Reality Is Beautiful

Maharaji

There is pseudo-peace—a dreamt-up peace that you think exists but is not really there—and there is real peace. Which one do you have?

It’s so important to build our life on what’s real—to build our understanding from experience, not just ideas. Experience is something no one can take away from you. If you build a house of straw, the wind can knock it down. If you build a house of wood, it can be burned down. So build it from something substantial that will last.

You cannot just have a made‑up peace. You have a heart that feels, so feel peace. Build your house from your experience, and then you can live comfortably there. Build it in such a way that you’ll be sheltered. When it’s windy, it’ll be calm inside. Fires and earthquakes can come, and you won’t have to worry. You can relax, living your life in the simple sanity of saying “I know,” not “I don’t know.” That’s very important.

Maharaji

It has been said many times, “Reality is more beautiful than you realize.” But so many people are afraid to see what’s really there. They would rather live in fear than see reality. And yet, reality is exceptionally beautiful. It is the sweet and simple breath that goes in and out of you. It is your song, your symphony—you are playing a very beautiful piece of music called your life.

It’s a beautiful thing—the life that we have been given. Every day we have to acknowledge that we’re alive. The day we don’t acknowledge that we are alive, we are unconscious. We are doing things, but we don’t understand why we are doing them.

Enjoy what you have been given. Enjoy this existence. Enjoy every breath. This is the nature of a human being: what we enjoy, we remember, and we don’t get tired of it. So enjoy every breath. Things will happen—good, bad, right, wrong. Somebody says, “No.” Somebody says, “Yes.” Somebody says, “This way.” Somebody says, “No, not that way.”

Audience

What is your vision? In your life, do you want beauty and joy? Keep that focus, and you will have it. Don’t waste your time, because time is something you can’t recover. Don’t misplace your anger. If you have to be angry, then be angry at anger. Maybe somebody did something wrong, and they didn’t know it. Understand one thing: in this game of life, you get one opportunity. If you understand what this life is all about, that’s all that matters.

There is so much potential. I see a vision. I don’t see obstacles. I don’t see problems. Problem-solving is a human being’s forte. We can problem-solve, but it’s very rare to have a vision. Yet it is the vision that is important.

Don’t compare today to yesterday and don’t compare tomorrow to today. It is what it is. Accept the fruit of your effort. Enjoy that, and more will come. When you accept, your heart is touched, and magic starts to unfold. When you don’t accept, everything freezes. And when you accept again, your heart thaws out and begins to dance once more.

— Prem Rawat