Prem Rawat in Malibu 2011-02-05

Prem Rawat in Malibu 5th February 2011

Well, this is the Los Angeles event that almost didn't happen, but here we are. And I'd like to take the liberty of wishing you all a Happy New Year, if it's a little late. It doesn't take long. It doesn't take long for transformation to occur. It doesn't. All it takes is understanding. And once that understanding is there, there will be a transformation. And of course we want the transformation for good, for something better, something beautiful. And people wait their whole lives so that they can have that transformation, so they can have that understanding. But what does it take? It doesn't take traveling, going and visiting every holy place, it doesn't. It doesn't take going through the rituals of every single religion, it doesn't. It doesn't take paying homage at a place that somebody has dubbed holy. It doesn't. And so you know, there are people, there are people. And in the interest of trying to understand, to have that transformation, they hear something from Kabir and off they go, okay, I gotta read Kabir. So they religiously read, but they don't get it. They don't get it. How can it be? Do they get it? Absolutely not, absolutely not. People read all what they read, try to understand what they try to understand. They look at the universe, look at the stars, and of course they're overwhelmed, overwhelmed. Look at the ocean, pretty amazing. Look at the sun, pretty amazing. Look at the moon, pretty amazing. But why don't we get it? Why don't we get it? That one simple thing of what does it really mean to be alive? Because that's what you gotta get.

That's what you are. You are alive. That, look, that's what's happening. We're so caught up in, oh, but that's happening, and that's happening, and that's happening, and that's happening, and that's happening. And I say to you, no, that is not what is happening. What is really happening is that you are alive. Because when you won't be alive anymore, all that is not going to be happening. It'll be happening for someone else, but not you. So what constitutes your life? What constitutes your existence? What constitutes your understanding? At the end of the day, is it at the end of the day? This little phrase, at the end of the day, means at the end. But what about today? What about now? What about the fact that you are here, the fact that you're alive? What does it mean? Do you understand what it means to transform? Because if you do, that means you understand that you need to have the understanding. And of all the understandings you could possibly have, which one would it be that would allow you to transform? Couldn't be just any old understanding, believe me. Couldn't be that you understand two and two equals four and that transforms you. No. Couldn't be that you understand you cannot put water where the fuel is supposed to go. Oh God, I understand. What an epiphany. Now I know. So then it begins with the most simplest, most profound, most singular thing in your life. This moment and in this moment, the existence of this breath. Not a theory, not a theory, but reality. I understand. I understand this breath in this moment. I'm not saying that. You're supposed to say that.

Because you have that understanding. That's what you got to get to. And not from looking outside will you find it. Only when you really and truly learn to turn within will you even begin to see in the right direction. We're talking direction here. Looking outside, no. Like Kabir says, like that deer that is searching for the smell of the musk that resides in its own navel, he's searching through the forest, through the grass, through all of this stuff. So is the human being searching for that which truly resides within him or her, but searching in the wrong place and will never find it. Lost, lost, trying every day. The fact that you want to be content every day, the fact that you need to be happy every day is not your fault. It isn't. The desire, the desire to be content was the very thing that caused us to start evolving. Looking for the berries in the trees. The profound effect that exists of a single grain of wheat in our lives would never have happened if there was not a basic desire to be content. It just would have meant nothing. But to be able to grow this, to be able to have a sustainable supply of food so you can go on to other things in life, tend to other things. I mean you have to realize what a fiasco we come from. I was just talking to somebody today and I was just saying, you know, people are of the belief that in the old days people used to really fight. The reality is, if you think about it, the reality is fighting was not good. You know why it wasn't good? If you got nicked, nicked, that could spell death. As late as the American Civil War, if you broke your foot, which was an easy thing to do, somebody dugs a hole here, digs a hole there, whatever, you broke your foot, there was no x-ray machines. Nobody could set your foot. There was only one thing to do. Chop it off.

And there's been an amazing amount of prosthesis made for those soldiers who, you know, whoops. And it was really whoops because the next thing you know, there it is and here you go. And they used to have their shining armor and long, tall spears and flags. And you can just imagine looking at soldiers sparkling and this and that and flags and this and it's like, oh my God. And the whole idea, the whole idea was to scare the enemy so that the enemy basically just goes, I quit, thank you. If you were a conquering army, it didn't, wasn't a good thing to kill these potential people because these are the people who are going to join your army and help attack the next kingdom. So oh, we have a picture, we have painted a picture, we have an idea, this is how it used to be. Reality says otherwise. Reality says if you can negotiate, not get into this, this is really good. So you know, yeah, let's make an uncle out of him. Marry this girl from here and you become my uncle. You can't fight me. You're my uncle, I'm your nephew, you're my brother-in-law. Family after family, they have to do that. They don't do that these days because that would have been great. Bush could have married Saddam Hussein's daughter. No more fighting, everything would have been fine. Probably take a little talking to Laura, but hey, it's to save lives, you know. But here we are, painting our ideas, painting our imaginations. And what has humanity wanted from the very beginning? What? Peace. The value of, I mean, just can you imagine the value of peace for human beings at that time? And all day long, you hear a noise and you go, and you hope you're downwind, not upwind. And everything, everything wants to make a snack out of you, a snack. And there you are, just trying to be alive from morning till morning. All night long, same thing, light a fire.

You know where people used to live? Up that tree. You know why? Because they didn't want to get eaten. Can you imagine this? There you are, doctor so-and-so, or so-and-so, and so-and-so, professor so-and-so, and whose Bentley is it outside? Oh yes, yes, it's my Bentley. Not that long ago, all you were was basically Fritos, a corn chip, potato chip. Mmm, I know that thing can't run very fast, can't go very fast, and you know, snack time. To be free from the fear, to be free from the fear, to be able to exist, to live in freedom, to have that day, to have that hour, to have that minute, to have that second in which you could just be, must have been heaven on earth. Wow, I haven't heard a lion for ten minutes, and the hyenas are asleep. Wow. Wow. That hasn't changed. Now you're not Fritos, you own Fritos. But to have that time in which you're free from fear, from encumbrances of life, where you can truly feel the peace inside of you, surely has to be heaven on earth. Do you understand that? See, it doesn't take very long. Once you get the understanding, transformation is quick. Maybe for somebody today, maybe for somebody listening to this, they'll go, wow, I finally understand what peace means. Away from all these strings that have made us into a puppet. Everything, every element that controls us, that binds us, whether these are from the outside or the concepts that drill our head day after day, drill. Somebody gets up in the morning somewhere in India, and they absolutely have to go and get the water, the holy water, and put it on the holy statue and do it the holy way. And somebody goes, well, this person has chosen this, so therefore they're free. But did they choose it because they wanted to choose it, or because the choice was made for them? You see a person walking with a dog on the leash, and the dog wants to go that way, the owner doesn't. So is the dog free? No. No. Freedom, because you understand, not believe. You know what happens when fact meets fiction? Chaos.

When fact meets fiction, not good. I'm going to say something. You have to think about it. But that same synergy happens when knowing meets beliefs. Chaos. Because now you don't know what it is you're believing in, and what do you know? And it all becomes, oh, I know that. No, you believe that. You know how many times, sometimes I just love to bug people. So they say to me, oh, I love my iPhone. And I say, you mean you like your iPhone. Right? And they go, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you don't actually sit there and try to have an affair with your iPhone. It's like, oh, my iPhone. And on Valentine's Day, bring your roses, and try to shove chocolate into its, you know, someplace. Have a birthday for it. With the day you bought it from the Apple store, take a little candle, put it there, and now blow it out. Happy birthday to you, my iPhone. No. You simply like it. You don't love it. It's the same thing. Same thing. I mean, obviously, the guy who came up with the word like never intended it to be used as love. Because that would have really infringed on the guy who came up with the word love.

And so, listen, like means this, and love means that. But what happens? Guards come down. Expression takes over. And you start having a love affair with your iPhone. And the next thing you know, you've got a little fat iPhone. Because it's pregnant. And then the next thing you know, a little nano has come out. Well, it was a few years back when they were introducing the cloud technology. It's still called cloud technology. And somebody was talking to me about that. And I said, you know, by the way, I must tell you, I cannot believe that an adult, a fully grown adult, is talking about clouds. We send the information to the clouds. I mean, I can see somebody saying, in California especially, coming out and going, I know why my email is not going through. Because there's no clouds. And why it always works in Florida. Because there's clouds. Big clouds. Lots. I can send big emails. Big thunderstorms. A grown-up adult actually talking about sending information to clouds. Give me a break. Say you wirelessly transfer the information, or it is kept in a server on the web, and you connect to that, and your information is available. No.

Cloud. Does the scientific community also want to start their own religion? Start telling people things that are not true? Giving metaphors about things that don't exist? But the amazing thing that I found is how many people believe that. Oh, yeah, the cloud technology. That's really wonderful. The only thing wonderful about cloud technology, it's got you saying the same thing. Because I just, when this person was talking on the, you know, the live cloud thing, I was like, whoo, need to grow up. Say it like it is. Why are you telling people about clouds? Why are you confusing them? Somebody, you know, somebody's bound to come out. My email isn't working. Ah, no clouds. And the poor lady is waiting week after week, and no clouds are coming. California. Can you imagine Las Vegas? Everybody's waiting for the clouds to come. You know, the next thing you know, there's a whole dance that has to happen. That'd be cool. Then you have to hire the American Indians to come and do the rain dance. That'd be cool. But when all these beliefs that we have meet, knowing disaster is going to happen. And do you know what the biggest disaster is? For you to lose your way. And you know what a bigger disaster is than losing your way? Is not knowing you have lost your way. And that is the value of somebody coming along and saying, Do you know where you are? This is the difference in the questions. This is the difference in the questions. If the question asked is, do you know where you want to go? You will have an answer for it. Because you do.

Everybody does. But do you know where you are? Do you know where you are? If you don't know where you are, it is irrelevant where you want to go. You're not going to get there. It's only going to be a mistake if you accidentally arrive there. Oh, wow. I'm here. But where are you? It is not the saga of tomorrow. It is not the saga of your accomplishments. It is not the saga of all the things that you think. It is the saga of, it is only one thing. What do you know today? What do you know now? Otherwise, there's no way you're going to be able to transform what happens tomorrow. It's I talk about tomorrow. The biggest grand illusion, the cloud of all clouds, is tomorrow. A long time ago, they used to be the little rascals. I don't know if you've seen. Some of you are too young to probably even know what little rascals are. Except that you know your mother called you that. But there was actually a show called Little Rascals. They used to do funny things, weird things. And one of the things they would sometimes do, they had a boat and they would tie a duck to the boat. And then they would have a fishing rod and dangle something in front of the duck. And the duck would try to swim to get to it. And that's how they would propel their boat. And then when they would move the rod, the duck would turn to get to it.

But they always had to keep whatever it was they were dangling in front of the duck just far enough away so the duck wouldn't eat it. Because if the duck ate it, their motor would stop. So if they had to go somewhere, they had to keep that. That's what tomorrow is, your carrot that dangles in front of you. And the whole world tells you about tomorrow. And tomorrow will be a good day. Tomorrow you can change. Tomorrow you can this. Tomorrow you can that. Tomorrow your dreams will be fulfilled. Tomorrow this will happen. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. And then they steer you with it. And you steer well. You steer very well. Why? Because of an intrinsic desire that you have had all your life to be in peace. That is the impetus. And the whole world has changed that for you to accomplish what they want to accomplish. And I come along and I say, no, you can't allow that to happen. Not in your life. Because if you have bought into tomorrow, you have surely, and I guarantee it, bought into the next lifetime. And that's not your strength. That's your weakness. Where is Tutankhamen? In the museum.

Is he dead? You bet. Does he look pretty? No way. Does he have an afterlife? Sort of. That's an exhibition piece. Where people line up to gawk at this majestical, who was at once upon a time, a majestical king. And at the time that he was the pharaoh, it was not even appropriate for his subjects to look at him. He did not look the pharaoh in the face. You kept your head down, your eyes on the ground. And you bowed and stayed out of trouble. You counted the seconds, when will this be over? You got one wrong thing. One wrong thing. And you are a split personality. Your body is somewhere else, your head is somewhere else. And now, the pharaoh lies there in the museum. And the tourists come and pay a little price at the gate. And come and gawk at the pharaoh. What's the big deal? What happened to the chariots? What happened to the soldiers? What happened to his subjects that were to accompany him in afterlife? And if you believe in tomorrow, you believe exactly what the pharaoh believed in. Oh yes, and then I will go and I will be in heaven. You couldn't find heaven if it hit you. Because it has. It has. It has. This is the only place you have 100% potential to be happy. In all its glory.

Including smile, laughter, dance, yes. Tears of joy. And a glow to boot. Because Tutankhamun doesn't anymore. Can't smile, you can show his teeth, you can see his teeth. Can't smile. Tearing, absolutely not. He's already been dehydrated. Talk about dehydrated, he's hyper dehydrated. And there's no chance of a tear coming out of that dehydrated carcass. This is it. So you hear it and you go, well that's a profound good message, that's wonderful. But do you know it? Without beliefs, do you know it? That's what Knowledge is all about. Don't bring beliefs into Knowledge, know it. Experience what it is that is taking place inside of you. That breath. To augment your reality. To show you your reality as your heart desires to see and feel it. Because it is the only thing, only thing, that makes the heart dance with joy. Long time ago, to feel that elation, I'm alive. Ah, it must have meant the world. I'm alive. I exist. I am.

Because there's the two parts, you know. There are the two parts. There is that part of the people who say, who am I? And they're the ones who have understood that. I know. I know. Our life becomes this thing of relationships. How do you relate to that person? How do you relate to that person? I'm your friend. I'm your enemy. I'm your this. I'm your that. Constantly, just constantly, constantly, constantly, constantly. And so, Kabir says something very fascinating about this. But Kabir says, Kabir says, I was watching some people emulating, because I think somewhere it says in one of the holy scriptures that, and they shall talk in strange tongues. And so they're talking, and I just, when I heard that, it was so fake, you know. So when I heard that, I said, well, why don't you just learn another language? See, what I just said sounded strange to you, right? Strange tongue? But it's not. Somebody else understands it very well, what it means. And what it means is that Kabir is standing in this market, this world, wishing everyone well. Wishing everyone well. And Kabir says, I am not friends with anyone, nor am I anyone's enemy. I don't hate anyone. I'm not friends with anyone. And I wish everyone well. What does that mean? Here we are, 2011. What does that mean? Do you know what it means? There are so many interpretations and so many explanations, but they don't get the true meaning.

Stand on your own feet. Instead of leaning or pushing away, wish everyone well, that they stand on their own feet, too. But Kabir, too, stands on his own feet. None of this leaning business, none of this, ah, ah, you, out. If you want that transformation in your life, you have got to garner the understanding and begin whenever you feel is appropriate. No age limit. No time limit. Try to do it before you go. But be standing on your feet. Let that peace come in your heart and be filled with peace. Be filled with joy. Look within. See the vista. Appreciate. Most importantly, enjoy. Most importantly, enjoy. At all times, when traveling, know where you are. At all times. Don't be so tired as to fall asleep when you need to know where you are. No point in being tired. No point. A lot of people go, you know, but I have to do so much and that's why I'm tired. Take it from me. That's what I used to say.

I have to do this, I have to do that. The only thing that's going to get done in all this doing is me. I'm going to get done in. Whether the other thing is going to get done or not, I have no clue. But I'm going to get done in. Rest. And rest in earnest. Rest because you need to. Rested, awaken. And first thing, first thing, know where you are. Know where you are. A lot of people go, I need to have my breakfast. Yes, yes, go ahead, have your breakfast. Go ahead, have your breakfast. That's fine. But don't delay too much in knowing where you are. And when the world pesters you through the strings that it has attached to you, feel free to find out where you are. It makes the journey very enjoyable and certain that you will arrive at your destination. What is the destination? Not some abstract building, address. But the destination is to feel the contentment and to feel the happiness. That's the destination. That's the destination. A lot of people want to know where did I come from and where am I going to? The answer to that is too easy. Too easy.

Next time you want to know where did you come from and where are you going, bend over, pick up some dirt in your hand, and look at it. That's where you came from. And that is where you're headed. In this planet Earth, there's not too much new material. Do you know that? It's not like there's a big semi-truck that delivers new material every 45 minutes. No. This is dust recycled again and again and again and again. And some of the stuff that might be coming from the outside may in fact be the stuff that was here. The original dirt got thrown out and re-entered. That's where you were. You're a fancy version of that. You can talk, you can walk, you can dance, you can sing, you can laugh. You can do all these wonderful things. But that's what's going to happen. And you won't be the first one. You won't be the second one. It's happened before. It will happen again and again. And as this drama gets played out again and again, and another human being, and another human being, and another human being, and another human being, and another human being, wanting nothing more in their lives than to be happy, to be content. And the dramas will unfold. And what every human being has been looking for was always inside of them. Fascinating. Aren't you fascinated by that? That what they were looking for, all those billions of people before us, was inside of them. Always was.

And all the billions that are yet to come, it will be inside of them. And amongst all the reasons and logic and ideas, somebody will make that voice, in that voice, that possibility, that what you're looking for is inside of you. Some will say it because it sounds good. But there will be someone who will know how to make it possible. And so, don't be allured by the puzzle. It does not exist. Because the solution to that puzzle has always existed. There is no dilemma, because the answer to the greatest riddle of all has always been there. The difference, if it ever is, is do you have the capacity to listen and act upon it? Otherwise the puzzle will be puzzled. The puzzle will be puzzled. There was a little puzzle in one of the rooms, and it's four bars, and there's a ball in the middle. And, you know, hours you sit there, trying to push it out, trying to push it out, trying to push it out, trying to push it out, trying to push it out, and it wouldn't come out. And I know, I knew it came out. I knew. Because when the puzzle was new, the instructions were in the box, and I hid them somewhere. And, of course, after having read the instructions, it was really easy. You just went, and it came right out. And what's the point of making a puzzle that can't be solved? It's not a puzzle at that point. Because, to me, the definition of the puzzle, it has to be solvable. Otherwise it's not a puzzle. And this was a puzzle. So I found how to do it, and then, after all those hours of trying and trying and trying, and it was just like... And then there were a few people around, how did you do that? I can't tell you that. You know, it's that simple when there is the knowing. Belief.

Oh, did I have the belief that I could solve it without knowing? Absolutely, that's why I spent hours. Push it! Push it! Did I believe that I had the strength in my thumbs to push that ball right out of the... Absolutely! But it was a belief. All I needed to do was not believe, but to know how to get it out. And that's what I'm offering to everyone. Whether you have Knowledge, whether you don't have Knowledge, that's the offer. That's what you have received. That's what you have received. A lot of people go, you know, but I don't have the time to practice it. Listen, you have the time. You absolutely have the time. The question is, do you have the will? Of course I have the will. I mean, Knowledge is so wonderful. That's your belief, you have the will. Not knowing. When you do, you will. You will. It's all just that. Just that. You know, I see Jeevan, and he loves water. He loves water. We've got a couple of fountains. And when he decides to go there, he wants to go to them. That's it. There's nothing that's going to stop him.

He makes a beeline for it. And he has definitely mastered the art of walking, but not navigating. There's a distinct difference. He can walk. He can't quite go where he wants to go. Because he was by the porch, and there's a slope. And he started walking, and now there was no stopping. He was just walking, and he kept turning. I want to go there. Why am I going this way? He has mastered the art of walking, but not navigating it. And that will come. That's the way I have to go. But once that will is there, and why do you think? He started walking. He wanted to get to where he wants to go efficiently as possible. I know you, I can hear it. Some of you are going, oh, but he would have walked on his own anyways. There was one kid I knew. He figured out how to scooch. And he would scooch so fast. He wouldn't walk. He would just... It was very funny to watch him, but he would just scooch. And it took him a long time to get walking, but he did get everywhere really fast. Just scooching. Once your want is clear, all this will manifest.

Peace is not impossible in your life. Joy is not impossible in your life. Truth is not impossible in your life. But the day, there is the will. The want. Everything, everything will fall into place. That makes you very fortunate. That makes you very fortunate. Maybe you judge yourself by all the incumbences you have in your life and say how unfortunate I am. I don't have this, and I don't have that, and this is bothering me, and that's terrible, and that's horrible, and I've got a miserable life, and that, that, that. But let me tell you, because you have what you have been looking for inside of you, this makes you extremely fortunate. Extremely. So, that's it. What's been said has been said. How did you take it in? How did it take? How did you take it? You might say, oh, but I felt very inspired. Hey, if we're going to play an inspiration game, we've had it. We're not going to win. You know why we're not going to win? Because I get to only inspire you for about an hour right here. The world inspires you, or de-inspires you all day long. This is like, you know, taking one step forward and ten steps backwards and saying, I'm getting closer to something. Well, yeah, you are. But not where you want to go. So listen as much as you can. Practice this Knowledge as much as you can.

If you are an aspirant, prepare as much as you can. And if you don't even have Knowledge, then live your life consciously as much as you can. That's it. That's all there is. It's the same thing with a new twist. Yeah, that's what food is, isn't it? It's basically the same thing. Different flavors. A lot of people don't understand. They look at the Indian food and they go, you've got so many dishes. You know what the dishes are for? To flavor the rice. I'm not kidding you. That's the main purpose. What you're really eating is the rice or the roti or the chapati. All the dishes are just, it would be too bland. So you've created all these wonderful dishes to flavor them. So now people get into their thing and they don't eat the rice and they just want to eat the... That's the purpose. That's the purpose. It's the same way. That's what changed. You could grow rice, you could grow wheat. That's what changed. That was the important thing, not the berries. Because that was the important stuff. That could settle you down.

In your life. Enjoy. Understand. Prosper. Flourish. I'm going to be leaving for India pretty soon. Blasting away halfway across the world. Going to do some events hopefully in Malaysia. And then there's all these invitations pouring in. See what happens. Amazing things are going to happen. Amazing things are happening. Wonderful. It's wonderful just to see the magic unfolding. This year will be the 40 years that I arrived in England on June 17th and July 17th here in Los Angeles. So you can be rest assured there will be an event. One in England, most likely London and one in Los Angeles. Also happens to be the 45th anniversary of me starting to do this. Sounds like a real year to celebrate, doesn't it? Celebrate by going inside. Thank you very much and have fun. Take care.