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You’re all successful in your field—that’s why you’re here. So what can I tell you? Well, maybe there is something I can tell you, and it’s not about your business. I’m not here to tell you about your business. When it comes to business, you are miles ahead of me.

But I’m here to tell you about the value—because you understand the word “value”—value of being alive. And I’m here to tell you about something that is fundamentally missing from our equation.

We understand success. We have milestones; we set milestones. And through these milestones, we gauge our success. How much money; how much this; how much that. But in our milestones that we have, where is the milestone for you as a human being?

Who are you? What are you? You’re here. One thing we all share in this room is, we are in the business of being alive—and believe me, it is not shy of any business. It requires constant maintenance.

Family is a business! You have to negotiate. Sometimes your family is your client; sometimes they are the other union—especially the husband or wife. And you have to sit down, negotiate and convince each other of what this is. And of course, when the kids get older, you have to negotiate. You have to figure it out.

But what about you!? What about you as that human being that is alive, that exists? Because without any reference to that, some picture that will be generated will not be complete. Do you know what it means to be alive?

What do you think about during the day? Do you think about your problems? Do you think about your issues? Do you get frustrated with them? Or have you mastered the art of being able to say, “Give it some time”? Averting frustration; diluting it: slow frustration, frustration now tolerated in a period of five days rather than one hour.... And only, why? Because the doctor said so.

But my point is, if you don’t know who you are, you don’t know what your nature is. And if you don’t know what your nature is, you have no idea where you belong.

And for the leadership that you have to provide, it is quintessentially important that you know where you are—otherwise you will not be able to! The leadership requires that not only you know where you are—because that’s the whole crew! That’s your crew onboard your yacht, depending upon you to say, “Ah, we’re here!” Or not going, “Um, I, I, I think we are here...” No. “I am here.”

Do you practice, every day, having a recognition of yourself? The fact that you are alive offers the opportunity for the highest potential to be fulfilled. Let’s just look at a situation, a possibility in which a human being is at that utmost state where the potential of that human being is fulfilled.

No hundred percent, or a hundred-and-one percent, or a hundred-and-two percent, or a hundred-and-three percent. No, we’re not talking percentages; we’re not talking about scales. We’re talking about feeling!

Do you know what you all do every day for feeling? Just for feeling? I know when I said the word “feeling,” it’s like, “Well, yeah, ‘feeling’.... I want to look at my sheet, my bank balance, you know. ‘Well, how much did I make today?’ Yeah, but if that sheet says a big fat zero, how does that make you feel!?

Somebody says to you, “Okay, your business is finished.” How does that make you feel!? Your child comes up to you and says, “Dad, I hate you.” How does that make you feel!? This little thing that’s only this big has this much power? More power than the balance sheet? More power than the bank book?

But have you ever wondered what really makes you feel good? So let me draw your attention to peace. Not the peace that says, “You can park there, and I’ll park there”—I don’t really care. But the peace in which you have achieved your human potential. In that potential, how do you feel from within?

Strength from within! Not strength from outside, but strength from within, clarity from within, understanding from within! These are the simple and basic steps that need to be taken for you to be you. And if you exclude this from your formulas, it’s not going to be a complete picture.

So, for us as a human being, we need this balance. Do we have it? Do you have it? Your interest in your wellbeing—your wellbeing isn’t just your blood pressure. Your wellbeing isn’t just your good eyesight; your wellbeing isn’t just being able to hear well. Your wellbeing isn’t that you can exercise for five hours a day.

Your wellbeing actually begins from solid foundations within you—which, by the way, begin in the fertile fields of peace. This is who you are. These are your requirements. What I am talking about is not a luxury, nor an option. It is a necessity, like air, like water, like food, like warmth.

The fact that you are even interested in peace is extremely commendable, extremely commendable. In your positions—and you can make a huge difference, you really, really can.

 – Prem Rawat

When I say “heart,” when heart is talked about, heart is the place in a human being where the goodness in you resides, where the clarity lives, where your God lives with you, where understanding lives, where the peace lives in you—that’s the heart. The place of light, not darkness

– Prem Rawat

The first person you have to make friends with is you.

You cannot make friends with other people if you are not friendly with yourself.

This is why it’s important to know yourself.

You know the whole world, but you don’t know yourself. Number 1 point - Know Yourself.

This will bring you peace.

-Prem Rawat

Have you created the circumstance for yourself where you can find contentment, where you can be fulfilled? Because if not, what peace is is going to mean nothing to you.

If you don’t understand the value of being alive, then everything is all out of phase. No amount of wisdom is going to come and make any difference.

– Prem Rawat

Everywhere we look, it’s like the fuse of the bomb is lit, and the only difference is how long the fuse is. It’s only a matter of time. Some have a short fuse, already blowing up; others have a long fuse, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly burning.

Because the basic core understanding of “what is a human being” is gone! Now the only thing that exists is reasons and logic.

We have armies, but believe me, no soldier wants to fight. No soldier wants to fight. If they don’t have to fight and risk their life...? Because those soldiers have a baby waiting for them at home, have a wife waiting at home—and in their imagination, a future waiting at home—and they want to come home.

But there is something in us that also makes us fight. There is something in us that also makes us fight. We are a projector. Everything, we project. When we are happy, we smile. Not on purpose—we just smile! When we are sad, we have a very long face.

It doesn’t matter how funny the situation is—still, we express! And the war outside is the expression of the film that’s playing on the inside.

– Prem Rawat

There are some things in this world that are not subject to thought. They’re subject to feeling. When you are tired and you start to fall asleep, you can try to tell yourself, “This shouldn’t be happening.” You can try to tell yourself this is not the appropriate time. You can try to tell yourself this is not the appropriate place.

But if you’re tired, you are tired—and the body says “bye-bye” to all your reservations, to all your ideas. I mean, I have seen pictures of U.S. presidents in the most important of conferences, and they’re falling asleep. I have seen grown men in a train, in front of everybody, snoring away. Because it is what it is.

The quest for peace does not begin here. It is a feeling, and it comes from the heart of every human being. And so, to truly understand this subject of peace, one also has to understand it from the very heart of one’s being. Not analysis. Because obviously the need for peace, at this moment of time, is incredible.

– Prem Rawat