Excerpts from Events
Are you rich? [06:22 min]
What does it mean to be rich? Now, rich isn’t just rich in money. You can be rich in many things. So, what is the definition of being rich? Two elements are involved in being rich. One- You have to have something precious. What does precious mean? Something that is not ordinary, but something precious. And secondly, you have to have abundance of it.Gold is precious. But having a gold the size of a hairpin, isn’t going to make you rich. Two elements. You have to have something precious and lots of it. And the more you have of it, the richer you are. And both things, the preciousness and abundance play off each other to make you rich. If you have a lot of nothing, you are not rich! Two things have to be, two elements have to be.
So, now the question becomes, are you rich? What is incredibly precious? And not only precious, but what do you have that is precious and you have abundance of it. There is something, and its not dollars, and its not diamonds. It is another kind of wealth and one thing that is incredibly precious is this breath that comes in and out of you. And not only is it precious, here’s the beauty, it comes in abundance, not just one. Coz that wouldn’t make you rich. The two things, the two tests that it has to pass, precious and abundant. There is one thing that qualifies. Every human being that is sitting in this hall, outside of this hall, in this world, everyone, has this. And it just so happens to be the source of immense joy.
When you have found, not only the abundance, but the richness of that existence, of that breath, of that gift that is coming in and out of you. And somebody to point that out. The obviousness that you are alive, not what you can do. The fact that you are alive. There in lies, the foundation of peace for you, there in lies your treasure, there in lies your clarity, there in lies your understanding, there in lies, your peace.
Peace is not a piece of something. You cannot buy peace. Like I say, Peace is the perfume of god. And when you find that god, which god? Not the one that lives over there, but the one in you. Then you smell the perfume and when you smell the perfume, you feel the peace, the tranquility, the reality, the beauty, the simplicity, of life. Not the complicated, not the duties, but the richness, the abundance, the preciousness.
Peace [06:24 min]
The day you begin to accept and understand that accomplishment, that blessing, then you begin to understand what peace is.
Passing of Life [06:40 min]
This existence is your home. And it is incumbent upon you to make this home as comfortable as possible.
Does God Test? [06:41 min]
This is your nature, this is how you are. You have a mind, but you don’t think it is limited. You think it is unlimited. It is very limited. It can think of incredible things, but can it think of obvious things? Not always. Mind can dream about tomorrow. Mind can remember all those things that happened yesterday. But can mind actually help you live in the moment called now? It can’t. It’s not capable. Its job, to either go backwards or forward. Its job is not to think of what is now. It’s only one thing in you that can understand the moment called now and it is your heart. Not your mind. That’s why you have a heart. That one place from where questions don’t come but inspiration does. That one place from where reasoning doesn’t come but gratitude does. Gratitude and understanding that gratitude. Not reasoning. Mind likes to reason. Mind likes to gloat. Human beings like to gloat.What does God do? In India, people believe God does nothing but test, test, test, test! I ask you a question. The God who tests, does this God know what the result will be? No, you think about this.. okay. People say, God is testing me. So, if the God is testing, that will imply that the God does not know whether you will pass or fail. Because if he already knows, you will fail, what is the point of testing you? If God already knows you will pass, what is the point of testing you. But you think God tests you. If you think that God tests you, then this God that tests you doesn’t know and why would you like to be tested by a God that doesn’t know.
There is a big hole in this theory of "God tests you". God does not test you. You allow yourself to be tested. Who gives you the test? The society gives you the test, your friends give you the test, because they don’t know. Why would God want to test. What would be the reason. It is quite the contrary, that every human being is blessed. The blessing already exists. To understand this that the blessing already exists, thats why you need knowledge. Because nothing shows it clearer. Every day that you sit down to practice it, nothing shows it you clearer that the blessing has already been given to you. Nothing.
King Janak and Ashtavakra [06:44 min]
Maharaji quotes a story from Ramayana. The story of King Janak, who was father of Sita. Sita was married to Ram of Ayodhya. The story speaks about King Janak’s dream, following which he made a declaration to give away his kingdom as a prize to the person who could answer his question. Through these unfoldings, King Janak met his young master, Ashtavakra.There was a king. I'll abbreviate this. This is an Indian story. There is this king and he is dreaming. He is dreaming that he has lost his kingdom. He is dreaming that he has been defeated. He is dreaming that he is running into the jungle. He is dreaming that he is really hungry. The jungle is cold and wet. He comes across this hut. He knocks at the door and says, "Do you have anything to eat?" An old lady says, "I don't have anything to eat. But I have some rice and some lentils, I will give it to you. You can cook it and satisfy your hunger."
The wood is all wet. He gathers the wood, lights the fire. The smoke is running into his eyes. I mean its a mess. Finally he gets enough of fire going. He puts the pot on. He puts the little bit of lentils, he puts the little bit of rice. Boils it together. It is too hot for him to eat, so he takes a big leaf and puts it on the leaf, to cool down.
In the meanwhile, while he is waiting for it to cool down, two bulls come, fighting, and take what he has made, and plough it into the dirt. In this desperation, the king begins to weep. And he weeps and weeps. And the tears rolling down his eyes, wake him up. When the dreams sometimes get so intense, you wake up. So, he wakes up. He looks. There are the guards. His bed, beautiful bedroom. And he thinks to himself, "What is real? What I was just feeling, was that real? Or now, that I am lying here, is this real?"
So, he gets up in the morning, goes to his court and makes a declaration. "Whoever can answer my question, I will give him half my kingdom." People come. I am sure dream readers must have come. But, nobody could satisfy him.
Then this young master comes, and he says, "Are you ready to listen to me? So, if you are ready to listen to me. then listen king. Let me tell you. What you saw in your dream, was not real, because that was a dream. But when you thought you woke up, and what you saw was also a dream. Both are dreams.
Thats the point of it, that all that we consider to be real, is not. Then we have those, whom we feel, we are related to, our relatives. Then we have those, whom we feel we love, our loved ones. Are these real? Are these relations real?
There is a time, when all these relations come to an end. So, it is. The loved ones, there is a time, when no longer can they reciprocate this love. So, why am I talking to you about relations, love and all that good stuff? My point is, if you are going to have relations, have a relationship with something inside of you too. And if you are going to have loved ones, then find the love that is inside of you too. Because this is the one that transcends the limitations of this world. I hope you understand what I am trying to say.
How people portray God- Amusing [06:47 min]
Be in that joy, in that understanding, of what you have been given. The greatest of the gifts is coming and going of this breath that you receive. And this is the blessing. You want to be blessed? You are blessed. People say that to me "O Maharaji, I want to be blessed" and I say to them do you have any idea how many time you have already been blessed? Do you really want to know if there is a God. When I say God, I don't mean to say a God with a face, and two eyes and a Temperament. I mean the way people present or portray God - Touchy, Touchy, Touchy! You put this glass over here - that's it you're gone - Pitch fork and barbequed. You are toasted!
I don't know if you have ever watched Clint Eastwood movies- With cigarette in the mouth that twinkle in the eye, and hand on the Gun - Make my day! The way people portray God, is almost working for the devil. No, not the face, not make-my-day type of God. I'm talking of God who is truly Omnipotent, is Omniscient, and is Omnipresent. Doesn't need a face, doesn't need twinkle in the eye, doesn't need bad temperament. But passion and compassion, and in this Universe and the universes beyond, holding them all together. From dust creates the Sun, the moon, the earth. And for all of it to go on. from nothing to create everything. From nothing to create this earth. To create ceiling without the pillars. And you to have the ability to witness this, not just see. To see is one thing, but be able to admire.
The Miracle Is Existence [06:49 min]
Prem Rawat talks about the miracle of life. “The most beautiful miracle is: from nowhere comes this breath and brings the gift of life to you. This is your story. One breath at a time. That’s your beat. That’s your rhythm. Do you understand what a miracle this is?”
Do you enjoy just being alive? Chennai, 2014 [06:51 min]
We have learnt so much, but the question remains- How to be in peace. We have learned how to make buildings, car, airplanes, and even wars. Peace is already in the heart of every single human being. Being so close, people still search for it. People are very proud that they're searching. Why are you searching for peace when it is inside of you? Search not for peace, but for the way to be able to get in touch with it. What should you search for, to see your face- Another face? You should be searching for a mirror.
In your life, where is your focus? You should be enjoying being alive! Do you enjoy being alive? I know you enjoy going to party, listening to music and a lot of other things. But do you enjoy just being alive? If you don't, you're focusing on the wrong thing.
Winning the War [07:00 min]
There are going to be many battles. But there's only going to be one war.
Prem Rawat speaks about September 11 [07:08 min]
Are we vulnerable to things?When I think about it, America was just as vulnerable, before September 11th as it was on September 11. But did you know? No. Did you care? Absolutely not. Were you concerned? Not at all. Then it happens. Terrible. You see it happening in front of your eyes on television and it's too much. And then all of a sudden, everybody gets very friendly. People are not cutting each other off on the highway any more, they are actually letting you come in. That was cute. Because that is so much the nature of unconsciousness. And let me explain, because the people who are conscious, do it everyday.
People go along in their lives, merrily pretending. "Oh, I will live forever.". And then something happens, and everyone is like, "Oh, my God, I really got to live my life consciously." I hear this, and whenever somebody comes and says this to me, I never make fun of them, I never joke with them. I say "Good." But then I see, and what do I see? I see consciousness fade away, and unconsciousness walks in and everything else is back to normal. We are not talking about ,"It would be great some day if you could be conscious." We are talking about, you starting, you starting now, and starting to become conscious. And not conscious about your neighbour, and not conscious about your pet, and not conscious about this and that, but conscious about being alive. Neighbour and pet and everything else will fall in place, if it needs to.
Consciousness is like that light in darkness, wherever it is, it has it's radius, it has it's circle, it has it's influence. And darkness will not come there. It will stay away just that far, and take it wherever you can. And the darkness dare not impede in it's path, thats what consciousness is, thats what reality is, thats what realization is. And even if you can do it once in your life. Atleast the candle is lit.