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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.
– Prem Rawat
People have dreamed of possessing something of value that replenishes itself whenever it is used. That possibility exists. We hold within us a wealth of resources that never diminishes.
In my life, in your life, the quintessential miracle exists. Just because we have an inability to see it, experience it, feel it, does not mean it isn’t there. And having said that—having said that, you are quite capable of feeling that miracle in your life every single day.
What does it take? There is a subtlety. There is a subtlety. We always assume when something is good, it’s the big flashing lights; it’s the big driving sound. But actually, if you want to feel what is within you, you are going to have to be very, very quiet. Do you know how to be quiet? Have you ever been quiet?
See, for most of us, "Yeah, I didn’t speak for five minutes; I was quiet." Something else was speaking! "De-de-de-de, de-de-de-de, de-de-de-de, de-de-de-de, de-de-de-de, de-deh. Did you, we, what-what about this? Well, I have.... Have you been quiet; have you been quiet? Are you really quiet? I—are you really quiet? Are you quiet; are you quiet? Ah.... Do you feel quiet? I’ve been—you’re not speaking, so you must be quiet...."
We look at this world, we look at ourselves, we look at our lives, and the first thing we do is we compare: "How come that person is like that? How come I am not like that person?" Oh, it—oh, by the way, it goes both ways!
Oh yeah! There are people who are looking at another person for want of being rich—or they’re looking at a very “spiritual” person....
Because a lot of people come to me sometimes, and they say, “Oh, I wish I was like you.” And I’m like, “Why? Why do you want to be like me? You have no clue who I am! You have no clue what goes on in my head! Why do you want to be like me?" But, that's it: “Oh! You can talk about peace. I want to be like you."
That’s exactly the point—peace is nothing to talk about; peace is something that needs to be felt. Do you feel peace? Have you ever been quiet enough to feel peace? What if I was to tell you that, peace does not come from somewhere else; it comes from within you. And right now it is within you. With all your problems, it is within you.
First thing you must be dedicated to, is the joy that dances in your heart. The first thing you need to be dedicated to—is to be certain, not in doubt. To favor clarity in your life, rather than confusion. To be dedicated to knowledge, instead of ignorance. To be dedicated to being fulfilled, rather than empty.
And if you were dedicated to these, surely they will reward you by bringing you the most exquisite gift of peace, of joy, of understanding.
- Prem Rawat
Only when we begin to know ourselves do we realize that the treasures we seek on the outside are the treasures that are within us—that that compassion that we seek from the others is the compassion that is already within us, that generosity that we need in our lives is the generosity that is already within us.
And this generosity—I’ll tell you about it. You know what is the greatest gift, and given so abundantly? And it is generosity beyond belief. Then all you have to do is look at your breath. Generosity. It is the most precious thing, because it is generosity at its best. It is life! And the life dances. It is real!
Do you get scared with your problems? When the problems come, does that scare you? Of course. It scares me. But I have learned...I have learned that the problems come and go. They come; they go. Then they come back again, but then they go. Then they come back again. And they go. And every time they come, they scare you.
This dance of this breath, on the other hand, is with you! It comes in—and this is how it begins; it doesn’t just begin by going out. This is how this note plays. This note, this symphony begins with this gift of breath coming in, and the whole symphony ends with the breath going out and not coming back in.
And that constitutes your life.
– Prem Rawat
Already before you, billions and billions and billions of people have already played the game you are playing. They have done it all! The game you play today, they have played it. And they’re gone, and there is no trace of them. Pshew! Like a magic trick, disappeared from the face of this earth.
The pictures of the “good, bad, right, wrong, ‘nice,’ desires, wants,” they’ve all done that. They’ve all done that. “I want to be successful”—oh my God…. How—just, okay, bear with me—how many do you think said that to themselves on the face of this earth?
“I want a better life. I want a better husband. I want a better wife. I want a better kid. I want a this; I want a that. I want to win this. I want to succeed. I want to be successful.” And how many of you actually think some of them were? Actually were successful, brilliant? And then, gone. No trace. Just gone.
Today, what you should be looking at is, “What is this all about?” Because this has something to do with peace. This is where peace comes in—not for stopping wars. War is a consequence. To stop a consequence, you have to first stop what is causing the consequence.
Now, anybody who has been on a boat and has had the incredible experience of being on a boat with a hole in it will understand that if you do not plug the hole, coming up with ingenious ideas about how to take the bucket and fill it with style, with flair, with a song, with a dance is not going to help!
You’ve got to plug the hole. Now, I use that analogy because I was once on a boat—not a big boat, a little boat—and somebody forgot the plug. And so here I am…. and of course we didn’t realize—where it would have been nice, which is by the dock. But after we left the dock and went a little ways, that’s when the water started to really come in.
And so you’re like, “Hmm, well, what happened?” And you realize there’s no point in yelling at the person, “You idiot, how could you forget the plug?” Because you could then turn around to yourself and say, “You idiot, how come you didn’t check it?”
Because no amount of blaming is going to help. Now, something has to be done! So what do you do? You’ve got to get that water out! You cannot stop. (Actually, that’s what I realized—you couldn’t stop; you had to keep going.) And then I got to the dock, and finally, it was like, “Ah, whew!”
So, we are trying to fix the consequence, but not the problem that is causing it.
We, all of us, are human beings. Excuse me, what is a human being? Exactly, what is a human being? So let’s have a list on one side: somebody who fights; tells lies; kills each other; steals from each other; thinks badly about other people; thinks badly about themselves. Would I be wrong?
I know a lot of people say, “Oh, peace can’t be.” “Peace cannot” this; “peace cannot” that, and I say to them, “Hey, excuse me. Look at your report card. It’s not looking very nice. You’re failing on every single subject. Contaminating the oceans? Check. Contaminating the air? Check. Contaminating drinking water? Check. Contaminating food? Check.” You could just go on!
And so what is a human being? Is that what a human being is? But let me tell you what a human being is.
Human being, a human being, is the infinite source of joy. A human being is the stage on which understanding can dance. Human being is the platform where clarity likes to dwell. Human being is the platform where understanding manifests itself. Human being is that platform, is that soil. And where it’s sown with the seeds of knowledge, knowledge grows.
Human being is that vehicle that can love like nothing else can love on the face of this earth. Human being is the source of that beauty that is more beautiful than anything else. Human being is that being in which the infinite resides. Human being is that platform in which this light of understanding, the light of joy—the light, the beacon—shines.
Human being is that platform on which peace dances. This is truly a human being. Life!
And if you agree with me—you may not! You might go, “Nah.” I know, for some people—for some people—it’s the first list.
But, no. Even though the first list is true and valid, so is the other one. Peace allows us to realize these potentials that we have, and that is why we need peace in our lives.
– Prem Rawat
Fernando Trezza:
Can world leaders really make a difference to peace in the world? And how do you think your message can impact them?
Prem Rawat:
Well, I must, first of all, apologize to a lot of the leaders, because I have met a lot of leaders and they’re beautiful people, and they want peace in their lives too. It’s not like that they become leaders and they become different.
But I also know that peace will come from every single human being, that global leaders can help by putting an end to the conflicts, by not perpetuating the conflicts, not perpetuating the wars, but helping people understand prosperity and giving people the dignity that they deserve.
But peace is within human beings. They need to discover it. They need to explore it. They need to feel it. And if we keep relying on world leaders to bring peace, I’m afraid that is not going to be anytime soon.
But if we rely on ourselves as the citizens of the earth—that every single human being has the right to feel peace, “It’s a fundamental right to feel peace”—that if we take that approach, then there can be peace on this earth.
- Prem Rawat