Prem Rawat in Sydney 2011-09-06

Prem Rawat in Sydney 6th September 2011

Well, I'm just looking forward to hearing him speak again, I mean, I think he's just a man with such clarity, that, you know, is sort of the kind of clarity that I'd hoped to achieve one time in my life. Wonderful, great, excited to see him. Thank you very much, and thank you for coming today to hear what I have to say.

Now, of course, whatever it is that I have to say is pretty straightforward, it's pretty simple. Because it is not about trying to get something new, it is about exploring what you already have. So in a way, it's a little bit different that I'm here, and I'm here to tell you what you already have. Nothing new, but of course it's new. To put it in some context, let me tell you a story. Because, you know, to a lot of people this is a very serious subject, not to me. I think it's absolutely hilarious that what you're looking for is inside of you and you don't know it. It's hilarious. I don't think anything could be more funny. But a lot of people are like, oh, peace, well, you know, that's a very serious subject. Why? Why not understand what its attributes are? That it is about joy, that it is about being happy, that it is about being content. Not taking your head and smashing it against a wall, that's not what peace is about. It's not walking a thousand miles up to some mountain and sitting down and tolerating the cold and the high winds and going, okay, I'm closer to God. Well, you're closer to God every time you fly. Because that's higher than those mountains most of the time.

So here's my little story. There was a guy and he would travel from village to village and he would exhibit his skills. And he was extremely skilled at taking his arrow and hitting the target every single time. One day, while he was in the middle of doing his exhibition, he heard from the back of the crowd somebody saying, it's only a matter of practice. And he felt infuriated. Because here he is, he's extremely skilled, he's the best at it, he's showing it all to people and all the people are like, yay, you know, applauding him. And his ego obviously is flying a little bit higher every time he hits the mark. And then he hears this voice that says, oh, it's only a matter of practice. So after he was finished with his little show, he walked over and he saw this man who was sitting there selling oil. He had a couple of pots and he was sitting there going, ah, it's only a matter of practice. And people would come, did you see that guy? He's so good. And he would go, nah, it's just a matter of practice. So this guy goes over to the man selling the oil and he says, what do you mean it's a matter of practice? Didn't you see how good I am? I hit the mark every single time. And the man selling the oil said, it's only a matter of practice. And this really infuriated him.

Because here he is, he wants to be acknowledged, his ego is running high. And he wants to be acknowledged that, oh, yes, yes, you are the best. Absolutely, it's you, everything. But instead, this man who is just a nobody, basically, selling oil on the side of the street is challenging him in a very weird way, saying it's just a matter of practice. So then the man said, OK, what do you exactly mean by that? He said, let me show you. So in the old days, you might have seen these in those exploration documentaries where they bring up money from the bottom of the ocean from some ship. They used to have coins and some of the coins had a hole in the middle. So he takes the coin with the hole in the middle, puts it on top of a bottle, picks up this huge pot of oil and pours the oil where it does not even touch the coin and goes right into the bottle. He looks at the guy with the arrow and says, can you do that? He said, you have been practicing taking your bow and arrow and shooting with it and it has made you good. I have been practicing this and it has made me good at this.

So, how does this story fit into it? Well, let me ask you a question. And my question is, so, what are you good at? What do you practice the most? Because obviously, according to this guy, the oil salesman, if you practice frustration every day, you will become good at it. I mean, it won't take much. Instantly frustrated. Forgot your keys, somebody honked at you on the freeway, somebody cut you off, somebody looked at you the wrong way. Instantly frustrated. Because if that's what you practice, then that's what's going to happen. Do you practice disappointment? Somebody is two minutes late. I'm disappointed. The flight hasn't left on time and you're looking at you. We're late again. Is that what you practice? Do you practice confusion? Getting confused? What am I doing here on earth? What's the point? What is the purpose of all this? Then you will get good at it. You'll be confused instantly. It doesn't take much. Or, do you practice clarity? Because if you practice clarity, then being clear will be your second nature. Doubt will flee at your sight. Oops, here he comes. Leave. Oh, here she comes. I'm out of here. No room for me. And the only reason you know why I'm bringing this up, why there is some value that I should even be talking about this, is simply this. That that's not what we practice. Because if we did, the state of the world wouldn't be like it is today.

We practice revenge. And oh boy, oh, we are good at it. We are so good at it, we don't even know we're taking revenge. And we take it. Somebody says something wrong to us? I find it very curious, you know. I've noticed it with my daughter, I've noticed it with my wife. If I do something to irritate them, or get into a little argument or whatever, the thing they say is, fine. Fine. Now, it's taken me many, many years to figure out that fine doesn't really mean fine, like good. It means you will be fine. When you don't know. It will be when most pain can possibly be inflicted. And now when I hear the fine, I'm like, I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. Did I do anything, say anything? I mean... But fine. Because we need to, as human beings, we need to practice clarity.

What I'm telling you, is that as you know that water is needed by your body, and when you are thirsty, you should not neglect that. As hunger tells you that you need food, as tiredness tells you you need to rest, as the need for breath exists in you, so innate is this want to be fulfilled, to be in peace, to be clear, to be content. When people talk about contentment, we think, oh, what's he talking about? What is this voodoo stuff? What is this? We're like, you can't be contented. Do you know what we have predisposed ourselves to? Hey, wake up, this is life. Of course you're going to be miserable. And if you don't like being miserable, get over it. Grow up!

Today, I was remembering this one line from Kabir, and Kabir in this song, the last line, second last line, he says that the one that we are looking for is within us. And the world says that that one is far away. And upon hearing that that what we are looking for is far away, Kabir finds this disappointing. Disappointing. Why do people, this is me again, not Kabir, why do people separate what is essential to us as an option? It is not an option. Excuse me, it is not an option. It is not an option.

You know if you're driving on the road and a truck is coming towards you, what should you say to yourself? It looks like the truck is in your lane. American truck driver in Australia. Should you at that point accelerate? Increase your speed? Newton's law? Because it will be cancelled out. Should you accelerate? Maybe if you accelerated enough, you could just go through the truck. Maybe in your little Volkswagen, if you really accelerated a lot, you could just destroy the truck upon impact, and then you'd be fine. Or get out of its way. Get out of its way. There are no options. Is there an option? When you are in the middle of the ocean, is there an option? Oh, let me preface this a little bit.

So, it's been cold. Coming out of your winter. Spring is coming. Almost here. Feels like it's almost here. Some days. How about a nice vacation on a nice white sandy beach? Warm, crystal clear water. How does that sound? No sharks. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? This is a lot of people. I mean, I know in England they are always selling that stuff. Go out there for this package deal. We'll fly you out there. Sounds great. So, you like ocean. Oh, that lovely air, salt water. There's a caveat. You know what the caveat is? If somebody says I'll take you in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and drop you off, and it is beautiful crystal clear water all around. The caveat is the ocean is fine. So far I have access to land. Because you don't have an option. Same way. Same way. The desire to be fulfilled was not taught to you. The desire to be fulfilled is innate and you do not have an option but to listen to it. So, let's listen to it. What's going to happen? What's going to happen if you did?

You want me to tell you the biggest myth in the world? Biggest myth, lie. The biggest lie is that if you started pursuing joy and happiness in your life, that will be the end of your job. You will become a vegetable. You will have no interest in men or women as appropriate. You will not want a car. You will abandon all luxuries of life. It's a lie. Because a car cannot give you happiness nor can it take away your happiness. It is an innate metallic object. Not possible. Your job may be able to take away your happiness. It's only your effort that gives you the happiness. But it is incapable if you do not allow it to either add to your happiness or subtract from your happiness. It's up to you. People see these people, monks, who have abandoned everything, gone to a monastery, and they go, I don't want to become like that. The question I have about monks is why do they do that? A lot of monks, being from India, they shave off their hair, they put on the saffron, and they're abandoning the world. So why are they advertising to the world that I have left the world? It is for the world that they wear it. I mean, they know what they know. But it is to show everybody else, oh, by the way, I have abandoned you. Look at me, I have abandoned you.

Not by wearing saffron, not by shaving off your hair, not by going on top of the mountain When will you find happiness? And I'm not the only one who is saying that. That's exactly what Kabir said too. And nobody needs to validate my point.

You know this is true. You know this is true. If you are a parent, you know. And if you have ever been a child, you also know. The day you didn't want to go to school, the tummy ache. And yes, it's really cute, because the parents can see right through it. You don't have a tummy ache. You are working so hard in your little mind. I've got to convince dad. Oh dad, I've got a tummy ache. You're looking at dad, see if he's buying this or not. Have you ever seen kids trying to go to sleep? When they pretend, ok you better go to sleep. You know they're not asleep. But this is what we do too. We have our pretenses.

We have our pretenses. We pretend that the one we are looking for, what we want in our life is nowhere near us. Where? Where's God? So you know what I do? I take that finger. And I go, uh uh. Here. Here. Within you. In you. That's not appropriate place. This is. This is the place that is beautiful. This is the place where there is the need. There is the want. There is the temple of the heart. This is where clarity is appreciated. This is where heaven is felt. This is where when joy dances, the expression comes. This is where smiles happen. This is where tears fall. This is where sadness takes place. And this is where laughter happens. This is by far the most perfect tool of expression. And when this is lit from inside, lit, then this becomes radiant. But that light, not here.

Not the makeup. They're selling this makeup. It's called nude. And it's supposed to give you this radiating glow. And I always find that fascinating too. Because when people pass away, they put a lot of makeup on them. I mean, and the point is. So this person will look good. I mean, he's in a casket. Everybody is here because they found out he died. But, oh, he looks lovely. If he looks so lovely, you're really going to bury him six feet under the ground? I mean, you better not look lovely. Your friends might go, oh, he looks lovely, let's put him down. Six feet under the ground. No. We have our rituals, we have our ideas, we have our concepts. We just go on marching in this world. We, I mean, what is a lie and what is truth? Really, does it matter to us? Absolutely not.

You all know, a few years back, the American economy went like this. You heard about that, right? I didn't know. Why? Why? Do you know why? Because there was a whole group of people that were lying to everyone. And then I was driving in a car with somebody and they said, oh, in that country, I mean, the economy is doing so good. I said, how do you know? Oh, I read it in the newspaper. I said, wait, American economy was doing really great too? Till one day, they opened the door and went, there's nobody here, no money, nothing. We're all out of here. So we turn around and we're believing exactly the same thing. Same lies. Believe it again. Oh, those good old days. I just want my good old days.

I don't care if people were lying. I just want my good old days. Do you know there are people saying that? This is our aspiration for truth. I have a field day talking about that stuff. I love it. Because every time I arrived in the West, I was only 13 years old. I was a teenager. A teenager talking. People were very skeptical. And I would say, oh, by the way, this world is an illusion. And they would go, huh. Now that they have lost their home, and the car, and the wife, and the cat, and the dog. Now when I say, this world is an illusion, they go, hmm, maybe there's some truth to it. Oh, illusion. Of course it's an illusion. Because if you see, this world is the source of illusion. It's the source of your joy. That's an illusion. It's not an illusion. Of course it's not an illusion. If a car drove over your foot, it would not be an illusion. But it is an illusion that you think that that's what provides you with happiness. That that's what provides you with real joy. That's the illusion, my friends. That's the illusion. Beautifully said, by one saint from India.

It doesn't matter how much you milk a cow that's gone past the age. It's not going to give any milk. It doesn't matter. You sit there and go like this. It can't. It doesn't have it. If there's no water in the faucet, going like this, and going like this, and going like this, isn't going to do it. I mean, this is our habit, right? When we turn on the switch and the light doesn't go on, what do we do? Try it again. And try it again. And try it again. Hey, you can try it as long as you want the bulbs burnt out. But we go. Reality eludes us.

Not because reality is elusive. Reality isn't elusive. Peace eludes us not because peace is elusive. Contentment eludes us not because contentment is elusive. But the way we pursue is elusive. This is elusive. Could you define God? One of the definitions is, God is everywhere. Omnipresent. Why are you pointing out? Omnipresent means omnipresent. Everywhere. Here too. You bet. I ask, this is classic stuff. I ask sometimes, I ask people, I say, If God came to your door and knocked, what would you do? See, already, I can hear your thoughts. You're thinking so loud. I can hear them. I would open the door. I would be so touched. I would welcome. I would this. I would that. Because somebody who truly understands would say, God has always been knocking at my door. Not out there. Not on a wooden door. But on this door. Why? Not to call me outside. But to call me within. To that realm that exists inside of me. The question of setting up somebody, saying, what would you do? What would you do? Well, you could go off on tangent of your thoughts. Well, I would, I would.

But that's not it. Within you, there's also a knock that has been knocking since your childhood. And what you have been practicing, I don't want to offend you, I'll explain, is ignorance. So please don't feel offended. Because let me explain the root word of ignorance. You know what it is? Ignore. Shocking. Ignorance is to ignore. Look it up, look it up. I did. That's why I'm telling you this. Look it up. Ignore. So, that's what we have gotten good at. Ignoring. The knock. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Someday, after I retire, I'm too busy, I'm too young for this stuff. I'm too young to be happy. Oh God, no, I'm too young. Ignore. Every excuse in the book, you'll become a vegetable. Do I look like a vegetable to you? People look at me and go, he talks about peace. That's him. Not a vegetable. Serious, not a smile.

I think everything is funny. I even think the fact that people ignore is funny. And I think, I think, only me, I think, that they don't know the meaning of ignorance is also very funny. Because instead of this large vast ocean of ignorance, ignorance, all it really means is you've been ignoring. Stop ignoring and everything will be fine. Just like that. All you have to do is not ignore. That's all. Wow. You mean finding peace is that easy? Don't ignore and you'll find it? Absolutely. Absolutely. What are you? Who are you? There is a drop in the ocean. Everyone knows. But there is an ocean in the drop. Only a few know. You are inseparable from the quest for peace.

Inseparable. The time has come in your life to be the warrior you are. The time has come to put down the disguise of ignorance and put on your shining armor. You, I know some of you, are waiting for the angel to come and rescue you. But all that is wrong, right. And I say to you, that angel has come. And that angel is not me. But that angel is you. You are the angel who will banish darkness from your life. You are the angel that will bring light to the land of your heart. You are the angel who will kill the dragons of doubt. You are the angel that will triumph, triumph over all that that you cannot tolerate. Now, do you believe me? Do you? Or is that too good to be true? Is it? Is that easy to doubt for you? Or accept? Because if that is easy for you to doubt, then you have been practicing doubting too much. You're good at it. Because what I have stated is the obvious. That's all. You are the angel. You are the angel. You are the only one that can truly, truly, truly, truly make a difference in your life. Is that not obvious? I mean, who better than you? Since it's your life we're talking about, not somebody else's. Oh, if I said, oh, and you are the angel that will make it good for other people, you'll go, thank you. But you're not qualified. You're the angel that can definitely, absolutely, 100% positively make a positive contribution to your existence. Don't you think so? Don't you think that's obvious? Ask any psychologist, psychiatrist, absolutely. But doubt comes in when I use the word angel. And that iconic image that everybody has, the destroyer of the darkness, that some elusive person that's going to come and the clouds are going to separate and there will be this Jacob's ladder that'll come out and then coming down on this, hey, wait a minute, this is Cinderella stuff. It's okay to read Cinderella stories.

But you gotta grow up. Right? Can you imagine a 30-year-old woman coming around going, and I'm looking for my Prince Charming. Such an animal does not exist. Never has, never will. The biggest myth is, live happily ever after. That does not happen. When two people have to live in the same house, that's not going to happen. Absolutely not. I mean, amiable at first, yes, but this is young love. And the young love only because you're busy doing something else. Little bit later on in life, you burn the toast and the wrath comes. And if your significant other, and the chances are good that they do, if your significant other practices revenge, it will happen. So, I am trying to state the obvious. I have been stating the obvious. You can make a difference in your life. Instead of looking for the answers out there, look for them in here. And you will find them.

This is what I do. I go around and I say to people, knowing is better than believing. Believing is okay. Knowing is better. Do you want to believe or do you want to know? When you get to the airline counter and you say, when is the flight leaving? And the lady behind the counter says, we believe. Do you want to believe or do you want to know? There you are lying in the doctor's clinic. And the doctor says, we believe you have. Whatever, fill in the blank. You want to believe or you want to know? You are going to look at the doctor and say, do I or don't I? I mean if the doctor came to you, and you were a man, and the doctor said, we believe you are pregnant. I sure would like to know for sure. I don't care if he believes or not. I have no affinity towards his belief. I want to know. You come home, you are hungry, you ask your other half, better half, is the food ready? And the better half says, we believe it is. And it depends what you have been practicing. You are going to say, well, is it or isn't it? And when it comes to God, what do people do? Know or believe? Oh, I get people. Audience of 100,000, and I have said, how many of you believe in God? Hands go up. Just in Fiji. I was just in Fiji, doing an event. And I said the same thing. I said, how many of you believe in God? And I said, how many of you know God? Now we are getting into funny territory, right? The one you should know, the one you should know, that gets you into funny territory. And there is a lot of things you shouldn't know. And that doesn't get you into funny territory.

There is a lot of people you shouldn't know. I am sure there is a lot of friends you wish you had never known. But you know them. And boy, do they know you. And the one you should know, you don't know. So again, I have stated the obvious. What do you think? Ah, one question remains. This will wrap it up for tonight. One question remains, how? How? This is where I come in. My forte isn't talking. That's not my forte. My forte is, I can get you in touch with that experience that is inside of you. Now those are big words. Very bold words. But they are not a problem for me. For you, they may be. How is he going to do that? Me, I know.

A lot of people come to me and say, Can I really have peace in my life? Not a problem, relax. Where do I begin? And this is what I say to people. This is where you begin. First step of that ladder inside of you. Going inside of you, the first step of that ladder is Understand with no uncertainty that what you are looking for is inside of you. That's important. Because you've been looking like this. And who you need to be looking at is you. And a lot of people go, But if I was to get, This is what Socrates said, remember? College days? Socrates? Know thyself? You think he was just trying to irk you? Now what can I tell these people that will really irk them? Know thyself. People go, But if I start to know myself, could that be scary? Should be. God knows what you've been practicing. But fortunately it isn't. Fortunately it isn't. Because whatever you think of yourself, that is not you, my friends. That is not you. That is not you. What is you is beautiful. What is you is incredible. What is you is divine. Impeccable. That's you. Fun? Absolutely. Fulfilling? You bet. You bet. And that's what I do. Go around and open this possibility for peace for people. Who want it? You don't want it? Fine. It will always be in you. You can't get rid of it. What a nice plan.

Because as human beings, if it was incumbent upon us to remember, we would forget. I mean, what do we forget? Do we forget frivolous things? Absolutely not. Do we forget important things? Like a flash. Remember all that poetry you had to learn for school? Do you remember any of that? I don't. It was like, I was like... And then with great nervousness, show up and the teacher was like, Okay, you! And then it's like... People don't have to remember. It's always here. Always. Not here. Here. Just remember this. This is very good at some things and terrible at others. This is very good at something and terrible at others. Just know what this is good at and know what this is good at. You have a rolling pin at home, right? In your kitchen? Rolling pin? Very good for rolling dough. Terrible for cutting vegetables. A knife? Very good for cutting vegetables. Terrible at rolling dough. If you don't know the difference, I don't want to eat what you cook.

Whatever you do in your life, practice that that is most important to you. That you want to be good at. And I'm not even going to tell you what that should be. I'm not a preacher. I'm not a preacher. All I see is that lit candle has one power. Besides giving light, it has one power. You know what that power is? A lit candle can light unlit candles. That's what I do. If an unlit candle was to come to me, I will do everything that I can do to light it. Because then it can be on its way, lighting its path and lighting whatever it wants to light. That's all I have to say. Now wasn't that simple? You did laugh. It's the most laughable subject there is. Like I said before, what you're looking for, you search for all your life, and it was always there. Hilarious. Hilarious. You mean you didn't have to do this, and didn't have to do that, and didn't have to memorize that, and didn't have to go. No. Then people get caught up in heaven. I say to people, heaven is here. Here. People are going, well I got to die to go to heaven. Not too long ago, this is the rapture thing happening in California.

I was in Los Angeles, rapture was happening in San Francisco. Hour flight. A little over an hour flight.

Somebody actually asked me, "Do you think it's going to happen?" Seriously. In my office, somebody is telling me, "Do you think it's going to happen?" I just had to turn to them, I said It's happening every second. Every second. The rapture is happening every second." People say the Lord's Prayer, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. People forget that. They've got it memorized, but they forget what it means. On earth as it is in heaven. This is where that heaven will be. And not knowing that, is the greatest hell. I wish you the greatest heaven in your life. I wish you clarity in your life. I wish you joy in your life. And I know my wishing isn't going to make any difference.