The Right to Be Fulfilled

In a world where so much is going on—where there are so many issues, ideas, inventions, and technology—why am I talking about peace? I talk about peace, not as an option in life, not as something that would be nice to have, but as a fundamental feeling we all need to feel every day we awaken, every day we exist. When I say “we,” what I’m talking about is each one of us—despite our barriers or differences.

We begin to believe in our differences. Sometimes when I am piloting an airplane, I make an announcement, just for fun, that just below you can see the border between two countries. Amazingly enough, people start to look. The world teaches us differences and we begin to believe in them. “You are from this country, and you are from that country. You speak this language, and you speak that language. You like this, and you like that.” We forget that the fundamental thing that drives us all is the same. We forget that we may be speaking different languages, but what we are saying is exactly the same. “I am thirsty” can be said in many languages. It means exactly the same thing.

MaharajiWhen the desire for peace is fundamental to each one of us, should it be such an alien thing?  The question isn’t whether we want peace. The question is: Do we feel the thirst for peace? The question isn’t whether the treasure exists. The question is: Has it been discovered? Once the thirst for peace is understood in a human being’s life, that person will look for water, for peace. They will look within.

I see thousands of labels in this world, and I don’t know why they are there. Many labels were put on things way before I was born. People believe in them. Nobody questions these labels. When people hear that the definition of peace is the absence of war, they say, "Yes, that's true." There is a war that rages on inside a human being that is far more ferocious than any war on the outside. This war continues way past the cease-fires. The outside war is the manifestation or the reflection of the war within. We have a sense of imbalance, but we don’t recognize what is causing it.

MaharajiI have to acknowledge what I need in my life. If I want peace, I have to acknowledge it. I have to say to myself, in the simplest of words, “Yes, I feel the thirst for peace.” I can use fancy words to impress other people, but I cannot use fancy words to impress myself. If I want to impress me, I have to speak the truth. Maybe to the world, truth is a scary word, but truth is what the heart wants to hear. That thirst needs to be quenched. Peace is what the heart needs to feel.

The world descends upon me and says, “You should be this; you should be that.” Who just tells me, “You are alive, you exist”? Is that too simple? As soon as my alarm clock goes off in the morning, thoughts come about all the things I have to do.

We keep forgetting what is important. Does not the journey to peace begin with the acknowledgement—in earnest—of those simple things we keep forgetting? The gratitude for life. The gratitude for this existence. The gratitude to be.

Why is this important? It is important because it is the only way you can find your balance.  Without that, our life is not balanced. On one side is a simple breath, and on the other side are disproportionate problems.

Look around you. The dissatisfaction you see on the outside lines up with incredible satisfaction on the inside. The poverty you see on the outside lines up with incredible richness on the inside. The doubt you see lines up with amazing clarity on the inside.

When we begin to acknowledge that peace is inside of us, there will begin to be a difference. The day that becomes an earnest truth for us, not just a passing fancy, we can start to feel at peace.

Where does it begin? It begins with acknowledgment. It begins with understanding. Where does it end? Hopefully, it ends with quenching the thirst that you have discovered within you.

AudienceWhat kind of thirst is that? It is a thirst for the water that also lies within you. The completeness is so incredible. Maybe you have never heard of anything like that before. Both the elements are within you. Both the thirst and the water that will quench the thirst are within you. Joy is within you, and the want for joy is within you. It is by looking through the glasses of simplicity that we can even begin to understand this. What you are looking for is within you. There is nothing to buy, nothing to conquer. There is only something to acknowledge.

I hope that, whatever happens in your life, you find peace within you. It is there, and the thirst for it is there. I look at it in a very simple way. I have traveled around the world, and I know a lot of people see a lot of different things. I see something very simple. I see people. Every human being has the right to be fulfilled.

— Prem Rawat