Excerpts from Events
Prem Rawat talks about Kabir [06:10 min]
Peace is not a disappointment. Peace is a reality. The joy that is inside of you, is a reality. This is an actuality. And you see, this is where it gets a little funny. If I say it, you migth say, "Aww, I don't know, he said it." So, I bring along Kabir. And when he says it, people go, "O Wow! Kabir said that." And it works very well. Works very well for me. Just bring on along Kabir, and get him to say it. And then people go, "Oh yeah, I got it."In this world, you become absolutely loved and credible after you die. It is absolutely amazing. Death has a profound effect on people. But thats just how it is. When Kabir was alive, did anyone hear him? No! He died penniless. No credit was given to him. He was just somebody battling this stuff. After his death, "Ohh, have you read his stuff!"
And what does he say? That divine that you are looking for, is inside of you. That Kabir said. See, I said the same thing a few minutes ago, exactly the same thing. Thats why Kabir is great.
What is this world like? He says that people are going all over the place searching and looking for that divine, when that divine dwells in you. Like the musk deer who searches for the scent throughout the forest but the scent resides within its own navel.
He says, imagine a pond and on the pond there grows a lotus and all around the lotus, the bees are buzzing. And the same way, he says, this mind wonders buzzing around all that it finds attractive. And who is caught in it, everyone. All the knowledgeable ones, all the intellectuals, all the ones that have all the credentials, all the holy ones. I did’t say that, Kabir did! They are all buzzing around this stuff.
All the while, the divine is waiting for you, to be acknowledged. The church of churches is within you. The temple of temples is within you. And the one you seek, is within you. What do you need? You need someone who can show you the way inside. Somebody who can put a mirror in front of you, so you can see, who you are.
The Upanishads [04:09 min]
One of these scriptures written a very long ago, and there is one little thing that I came across. There is a definition of what is knowledge and what is not. Here is the definition. That which brings you the knowledge of the self is knowledge, everything else is "non-knowledge". It takes a little while to sink it. But thats how it defines it. It does not dismiss science. But it says, the true knowing is the knowing of the self. Everything else is relative.This is powerful. Because then, Socrates echoes the same thing, "Know Thyself." Today, "Know Thyself" has become a little thing they teach in the university. So, they can be tested and you can write an essay from it. The phrase from the Upanishads, hardly anyone knows it. But knowledge as it relates to knowing of the self and the value and the importance of knowing of the self is still alive today. It is being talked about, and being presented as the most important thing and people agreeing with it. Not one or two but hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people.
No Blind Faith [05:46 min]
One thing that I would like to mention to you is, you need to be fulfilled in your life. You need to have peace in your life. With me, or without me. It doesn't matter. It really does not matter. If I can help. Great! If I can't. Fine! That does not change the point. And the point is, you should be fulfilled. Thats the point. You should be in that peace, that is the point.Logic will come, logic will change. But we are all human beings. This is what we are, this is who we are. I see rich and I see poor, and then all of a sudden, I just see people. I see educated and I see uneducated, and then all of a sudden, I see just people. Same thing, those eyes looking out to see something nice. Thats all. The ears yearning, to listen to something beautiful. This heart in everyone of us, yearning to be fulfilled.
One journey completed, one journey taken in surety. One journey made real. One life, at a time. You see, you are just like me. And I am just like you. We are both vulnerable in the same sense and we both desire the same thing, and so is our yearning, and so is our understanding, and so is our need. If we fundamentally recognize that need, then thats what it is all about.
What do I offer?
I offer knowledge.
How do you get it?
You listen and make sure that this is what you want. No blind faith. No blind faith here.
Prem Rawat at Tel Aviv, Israel [09:48 min]
Everybody that is here goes through their little routine, little ideas, little journeys, and most of us in this world are trying to make sense of it. What does this mean. Come what may, all the changes in this life. You get to a point in your life where you hate changes. You don't want them. Will changes happen? Of course they will happen. Every second, every minute, you are changing.This breath is not just a breath. Ram says, that this body is the vessel to cross this ocean. What is this ocean? That's a whole another topic.. whether you call it ignorance, whether you call it darkness. The coming and going of this breath is my blessing. Do you want to feel blessed? Everytime that this breath comes and goes. This is God's blessing to you. What else could this breath be! And its coming and going is the blessing of your God on you.
It is the most subtle and it is the most divine and it is the most powerful. Cannot take two, cannot take four! One at a time. This breath brings the gift of life.
Is it not truly a blessing? The coming and going of this breath is my blessing. Then he goes on to say, what you need is a master with strong arms who can row this boat across one shore to the other. To emerge the victor, that's why I am here, today in Israel.
All is Well [08:21 min]
You are on this planet earth. You are alive and you are making this journey. It is very easy to get confused. Well, there are so many people with me making this journey. No, they are not. Now how can I say that, because if you think they are all coming with you in this journey. Only one drops off.I will tell you what happened. Grand Illusion happened. You are travelling alone. Every step. You think there is somebody to catch you, you are mistaken.
Is that bad? Is that a horrible news? The question isn't that. The question is, you have been walking. So, learn how to walk straight. Learn, how to walk in earnest. With the head held high with clarity, with smile, with a laughter, with certainty. All is well!
Krishna said, long time ago, even in your darkest hour, I will not abandon you. In other words, All is well!
That the gift of all gifts, the supreme gift, the gift of life, the gift of breath, the gift of being able to understand, the gift of being able to fell is unfolding everyday, never being taken away from you. Infact these gifts have been given with so much exacting power, that nobody can take them away. No one can take away that gift that is so freely given. This is what it means, to walk in clarity.
Take Advantage [05:26 min]
I just want you to take full advantage of every single day. It's an effort, but try. You won't succeed everyday, but you must try. Be conscious, be aware of this existence, be aware of this breath. Be aware that you are alive. Thats what it is, to know yourself. Thats what it is, to know that fundamental inside of you. Thats your potential.So, I'll bring you very good news. In this day and age, when you look at the newspaper, and it is not nice. And the news is that you are alive and within you shines the sun of joy and peace and tranquility so bright that it can make any darkness go away. Open these windows of understanding.
I have nothing to sell. It is not for sale. People have said to me, "Oh you must sell this." I can't. It's free. It's too precious, too valuable to charge for. It's free because it comes from a heart, it is a gift. For all those people who have this gift, enjoy it. Make that effort everyday.
Craftsmanship [07:56 min]
This is craftsmanship, to make a moment, and never two alike. To make a second and never two alike. To make human beings and never two alike. To make the trees and never two alike. To make a snowflake and never two alike.When it pours and pours and pours rain, remember, the magnificence that you have been blessed with. Remember, what the possiblities are. Remember that you are a part of it. You are not some abstract, good for nothing that just happened to be. When the craftsmanship is so good, then every bit needs to be looked at and admired. Nothing is frivolous. Not a grain of sand is out of place. Not a leaf, not a snowflake, not a raindrop is out of place. If you accept that then you must also accept that you are not out of place.
The admiration, the ability to admire is one of human being's greatest achievents. Your admiration is unique. Your gratitude is unique and it is not out of place. When you feel the gratitude, it'll be you, who will be touched. When you admire, it will be you, who will be filled with incredible bliss. This is how it is. You know that. I know that. You forget that. I know that.
You see a day, you see your problems. You wonder what will happen to you after you die, but you never wonder what will happen to you whilst you are alive. See, you have asked the questions, but the wrong ones. See the reality, you know why? Because it is more beautiful than anything else. It is so easy to chew what the world has fed you up to now. When will you stand on your own feet and say, I want to know! I need to know!
Virtual World [06:06 min]
There is this place but it's not really a place, it's virtual. And in this place, everything is virtual. It's not real, it's virtual. And you can create an alter personality of yourself. You can fly, and you can do all the things that you always wanted to do, but could never do. But virtually. Not really, virtually. When you fly in this virtual place, you don't actually feel like you are flying.But, here is the fun part. In this virtual place people buy apartments. Make houses. Buy clothes for their avatar. That's what they are called, "Avatar". And in this virtual place when you buy the apartment, it's a virtual apartment but you pay for it in non-virtual money. It's not like play-money. No,no. It's real Euros, real Dollars, real Rupees. People meet in this virtual place and get married.
I am here this evening, I am telling you this. And I bring you a message. That message that ran true for Kabir, for Meera, for Sahjo, for so many, about reality. On one hand, a message says, that what you are looking for is inside of you. On one hand the world is making a complete idiot out of you.
Don't you think that has to be this virtual thing that you pay in real money for, the biggest trickster game ever invented. Because if you paid with virtual money, it's not, it's a game. And I should be telling you, you should choose. You should choose reality over this.
What are we? Who are we? What is our core? This is the day and age where we need to know this more than I believe any other time. Otherwise our choices would be virtual and consequences will be real. Consequences are never virtual, unfortunately. And choices made would have been virtual. Make believe.
So, who are you? What are you? What is your forte? What do you do the best? What is your real potential? What is this life?
Surprise event at Malibu, California [04:13 min]
Do you have the ability to look at every day anew? Yes you do. Do you? No, so, whats the point? Do you have the ability to recognize the value of a moment? Do you? No. You are perfectly satisfied being frustated. You would rather talk about all those things that went wrong. It's a nice point of conversation with your friends, with your family. All the things that happen that are good, no one wants to talk about. It's not interesting. It's not interesting to talk about that you are alive. It's taken for granted, till you die.The opportunity has been given to you because you have the ability to recognize what is good. So, do so.
If life was a canvas and a bunch of colors, would you paint? If life was a drum, would you play? Would you? Or would you say, I do not know how to paint. Or would you say, I don't know how to play. Or would you say, I do not understand. Or would you say, I don't know how.
I don't know how, is an excuse because if you really don't know how, then you would find out how it takes to search, takes to see, takes to understand that tool that you have been given, the tool called life.
Two Ants [06:05 min]
I will tell you a story. Once two ants met and one ant lived on a hill, that was made out of sugar, the other ant lived on a hill made out of salt. They met, "I live on the sugar hill." "Sugar hill- what is sugar?" "Oh, it is this wonderful sweet tasting hill." "Oh, I have never heard of that, I am from the salt hill, salt you know, its salty, you eat it, you get thirsty. This sweet stuff sounds pretty good." So, the ant from the sugar hill said, "Why don’t you come over one day and taste it, see do you like it." So, the ant decided, it is a pretty good idea, new taste. They decided on a date, the date came. The salt ant was on its way. "I am going to this sugar hill. What if I do not like it. What if it is terrible. Then I will be hungry. I know what I am gonna do, I am gonna carry some salt with me. In case I do not like the sugar, I will have the salt." It put some of the salt in its mouth, took off, and arrived. "Oh, I can’t wait to taste the sugar, where is it?" "Here, taste it." Ant put the sugar in the mouth, chewed on a little bit. "This is like salt." "Is it?" "Yes, there is no difference. You call it sugar here, we call it salt. I mean it is the same thing." So, the other ant said, "I do not think so, open your mouth, let me take a look." Sure enough there at the back of the mouth, there is this salt and it took out the salt. "Now taste it." "Unbelievable. So different. So amazing. So incredible. Love this stuff. I am moving."All this was not to be had the salt remained in the mouth. Thats why clean the table. Clean the plate and taste this. As it should be tasted. Not mixed with something else. Taste this, so you will know what its flavour is. Thats all. This is not a blend. This is about you. This is not about your accomplishments. This is about you, you being alive. I know one thing and this is so simple, its almost ridiculously simple and it is, the coming and going of this breath, is the most amazing thing happening in your life.