellow has come to me, so close to nectar yet so far. I mean, obviously you can't be saying, hey, dum-dum, there's a bee on your forehead.

No. So, questions remain unanswered. The world goes by.

We find ourselves in 2009, and the questions are still intact. There is www, more information available to you than ever before, and the questions still remain. How can this be? Because there's certain things that you must feel.

Not speculate. Not definitions, but feeling. When you are thirsty, you need water to quench your thirst.

Not an explanation. Not a picture. Not a thesis.

But, knowing. Having that water. Drinking that water.

Quenching that thirst. Knowing. Knowing that divine that resides in your heart.

Knowing. Not speculating. Knowing that beauty that comes as the gift is given to you one breath.

Knowing. Knowing what it means to be alive. Understanding what each day means.

Understanding what each moment and accordingly, accordingly, with gratitude to accept what you have been given and are being given. Because you understand. I'm not talking about a remedy to get rid of your problems.

Look at your life. Look at your life. Look at the past.

Have problems not come? And, some of these problems didn't you think were never going to go away? And then they did. And some wonderful things that happened to you that you never wanted to go away. And did they? Yes.

Flip side of the wave. Good things, bad things are defined by you. By your society.

By your circumstances. By your world that you live in. They are not defined by that power.

By whose courtesy dust is made into earth. And earth is made into dust. You live in the most spectacular place imaginable.

The dirt has been brought and my goodness doesn't it look beautiful. This is where you live. This is your home.

No, no, no. You don't call this your home. I mean, what a perspective.

A funky little place that's ready to go down you'll say that's my home. And not this. Miracle.

Truly a miracle. Around every corner. Oh, here we are.

Line up. You want to see a miracle? An anomaly is called a miracle. And a miracle that truly is called what? Ah, that's so common.

Out of an acorn comes an oak tree. Talk about a packaging job. The most nimble a coconut given all that it needs to transverse the oceans.

Don't we get excited about Columbus? There's coconuts made all over the place. And not only that. Successfully made the journeys and planted itself.

The water it needs present. The seed it needs present. The buoyancy it needs present.

And enough of a tip sail that it needs to keep moving along in the water present. The day you look at a coconut and this might sound funny and understand that it is a miracle. The day you are a step closer to understanding what life means.

Life. It's a matter of perspectives. One perspective born of knowing and one perspective born of speculation.

Which one? Which one would you rather have? When you are hungry what would you rather have? An operatic waiter who can sing the menu to you in perfect voice and tone and cadence. Sing the menu to you. Or another guy who's actually got the food.

Me? I don't know. Maybe I'm old fashioned. I want the food waiter.

The singing guy send me a tape. Send me a CD. Send me an MP3.

I'm glad you sing. Right now I'm hungry. And so is there an importance of knowing now? Kabir thinks so.

This is what Kabir says in one of his songs. I have not talked about this song in the West too much. That you the confused one understand understand and load yourself accordingly.

Not so much that it breaks your neck. Just as much as you can bear. Understand what that means.

Other lines get even better. If Kabir says you are hungry then eat now. Eat now.

Because further up the road there are no shops. No restaurants. And nobody selling food.

We are so enamored by the idea of heaven after death that we fail to see the heaven that we are living in. We fail to see the heaven we live in. According to Kabir further up the road that's the further up the road.

That further up the road is when you are no more because there is nobody selling food. If you are hungry, eat now. If you are thirsty drink now.

Now. No wells or rivers further down the road. Gives you some thought, huh? It's a good policy.

I've heard people go, how did he know? Did he die and go there? Did he die and come back? Use it. Anybody will tell you who has traveled a lot before you start on your long journey fill up your gas tank. What do you think of that? You think that's common sense? Good sense? Brilliant sense? Enlightenment? Or it just makes a lot of sense? That's a good way to do it.

So many people do run out of gas because they thought oh there will be some place. Be prepared now. A long time ago I took the survival training and the survival instructor, that's exactly what he said.

You're going to go on a flight, on a journey have a full stomach. You might end up in a survival situation and right away the first thing you say to yourself I'm hungry. Not a good thing.

At least you're taken care of and then you can say yeah well what if I get hungry? I'm at least not hungry. A lot of people conserving water. Oh what if I get thirsty? No, drink.

Keep yourself hydrated. Keep yourself sharp and you may figure out a way. Common sense.

If you are hungry eat now. Doesn't have to be Kabir who says this but he does. He does.

If you are thirsty, drink now. You don't know what is up ahead. Prepare.

In this heaven prepare and prepare and prepare and prepare to be happy. People might go prepare to be happy. I'm prepared to be happy.

No you're not. No you're not. I'm sorry, you think so but you're not.

Because all it takes is one thought one thought destroy it. When people get really happy they go I wonder how long this is going to last. You prepared? No.

It is in the time of plenty that you prepare for the drought not in drought that you need to prepare for the time of plenty. This is the time of plenty. This is where you can think this is where you can understand this is where you can experience and there's one thing you can do because you are alive.

I think it's the most important. You may not concur with it and that's perfectly alright with me. It won't change my mind.

I'm stubborn. One thing I can do there's not a lot I can do. I cannot control the clouds I cannot control whether it's going to rain tomorrow.

I cannot control what other people think of me but I can do one thing and that is when my heart is filled I also fill up with gratitude and when I am full of gratitude the way that I can say thank you you know what there is nobody else in this whole world that can say it that way and this applies to everyone that is alive on the face of the sun. Do you know that each one of us is completely different? There's some similarities but they are superficial superficial but there is one thing that is common to all of us and that is that we can say thank you but the way that that thank you will come out it will be as unique as unique as it can be. Have you been thankful for this life? Have you been thankful for this breath? Have you been thankful for understanding? Have you been thankful for this existence? Have you been thankful for today? Were you thankful for yesterday? Or was it not important to be thankful for a breath? One day, my friends, you will.

When you start taking your last one it becomes very important to breathe. People stop talking? Not time for conversations. Not time for speculation.

They need to focus on one thing. Of that which was taken for granted for the rest of their life now requires concentration. You need to take one more breath.

One more and one more today. Today. So many things happen and it doesn't matter.

But today you were alive. You know what? That should at least matter to you. Do you know what it is like to be with you? Do you? Do you know how to be with your friends? Do you know how to be with you? Hey, this is how it started, right? This is about you.

Not about your friends and not all the good things you could do and not what you could accomplish and not accomplish and do this and do that. This is not about that. This is about you.

This is your life. You are the one who was born and you are the one who is going to be missed for a while and then you will be the one that will be forgotten. This is who's kidding who? This thing called Earth came about because of dirt and when it blows up that's what it will become and would not have cared who danced on it.

Dirt has no memory. It doesn't care who danced but you do. If you are full and your heart sings with gratitude at least you came, you were alive, you understood, and you were part of that miracle.