The Ultimate Gift

wide shotWhat is there that is really simple?

As we live our lives, there are many complexities. We have relationships. We have judgments—good, bad / right, wrong. Sometimes it seems we are going forward, and sometimes it seems we are going backwards. Some days are easy and some are tough. Looking through this complex window, it doesn’t seem as though anything could be simple.

People ask me many questions about the complex: “Why is my life this way?” “If we have peace inside of us, why don’t we already know it?” I ask them to stand back, take away all that is unnecessary, and just look at life, at existence. In this existence, breath comes: No judgment, no prerequisites. No forms to fill out, no queues to stand in. No waiting games, no dot.net or dot.com to log onto. It comes.

The life of being alive dances, plays out every day in the most serene, simple way possible. Every morning that comes, you are. You exist. Not through the avenues of this world, but just you—this face, this smile, this body, this breath, this heart, and this time.


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People say, “What about all the problems? Aren’t we all trying to find solutions to them? We don’t have peace in this world, so we have to find a solution for that.”

Here is an analogy. There is a person who was born and raised in a castle. It is a nice place, but one thing this person has never done is to look at their reflection. There is no mirror, no way to see their own reflection. Everything else is there: Great food is there, a nice bed, good entertainment. There is everything except a device like a mirror that they can stand in front of and look at their own reflection.

This person has a lot of dreams, but one thing that this person really wants to do is to become beautiful. In fact, this person is really beautiful—not only beautiful, but exquisitely beautiful. But every day this person laments, “Oh, I wish I could be beautiful,” and there is no way they can see that they are.

This is my passion. I go around the world talking to people. I do not give written speeches. If you asked me what I was going to talk about before I began, I would have told you I had no idea except that I wanted to get in touch with my passion so that you could see yourself in a mirror. If you could, you would see how beautiful you are. You would see how incredibly beautiful you are. You would see that you have thousands of drawers filled with things that promise to make you look beautiful. That is what your whole life is about.

Beauty touches each one of us whether we like it or not, just like we have two legs whether we like it or not. You could make an argument for four legs so that you could run faster, or for two short and two long, but what you have is two.

You also have a quest. It is not a quest that you started, but a quest that was already started for you. It is a quest that says, “Peace.” A quest that says, “Love.” A quest that says, “Understanding.” A quest that says, “Joy.” This is not a quest for the joy that is on the outside, but for the joy that is on the inside. This quest is not for the peace that is on the outside, but for the peace that lies within. That’s the good news. What you are looking for, you already have. The beauty that you are looking for, you already have.

When what is complex is removed, the beauty is there. Complexity is full of doubt. Doubt is like a virus. Should we learn to live with it? Or should we learn to understand the very thing inside that says, “You do not need to be in doubt; you can be in clarity.” You have clarity because the clarity you want and need is within you.

MaharajiBe free to meet yourself. There is no one else like you anywhere. Even twins see things differently. There is a difference in your smile and in what you smile at. The difference is the feeling of joy, the feeling of peace, the feeling of tranquility, and the way that you can express that in your own way to your own self—not to someone else. This is not about writing a book or a poem. The real poem is the one you say to yourself. The best book ever written is the book you write to yourself. It’s clear. It does not need an introduction, or a preface, or footnotes. It is yours. Yours is the poem that sings out in your heart and awakens the joy. This is the greatest poem ever.

The day you start to understand the ocean of possibilities that exists within you is the day you take a step closer to your own life. The possibilities are endless. Endless. They are the possibilities of answers without questions. The world is full of questions without answers.  The heart is full of answers without questions. You can accept those answers, not the answers that the world is trying to give.

The ultimate truth is not in words; it is in feeling. The ultimate reality plays out right in front of your eyes. You are here. This is the truth. You exist. You can feel, and you can understand, and you can be fulfilled.

AudienceDo you see why I have passion for this? It’s so beautiful. Maybe you see how you and I are different. My skin, my face, and my hair all look a little different. Aside from that, we are alike. I wasn’t, I am, and I won’t be. The time when I wasn’t doesn’t count for me. The time when I won’t be doesn’t count either. What counts is: I am. Because I am, I have access to something, and I want to have that access every day of my life.

Take away what is complex, the shells and the wrappers, for here lies a gift that is so perfect it does not need to be wrapped. Take that challenge. There is no paper in the universe perfect enough to wrap this gift of life that you have been given. There is no bow that is pretty enough to do justice to what you have been given. The challenge in your life is to know you. The challenge in your life is to understand the beauty that lies within you and to have access to it whenever you want. That is the ultimate gift.

— Prem Rawat