Prem Rawat in Las Palmas, 2014-06-07

Passion for Peace
Prem Rawat in Las Palmas, 7th June 2014

Mr. Mayor, Baroness, ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure to be here in beautiful island here, Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, and incredibly important to talk to you about peace. Let me begin with a story because there are questions that if peace is inside of us, then why is it that we don't know about it? There's two things. One, do we know ourselves? Because if we don't know ourselves, then it is impossible to predict what is our need. Of course, with hunger, we know. With thirst, we know. With sleep, we know. But what about the innate thirst that we have? What about the innate hunger that we have? So here's a little story. There was a lion, and he ruled over this jungle, and he was ruthless, terrible. He would go in, he would kill, and he would kill many, many animals, eat one, and that's it. So the animals decided if he keeps doing this, none of us will be left here. So they all went to the lion and said, Your Majesty, we humbly request that you stop this. And the lion said, No. I'm the lion. I get hungry. I have to eat. So they said, Okay, let's make a deal. Every day, we will send you one animal. One animal. Every day. Guaranteed. And this way, you can have your feast. And hopefully, it will save us too. So the lion agreed. And even though this was a little bit better arrangement, it was very painful.

Because they knew who was next, who was next, who was next, and who was next. One day, it happened to be the turn of a little bunny rabbit. And the bunny rabbit's family is crying. Oh, you know, you're so sweet. You're such a nice bunny. And you have to go and you have to get eaten. So the bunny said, Actually, I have a plan. I'm not going to get eaten. All the animals said, What plan is that? He says, I've been watching this lion. And I see two problems with him. One, he really doesn't know who he is. And two, he's very arrogant. Very, very arrogant. And I'm going to take advantage of both of these things. And I think I will be fine. So that day came when the bunny had to go to the lion. And the bunny is just playing around, not leaving. Everybody said, You're going to be late. He said, That's the idea. So the little rabbit arrives really late. The lion is furious. How dare you? How dare you be late? Don't you know I've been waiting for you? And the bunny said, Wait, wait, wait. You are lucky. I'm even here.

He goes, What do you mean? He says, When I was coming here, I was met by another lion. Just like you. Ferocious. And he wanted to eat me. You have no idea what I had to do to escape him. And I told him, You are more powerful than he is. And he said, No, he's more powerful. So just feel fortunate that I'm here. Now the lion is really, really upset. Where is he? Where is he? How dare he challenge me? The bunny said, Come, I'll show you. Took him to the well. He's down there. The lion gets up, looks down, and sure enough, sees a huge lion looking up at him. And he roared. You see, he's looking at his reflection, looking up at him. He roars. And his voice comes back, even amplified. That was it. This went on and on and on and on. Finally, the lion jumped into the well. So what happened? When he didn't know, that was him. He didn't know himself. Two, he had arrogance. This is what happens when the person, a human being, does not recognize who he is, who she is, then arrogance takes over.

In this world, there is so much arrogance. What happened to kindness? Believe me, kindness does not cost any money. To be kind, to be kind towards yourself first, then to be kind towards others. When there isn't that understanding, what happens? People say, I know. I know. A Master was once asked, Master, what happens when ignorant takes over? The Master said, the same that happens to a field when it is not tended to. We don't think of ignorance like that. But that field does not look beautiful. What it looks like is junk. The weeds, the flowers go away. And this is what happens to the human being. The whole world understands the concept of peace, but they don't understand truly what peace is. They look at the symptoms and they say, let's fix the symptoms. You cannot just keep fixing the symptoms unless you have fixed the disease. Another story. You want one? Another story? You haven't heard this one. You haven't heard this one. So there was a kingdom, and the king had a beautiful palace. Servants, cooks, wise men, every day the king would eat. His cooks, his chefs would prepare him beautiful meals. And he would go, hmm, it could be better. It could be better. So one day, the head chef, he had had enough. He says, I'll make something.

He will say, it's the best. Greed. Greed. So he made this dessert. Incredible dessert. Amazing dessert. And the king is sitting at his table, smelling this dessert, tasting this dessert, eating this dessert. Wow. Next thing you know, the mice also have smelled the dessert. And they cannot help themselves. And they start invading. The palace is being invaded by mice. And next thing you know, they cannot control themselves. They're on the table, eating the dessert. Total disregard for the king. The king is freaking out. The guards are freaking out. Mice everywhere. So the king calls all his wise men, come, come, come here. What do we do? We got a problem. The wise men think, your majesty, let's get some cats. Mice hate cats. Very good. Quickly, bring in the cats.

The soldiers are dispatched. They gather the cats. They bring the cats. The mice see the cats. They flee. And the king is very happy. All the mice are gone. But everywhere, everywhere, there's cats. Sleeping on the sofa, sleeping on the bed, sharpening their claws on all the beautiful carpets. Cats, cats, cats, everywhere. All the wise men, come here, come here, come here. What do we do now? Your majesty, let's get dogs. Because cats, once they see that dog, they'll be gone. All right, go gather all the dogs. So the soldiers go out, gather all the dogs, bring them to the palace. Cats, gone. Big problem. Dogs everywhere. Pooping, marking their territory, chewing the royal sandals. Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, everywhere. All the wise men, come here, come here. What do we do now? Your majesty, the only thing I can think of, say the wise men. Let's get a tiger. Dogs don't like a tiger.

Go get tigers. Now, as soon as the dogs see the tiger, they're gone. But now tigers are everywhere. And nobody can go out. And nobody can go in. And there's tigers everywhere. Oh my God. Okay, next meeting, please. What do we do now? Let's get elephants. Because the tigers are afraid of the elephants. Elephants. Tigers are gone, elephants everywhere. Stuck in the middle of the hallways, in, out. Horrible. So the king calls the wise men again. This is terrible. What do we do? Is there an animal, is there something that these elephants are afraid of? That's right. Let's get the mice in here. So, now there is mice everywhere. Elephants are gone, but there's mice everywhere. Now what do we do? What do we do? Wise men came and said, where did the problem start from? King, was it not your greed that caused your chef to make the dessert that attracted the mice? Please, stop that. And when he did, the mice slowly disappeared. Now I noticed that a lot of people laughed when this story was told. One element of this story is going in circles.

Is the world today going in circles? I mean, not literally. But circles, circles, circles, circles, circles, circles, circles, circles, circles. Yes. Because we're not taking a look at the obvious. The obvious being our need. Yes, we need food. Yes, we need air. Yes, we need water. Yes, we need a clean planet to live on. Thank you very much. We need a clean planet to live on. Thank you very much. Because the body needs it. This is not a concept. Because if you think this is my idea, then talk to the Hoover industry, the people who make vacuum cleaners. Why do they make vacuum cleaners? Why do they make brooms? Because they know this body does not do good in dirt, in filth. So, what else do we need in our life? And that is the fundamental thing that we need. Without it, all the progress is like having no progress. Without peace, we have no future. We have no future. Our children have no future. Mankind has no future without peace. And that peace is the most profound and yet the simplest thing. That dances on the stage, the stage called a human being.

The manifestation of peace happens from inside, not in ideas, but in reality. In reality. When that thirst, the passion is understood. First, it has to be understood. And two, it has to be fulfilled. It is the only time that human beings will start to recognize each other as who we are. Kindness is a trait of humanity. This is a quality. Kindness is a quality. Anger is not a quality. Love is a quality. It is a quality. What happens when a person is in peace? What happens? There is a recognition. There is a simplicity. There is an appreciation. There is a gratitude. This is what happens. Recognition of each other, recognition that my need is like yours, that it isn't about power, that it isn't about destruction, but it is about preserving that which is precious. It is about appreciating the gift that we have been given. It is about being alive. You think being alive is to walk? No! Being alive is that person that has a heart full of gratitude, that has an understanding, that has the aroma of kindness, a passion for peace, and a singularity, not confusion, not confusion, but a clarity to the objective of being alive. That's when the reason why the sun is where it is makes sense. That is when being on this earth makes sense. Not too long ago, I was looking at an article, and the article said that we are very close to finding life in the outer space.

Very close. And what it said was, first we have to kind of prove that there was life outside earth. We don't know that yet. We don't know that yet, but we're close to figuring out life. And then when I read the article, it went on to say that hopefully before earth disappears, we'll find life out there. I'm sorry, what? Excuse me? We have life right here. You want life? You don't even need a spaceship. You don't even need a bicycle. It's all around us. It's life. No, no, over there, over there. Okay, okay. I am not against scientific expeditions. But first, what about the one that's here? I mean, what are you going to do if you found a life on some planet? One leg, one eye, one ear, one tooth, and a bad habit of slapping you with one hand. What are you going to do? What? We are not alone. Is that the point? We are not alone? Excuse me, we are not alone. We are not alone. There's seven billion of us around waiting to be recognized, waiting to be accepted, waiting to be treated like a human being. But billions of dollars, and people are going hungry right here. How can that be? Is there a problem with food production? No. Half the food that is produced is wasted. Just wasted. People are hungry. People are thirsty.

But fundamentally, there is a reason why this is happening. Why a human being takes a knife and cuts another one's throat without thinking twice about it. There is a reason why it is happening. There is a reason. And the reason is, the lion does not know what it is. And in the lack of knowing one's self, ignorance is a vacuum, and nature abhors vacuum. What does it fill it with? It fills it with hate, hate, misunderstanding. When I say the Knowledge of the self, Knowledge of the self, this is connecting to the message, the very message that Socrates said. Know thyself. He could have said anything. He could have said anything. He could have said, dates are too expensive. He could have said, the togas, they smell like urine. Because they used to wash them, to get them white. They used to actually wash them in here. I mean, I don't know if they had bakalba at that time in Greece, but he could have said, this is not good for you, this may give you diabetes. But he didn't say that. What did he say? Know thyself. Know thyself. Know thyself. Excuse me, what effort do we make in a day to know yourself? Everybody else, oh, I want to know that person. I want to know that person. I want to know that person. Can I have your phone number? What is your phone number? What is really your phone number? The one that goes to you.

That number that nobody else can pick up. That only goes to you. You don't know, do you? Area code. Human being. Human being. Need peace. Need to feel good. You don't know that? Does that come as news to you? That you need to feel good every day. What if you felt good one day in your whole life, that's it. One day you feel good, rest of the day, miserable. Will that work for you? No. You need to feel good every single day. Oh, actually, come to think about it, every single hour. Oh, actually, come to think of it, every single minute. In fact, whenever you don't feel good, it doesn't really work for you. I have never, never, ever heard anybody say, I am so bored of feeling good. I wish I could be miserable one day. No. That's your nature. And when you understand that, then you begin to feel the thirst. The thirst for peace. And you know the day you find peace, begins with the day you feel the thirst for peace. Once you feel thirst, water is there. And it's called, even in the middle of the desert, what will you be looking for? You know, before you come into the desert, people go, people go with their tents into the desert.

Oh, look at the stars. I've done this, see. Look at the stars. Oh, look at the sand. Oh, look at the sunset. Oh, look at the sunrise. Oh, listen to the quietness. But when you get thirsty, by stars, by this, by that, water, water, water, water, water, till you find it. Today is a historic day that we are here. And the mayor was explaining to me the significance of these islands. They're part of Spain, but almost in the bosom. They're part of Africa. And it's a historic day that the citizens of this beautiful place are taking a step towards really understanding peace. It's importance. And to make sure that these are not just words. That in fact, that there is a significant impact. Because there is. There is a huge impact. When people start to understand what peace means. Huge. A lot of people don't know, so they think, oh, yes, you get peace, you become a vegetable. I have been doing this. Speaking about peace. For 52 years.

I can assure you. I have never seen as live a person. Than the person who has found their passion for peace. Live. Living. Embracing life. Celebrating life. And saying what? Thank you. Thank you for life. Thank you for being alive. And it doesn't matter who they are. What they believe in. You can believe in anything you want. Anything you want. Listen. You must have heard this Indian sweet. It's called a laddu. It's round. It's an Indian sweet. I don't recommend it. I'm just using it as an analogy. A laddu will taste exactly the same. To a Hindu. To a Muslim. To a Christian. To a Jew. And also to somebody who is an atheist. Am I right? So? Atheist. Somebody who doesn't believe in God. So laddu will taste the same to a rich person. To a poor person. Educated person. Somebody who has never been to school. If laddu can be like this. Just a little laddu can be. So universal. Try peace? Try peace? So. My advice to you. That this journey. That marks this historic day. Which really begins with your commitment. Not to the concept of peace. But to peace. Not the idea of peace. But the real peace. Because a lot of people go. What does a person look like who has peace? So they go on their computer. And they google.

And they find a picture. Images of peace people. And they find somebody. Who is wearing saffron. Not a suit. A saffron. No hair. Eyes closed. And they go. I will do this. They go over to one of those famous stores. Do you have a saffron suit? And then go out. Look at me. Look at me. I have peace. Look at me. I have peace. No you don't. No you don't. Why? Peace dances in your heart. Not in fashion show. Not in fashion show. You know. So many people. "Oh where is peace? Oh yeah. Let's go to India. Peace is in India." I love India. I was born there. It's in my DNA. I can't get India out. Do they need peace? Yes. Yes. And that's what it is all about. You. And you. And you. And you. And you. And you. Not me coming and giving you a lecture. But you know if you feel peace in your life or you don't. And there is no two ways about it. If you don't have peace. Get it. And if you have peace. Enjoy it. That's it.

You have it. Enjoy it. Feel the passion. Feel the passion. Feel the passion to be alive. Feel the passion in this life. In this moment. In this existence. It's all about that. For me. It is always a pleasure. To go. And talk to those who will listen to me. Not everybody listens to me. Not everybody listens to me. I know that. There are people out there. I don't know. Maybe it's just I've done it for so long. There are people out there going eh. Peace is not going to happen. Can I tell you another very small story? Very very small.

One day. A Master was going along wh his student. Some thieves stopped them and said "What is in those jars?" And the Master said "Oh. Peace. Kindness. Love. Knowledge. Joy." And the thieves started laughing. They said "Go. Get out of here." The disciple said "Why did you say that?" And the Master said "Even when I say what is obvious. There are people who will not get it." And that's what I said. This is what I have. This is my asset. That Knowledge. That love. That joy. That kindness. But what will the thieves say? When I talk about peace I know there are people who go "No no no no no there's too much greed in this world." So how did greed start? If you're such an expert. That there's too much greed.

I mean obviously if you make the statement there's too much greed in this world. You must be an expert. How did it start? And are you a part of it? Or not? Yes you are. But there's no bad news. There's good news. And the good news is. That the peace you are looking for is inside of you. Is inside of you. Always will be. And the day you recognize it. The day you experience it. You will start living. People say ah I'm too old. You are the only one. You are the only one. Who is calling yourself old. Is the breath calling you old? Is it? Is the breath going ah you. Nah not anymore. Does the sun say no no no not for you. You're too old. There are people here who are very young. Look up. There is the moon. Look up. There is the clouds. Can you see them? If they don't care how old you are. Why do you? Why do you? Why do you? It's for everyone. It's for the young. It's for the old. It's for the generations. It is for all those who are the living beings on this planet earth. So this is what I have to say. Thank you very much for coming. And congratulations for taking this step towards peace. Thank you.