Prem Rawat in Long Beach, 2013-10-26

Prem Rawat in Long Beach, 26th October 2013

So, hello everyone. I know I'm supposed to tell you about my vision, as advertised, you know, but I figure you already know my vision. It hasn't changed. It is about having peace. I was just meeting with some people backstage and I said, you know, to have peace it doesn't take anything. You don't need an army, you don't need tanks, you don't need fighter aircraft, you don't need generals, you don't need soldiers. To have peace, all you need to do is let people be people because peace is already inside of every single human being. Now to have war, it takes a lot. It takes a lot of logistics, it takes a lot of technology, it takes a lot of money. So, I figure peace is better, cheaper, and at the end of the day probably everybody appreciates it more than a war. So, that's the end of the vision. Would you like to hear a story? All right. So, that's what we'll do. So, there was a boy in a village and he had heard that somewhere out there there was a very wise man. And so, his inspiration was that someday he will be able to go and find this wise man and get some wisdom from him. So, as he grew up this aspiration stayed with him and then he finally ended up growing up and he decided that this is what he wanted to do, go find this wise man and get some wisdom from him. So, he set off and searching, searching, searching, searching, searching. He had his ideas of what a wise man would be, what he would tell him, what the wisdom would be, and so on and so forth. But he kept asking people, where is the wise man? Some people would tell him, I don't know. Some people would tell him, go over there. He would go there, come to find out, not so wise. Finally, one day he ended up at a place, the place of the wise man. And it was a beautiful place, magnificent. Beautiful gardens, beautiful trees, beautiful building.

So, he went in and I'm here to meet the wise man. He was welcomed, brought in front of the wise man. The wise man said to him, he said, well, you know, you've been traveling, you must be pretty tired. Why don't you relax, take it easy? And this seemed a little awkward to him that he had traveled all this distance to get the wisdom. And what he was being told was to take it easy, because he had a sense of urgency to get some wisdom, while the wise man didn't think so. And he thought that that was very unwise. He figured that the wise man would tune into his urgency of seeking wisdom and immediately impart something unto him that would just do the trick. So, the wise man said, no, no, just, you know, take a shower, get cleaned up and come in the evening and we will talk and, you know, no worries. So, he did that and all this time thinking this is not very good. This is again one of these wise men that's not so wise. So, the evening came and, you know, they had dinner and it was wonderful. But this is not what he was there for. He was there for some wisdom. Finally, the wise man said, you know, I have a very beautiful house, beautiful trees, beautiful paintings. Let me give you this lamp. And he handed him a little lamp and says, go and see my beautiful gardens and see my beautiful paintings and see my beautiful house. Enjoy yourself, but make sure you don't let the lamp go out. And we will meet in the morning. The morning came and the man was there and the wise man said, so, did you enjoy my house? Did you enjoy the beautiful paintings, the beautiful gardens, all of that stuff? And he goes, actually, no, I didn't. I was so obsessed with the lamp not going out every step I would take. I had to make sure that something didn't blow out this little lamp. So, I just was carrying this lamp and shielding it from any wind and I really just didn't see anything. All I saw was the lamp. So, the wise man says, well, okay, it's daytime now.

Go look, go enjoy. And so, he did and he came back and he said, oh boy, it was so beautiful. Beautiful paintings you have, beautiful garden you have, such a beautiful house you have. And the wise man said, this was all there last night as well, but you were so focused on the lamp that you missed it. So, here you are to learn wisdom and here is the wisdom, the wise man said. The wisdom is to enjoy all of that and not let the lamp go. Nice story? Do you like it? What if I told you that that's exactly what Krishna said to Arjuna, remember me in all things you. He didn't tell him what he should do and what he shouldn't do. He said, just remember me in all things you do. Is wisdom that simple? To enjoy and not let the lamp go out? Is wisdom that simple? To remember that which is important, to learn in this life, to aspire for peace every single day and not be obsessed by one or the other. So, when I came across this story, this is my version of it. So, you won't find it anywhere, but there's many, many versions of this story because that's ultimately what it comes down to. Focus. Where is it? Some people think that for peace we have to abandon everything. Bye-bye. It's not there. Why? Because what are you giving up? What are you sacrificing? But you'll think if we sacrifice, you have to sacrifice without pain. Pain. There is no gain. You heard this one, right? How painful is it to get up in the morning, refreshed, stand, look out and gaze at that horizon where the sun is starting to rise. That must be really painful because, God, that is beautiful. I don't know how many sunrises I have seen. I've seen a lot. Believe me, a lot.

And I am never tired of looking at that. It fills me. I'm thankful that I can see this. I understand that this magnificence has its origins in me. Not out there, but in me. That it is just triggering something in me and I am filled. I feel filled. So that must be very painful with the aroma of the coffee wafting. Hearing the gurgle of the coffee machine as it's making nice morning coffee. You're out there looking and no one is awake yet. It's just this beautiful dance is starting to happen. The birds are starting to go at it. It must be really painful because I gain so much and how can there be any gain without the pain? What a wrong formula. Incredibly wrong formula and people still keep on chanting it, chanting it, chanting it, chanting it, chanting it. They're walking the most beautiful corridors with the most magnificence surrounding them. But they're so obsessed with their lamp that they miss the whole thing. And that's not wisdom. That's not wisdom. Wisdom is to remember that one thing. You are. If you can't remember that, pinch yourself. You may be dead. You may be dead. This is the simplest thing.

But you are alive. You exist. You know, it's a matter of understanding. It really is. And same meeting, I said something and of course I had to go write it down immediately as soon as the meeting ended because it was very nice. I'm going to think about this. And it was about the law, the law of darkness and light. Now, you've all heard about darkness and light, right? But I kind of feel like a lawyer. Is that a good thing? I don't know. But it's like I understand this now, something that just sparked this and it's a law. And if you understand this law, you can go very far in this life. It's a very simple law. And the law is darkness yields to light and not the other way around. When a lamp is lit, darkness goes, I'm out of here. There's light. Light never goes, oh, darkness is here. Here I go. Bye-bye. And that exception is your hope. Ignorance yields to Knowledge. Not Knowledge going, well, there's a lot of ignorance here. I'm out of here. Bye. If that was the case, we've had it.

We've all had it. But no matter how much ignorance, little bit of that understanding, little bit of that Knowledge can dispel all of it. And this is the only reason why there can be hope in our lives. Hope to be fulfilled. Hope to understand. Hope to grow. Hope to be. Hope to have joy in our lives. Hope to have that feeling, the feeling of the one that resides inside of every single human being. It's about being aware. It's about being conscious. It's about walking this life with eyes open. Open. Not closed. Open. To know. What a beautiful thing it is to know. To know. Not one step taken without knowing. That we've got everything else. Ideas, our belief system. Belief system. I believe. Do you believe? I believe.

What do you believe? I believe. I believe. I believe. I think I believe. Well, then you don't believe enough. How do you fathom, gauge, how much belief do you have? Since it is only in absence of reality that belief needs to exist, how do you fathom it? How do you gauge it? I mean, what is this percentage? One ton? Two ton? Three ton? Four tons of belief? Five tons of belief? I believe. Because I don't know. See, knowing is definitive. Knowing is absolute. I know. Believing is not definitive. I believe. I'll believe some more. Sometimes I have doubts about my belief. You're not a good believer. I used to say, leave no room for doubt. And people went, wow. It's another way of saying, no. If you know, then there is no room for doubt. Are these my shoes? Well, I believe they're my shoes. That doesn't even sound right, does it? I mean, that's just like, that makes me sound like one spaced-out human being. Because I'm wearing them, and I don't know that they're mine. I believe they're mine. No.

I need. Now people will get into it. Oh, but are they really yours? Because isn't it just transient? Here today, gone tomorrow? Isn't it just an illusion? So what about these pants? Is that an illusion? And I'm wearing underwear. I know I'm wearing underwear. And is that an illusion too? But it's all transitory, isn't it? Yes, it is. But right now, I'm wearing pants. I have underwear. And those are my shoes. Because this too is transitory. This too is transitory. And it will be gone. But right now, it's not about the belief system, but it is you. And when you know that, this is my life, my time, to walk those beautiful halls, and to enjoy every bit of that beautiful scenery, to enjoy every bit of that beautiful thing that is happening, and neither be obsessed by one or the other so much that I miss the joy of it. Then, then I have understood something. Then I know something. It goes back quite a few thousand years ago, the origin of this story. And what pollutes my understanding about me? Is it on the Kabir? He said something beautiful. And what he said, I'll say it in Hindi and then I'll explain it. See, you know this. He says, what is the point of washing up on the outside? If you also don't wash yourself on the inside, like a fish that lives in the water, lives in the water, and if you wash it, still the stench is there. If within you, the clarity is not dancing. If within you, you don't understand that clarity. I mean, what do you use water for? For washing things. Why do you wash things? Because they're dirty.

If something smells bad, what do you do? You wash. And he says, you know, that every day, you wash yourself on the outside. Well, what's the point of it? The inside is not being washed. Like a fish that stays in water, lives in water. I mean, water is used to wash everything that is dirty, that is stinky, that is stenchy. It lives in the water. You bring it out, and even though wash it more with the water, it still stinks. That's what a human being becomes. Clean on the outside, and then the stench. Stench of what? Not this one. The stench of ignorance. Does ignorance stink? It stinks, it stinks, it stinks, it stinks, it stinks, it stinks, it really stinks. And what do you wash it with? Water. You can wash your body with water, but if you want to wash that inner stench, there's only one thing that'll get rid of ignorance, and that is Knowledge. Do you wonder, in this world, peace? You ask anyone, do you like peace? Yeah. Who doesn't? Even if they have experienced one second of it, you can't help but fall in love with it, because it's very nice. Everything feels good. I mean, peace is good. I mean, you know, it's not like one of those things where it's like, well, you know, yeah, well, I like, you know, I don't know about peace. I'm not certain about peace, because I just don't know. I mean, peace? No, no. Peace is good. Peace is good. This is when everything is in its equilibrium.

It's equal. Satisfaction? Yes. Understanding? Yes. Simplicity? Yes. You're not caught in some world of tomorrow, but you are content to be in the moment called content. Not afraid, not afraid. A few days ago, my computer would not do its thing. The password screen comes up, you punch in the password, it looks at it, it starts, and then right back to the same screen. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm, I say. Hmm. What's wrong with this thing? Now, I know a thing or two about computers. I'm not overly worried, but I go in there and put the password again, put the password again, put the password again. Same thing, same thing, same thing, same thing. And finally, I say, you know what? This thing is broken. I'm going to have to fix it. So, I know. I had my backup. I got my boot drive out. I plug it in, boot it up with that, look at the hard drive. All my files are intact. Everything is good. I wonder what's wrong with it.

I see so much that is right, and I know that it is one little thing that is making it wrong. There is so much that is right in this world. There is so much that is right with human beings. Believe me. Okay, just, you know, give me the benefit of the doubt here. This is all you can do is believe because you don't really know. But if anger is a trait that is in every single human being, then so is compassion. It's there in you. You see, this is what's so beautiful. Peace does not have to be manufactured. There is so much that is right, and there is something that is wrong. What is wrong is very simple. In that very desire to be better, in that very desire to be good, in that very desire to enjoy the paintings in the hallway, the lamp was neglected, and the lamp is gone. Wow, what a problem. No, not a problem. It doesn't say anywhere you get one shot at it. Thank God. And it doesn't say anywhere that if it goes out, you can't relight it. Thank God. And it's not a question of once. It's not a question of twice. It's not a question of three times. If it's a hundred, so be it. What's the problem? All you need is one lit lamp to light unlit lamps a million times over.

All you need is one lit lamp to light seven billion lamps. Solid text. Prem Rawat must be wrong. That's too simple. That's too simple. Ask anybody who has cooked on a gas stove. Sometimes it goes out. Any big deal? No, you just light it again. I'm not coming from the possibility of saying no, there can be no peace in this world. There's too many people who love war. There cannot be peace in this world. I am saying that even those people who love war have the desire of peace in them. I've seen it. I know it. I don't believe it. I know it. These eyes, these ears, this body has had the good fortune. This isn't going to sound so good, but this has had the good fortune of going in a prison and seeing these people who have been told, you are here with no possibility of parole. Absolutely. They're going to wake up bound by those walls, same clothes. This is it. This is your life from here on end. And that's the only change you can hope for. That will be the big change.

And then you can exit. Your body can exit these four walls. Does that sound like a very hopeful situation? I mean, it's like, wow, that's exciting. I mean, there are people who work so hard to have every day exactly the same. They don't want anything to change. Well, these guys got it. They don't have any other thing. I mean, nothing is going to change. And yet, what I have seen in them is the hope. And a smile. A smile. When I went to South Africa, this prison, I mean, this prison was intense. This was maximum security prison. I mean, really maximum security. It's like somehow they had found barbed wire, a lot of it. You know, it's like some factory or some warehouse had all this barbed wire left, and they didn't know what to do, so they gave it to this prison. I mean, it just, it's like it began, and then there was one layer of barbed wire, and then there was another layer of barbed wire, and then there was another layer of barbed wire, and then there was a fence. And then there was another fence, which was electrocuted, and then there was another layer of barbed wire, and it was like, wow, wow. And you just got that feeling, you know. I mean, it's like, you just got that feeling, it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Walk in, see the officials, oh, thank you very much for coming, and, you know, what you're doing is really wonderful. All in their uniforms. Everybody meant business. Walk in, there they are.

There's one guy, he has the biggest smile on his face. So I speak to them, and then I say, you know, if you want to say anything to me or any questions for me, please feel free to ask. And he goes, I can't believe you're here. I was the biggest smile, he goes, I cannot believe you are here. When they told me you were coming, I said, no way. Now seeing that smile on his face blew me away. It just blew me away. There you are. In the most, I mean, I'm almost feeling uncomfortable just visiting. And there you are. I will be gone in a few hours, I will be gone, and you will still be here. And from everything that I have seen, this is no Hilton Hotel. Very secure, but no Hilton Hotel. And you are smiling, and I understood the power of a human being. And this beautiful, beautiful little saying, that even in your darkest moment, I will not. Logically, logically, I mean, I just went through a little over a month of training. And when I was going for the training, my ego had preceded me. And it basically went on to say, hey, you know, this is going to be just a walk in the park for you, because, you know, you've been flying these airplanes for, God, I don't even care to know how many years. You've flown G4s, you've I'm there the first day. I'm impressed, because the training begins with, do you know how to work an iPad? Seriously. My ego says this is going to be easier. The training guy says, the instructor says, do you all know how to use, do you have an iPad? Do you know how to use an iPad? And if you don't, there are some iPads that you can use. iPad? I know iPad. Not a problem.

Then he goes, okay, we, you know, don't have to spend an hour teaching you how to operate an iPad. We're good here. We're good. We're good. We're good. And then it begins. And my ego says, hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Uh-oh. And my ego says, but it's okay. It's okay, because this must be just a little bit. A little bit. And then we'll just all get back, and everything will be normal. By day two, my smile was gone. I had a definitive ego hunt session where it was like, no, you are wrong. And I realized how different this was. It was like, pay attention. Pay attention. This is different. And then when I started learning, and actually enjoying, because it's really neat stuff. It's all technology, science, I really like that. Wild. Stuff I didn't ever know.

Learn. Enjoy. How many of you do the same thing for every day that comes in your life? I know this day. That means you're not paying attention. Oh, I know. I know. I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been through this before. What do people say? These hair are not gray for no reason at all? I've got experience. Except look at your experience. You're really experienced as falling flat on your face. Really good at it. You can do it without anybody knowing. You're a master. You have finally achieved perfection at failure. It's not meant to be that way. It is meant to be. You're supposed to be the Master of welcoming the new day. The master of paying attention. Don't you want to be the Master of paying attention? I mean, how cool does that sound? Master of paying attention. Attention to your life. You know what attention does. When you pay attention to something, you can change things.

You know that. You know that. You pay attention to your stupid little car, and the next thing you know, it's shining. You pay attention to your dog, and the next thing you know, that dog is actually just like the cutest thing in the world, and it's just obeying everything you're telling it. I mean, it's like unbelievable. Pay attention to your child, and you know what happens? You actually get a child, instead of somebody else's kid, that happens to know your name, and you happen to know his. You pay attention to your friend, and you end up with a friend. You pay attention to your salad, and my God, it actually tastes good. You pay attention to your silly little basil plant, and instead of looking like some pathetic God knows what, it's actually flowering. It's really actually got basil, and it actually tastes good. You pay attention to your hair. Well, some of you can't, but you pay attention to your hair, and my goodness, the next thing you know, wow, and that's just little things. Can you imagine if you started paying attention to your life? Well, what happened to your life? Pay attention to your life. Why so serious? Because we don't. It's the wilted little plant, the basil. It's the wilted little thing that looks, you know. Basil is supposed to look like green, and this one looks brown. Pay attention to your day. Pay attention to this breath. Pay attention to this life. Pay attention. Become the Master of paying attention. That's your sword, you know. Wherever you point this thing, you will win.

Solid takes. You will win. There's your secret. How do you succeed? Pay attention. You remember when you were in school, and you accidentally paid attention to some few hours, and then doing the homework was fun? Not a problem. Got it done. Out of the way. Done. Go play. No guilt. Don't have to play hide and seek with your parents. See, it's not like the parents are all-knowing, and they know you haven't done your homework. That's not the thing. They're not all-knowing. They've done the same thing since they left school as well. So they know, as they don't pay attention to anything, that you are not paying attention to anything. And therefore, the chances are extremely good that you have not done your homework. And so they ask the very question you dread. Have you done your homework? Now the issue is, should you lie, or should you tell the truth? You, fortunately, have already trained your children in the art of lying so that it appears to be truth. At that point, the child is a brilliant lawyer. And the child makes this case. I'm nearly done. I am nearly done. Do you realize how brilliant that is? I mean, it leaves the parent speechless.

And it's up to the parent's imagination of how much it is. Nearly done. You don't say, I have another five hours to go. Nearly done. Brilliant. Where does this brilliance come from? The chip off the old block. With so many good educators around, how can the child ever miss? But all of these things are distracting you from the reality of paying attention. When you pay attention, even the test is not difficult. It all becomes interesting. Who? My life. A little attention. My understanding. A little attention. Peace. That's all it means. It's a little attention. A little attention from the citizens of this earth. If I was to advocate we get rid of borders, I don't know if that would ever happen. We have flags that mean that this area belongs to these people. And they have their flags. And they have different colored flags. And green flags. And blue flags. And they have striped flags.

And they have round little symbol flags. And they have white flags. They have all these flags. And then they have games on the iPad. Can you identify the flags? Flags. A flag is not a good thing. If you know anything about computer language, you flag something when it's bad. Flag. Oh, but this is us. Doctors know genetically, DNA wise, you're the same. Probably your grandfather came from this other flag. And your grandmother from another flag. And that's why you look like this flag. And you really should be flagged. Oh, but yeah, we have different language. Really? You say different things? You don't have a word for water? You don't have a word for ouch? What is your word for mother? Take a baby from one language. Take a baby from another language who don't know the language. Do you think they'll cry in different languages? Some people burp and they go. You think the babies will go? You think the babies will go, oh, so sorry, I don't want to cry, but I have to cry anyways. I'm emotionally distraught. No. But I'm not advocating that. Because I know that would never happen. All I'm saying is peace is already there.

It has already infiltrated the borders, the flags, and every human being on the face of this earth. Just needs a chance to emerge. Yes, there is bad in every human being. But also remember, there is good in every human being. If we can make wars, and we have the capacity to make wars, then we have the capacity also to make peace, to have peace. But we need to pay attention. We need to pay attention to this life. We need to pay attention to this moment. We need to pay attention to this existence. Because shortly, too shortly, it'll be gone. Pay not to ignorance, but to Knowledge. Knowledge needs your attention. Pay attention not to death. Life needs your attention. Your attention. And if you do, if you do, you will be the recipient of the greatest joy you have ever experienced in your life. You pay attention, the joy will increase. Every day. These are limitless possibilities. Limitless possibilities. So, just like I began with my story, walk the halls, enjoy the paintings, enjoy the tree, and carry the lamp, and make sure it is lit. And if it ever goes out, just light it again. Will it light? Of course. Have you ever lit a lamp that was put out? Does it go, but you know what you did to me yesterday? I want to get even with you.

I won't light it. No, it's what people do to candles. Put them out, light them the next day. Not an issue. Not an issue. How beautiful. How simply beautiful this is because it is so incredibly simple. I really hope you appreciate the simplicity of Knowledge, of knowing. The simplicity of the lamp. The simplicity of the light. So simple. Don't have to create walls that keep darkness out. Uh-uh. But that's what people are trying to engineer. Walls that keep the darkness out, so then there will always be light because no darkness can come in. Therefore, therefore you're stupid. You don't have to build any walls. All you need is a lamp. Light the lamp, and therefore it's taken care of. Therefore, there will be light. But what if the wind blows it out? Light it again. You obviously could, if you could light it the first time, then you have the capacity to light it the second time. If you could light it the second time, you could light it the third time. Fourth time. Fifth time. Sixth time. Seventh. Eighth. And the next time somebody offers you a matchbox, you won't be so polite and just take one, take the whole thing. Because now you are the expert of knowing of how to light the lamp.

That's why you see the wise men, they carry a lot of matches. Because they know lamps do go out, and they know the lamps can be lit, and that's how simple it is. And both get accomplished. The enjoyment, and also the lamp. That, my friends, is the crux of what was said a long time ago. Remember me in all things that you do. What a nice formula. I mean, that's exactly what your wife expects of you. That's exactly what your boyfriend expects of you. Your husband expects of you. Whatever. Remember me in all things that you do. So no big deal that Krishna said the same thing to Arjuna. Hey, you know what? Remember me in all things you do. Go ahead and fight, but just remember me too. People get so complicated over this. How do you remember? So then they have to define what that means. Remember.

As you remember the beautiful moments, even when you were extremely young, photographs can fade. But those memories, sharp and vivid. And the joy of it, even sharper and more vivid, as if though it happened a second ago. Timeless. Pain can be that way too. I'm not discounting that. But it's not about the pain. It's about the joy. So anyways, so many of you got to come out here and have the fair and see what's going on and be a part of it. I'm going to start traveling here pretty soon. The events in here and there and there and there. I know all those Indians are waiting. Waiting, waiting for me, going, where is he? Why is he not here? I feel that. I feel that. They're like, where is he? Why is he not here? When is he coming? At this point they're probably going like, he should have been here yesterday. It's like, well, that's a little too early. But, yeah, yesterday is a little early, but we'll see about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or so on. And so, so many places that have been waiting for me to come, bring this message. And it's always my privilege to come, go to those places, bring this message of hope, bring this message of peace, because it's a very simple message. Pay attention. How simple can that be? Pay attention. Pay attention to your life. Pay attention to what's happening around you. Pay attention to this existence. And it's all going to start and begin, and I hope that wonderful things from the efforts of people will happen in North America. The flag. And, you know, I hope to see you soon, and just take care of yourselves, and most importantly, pay attention. Thank you, and good night.