A Matter of Heart

(Translated from Hindi)

Audience

So many things are happening in our lives, and we think they are the reality. But they aren’t. We try to fulfill our responsibilities, and we are so busy concentrating on this that there is a void inside. A voice within says: “Fulfill your life. Experience fulfillment.” No one tells us this, but we know it. How? Who taught us how to laugh or how to smile? Who taught us to hear the voice of peace? These things we have known since childhood.

We have peace within us. This is our nature. We try to enjoy everything on the outside, yet we do not really. We need peace; we need absolute joy. Until the heart is at peace, we will not have peace. We think that the higher we climb the ladder of success, the happier we’ll be. I am not saying, “Don’t climb the ladder.” If you can reach the top, then reach the top, but experience the peace that resides within.

Until your thirst is quenched, you’ll try anything. That’s why it’s been said that the whole world has cataracts. Peace is there in the heart, but people cannot see it. There are so many excuses. Young people say: “We can think about these things when we are old.” Middle-aged people say: “I don’t have time. I’m busy.” The elderly say: “I can’t even walk. I get tired easily. I have high blood pressure.”

Maharaji

What do you have time for? The real enjoyment is when this heart is fulfilled, when this heart is complete. If you really want to enjoy, quench your thirst and fulfill your heart. Only then will you be able to feel the real joy and calmness in your life.

It is the nature of things to come and go in this world—like the waves, sunlight, clouds in the sky. This is your life. Life is one day—a rising sun, one morning, one afternoon, and one evening. There was darkness before the sun rose, and there will be darkness again after the sun sets. What will you do with this day? This is your day—this life, this body.

The opportunity you have is yours today. The day will go, the sun will set. What have you felt today? Tiredness? There are so many people who get up early in the morning, go to work, come home tired, have their food, and go to sleep. Yet, like the day today, you have an opportunity—you have the great fortune to have this human life.

Audience

Wise are the ones who experience peace within, who experience joy. No matter how tired they are, when they go to sleep, they feel how beautiful the day was. The ones who know the riches of the heart are the richest of the rich. It’s a matter of heart.

I have experienced peace, and if someone comes to me, I will help them experience that peace. For this, you need to dig your own well; the water that you are looking is within you. You need to dig until you are satisfied. It will be you who will know when that happens. Only you can say, “Yes, I have peace in my life.” And if peace is not there, only you can see that.

In this life, it’s already morning—the sun is there, and the day is passing by. As long as the sun is up, it’s not too late to experience joy in your life.

— Prem Rawat