"Truest Gift"

What I talk about is something that is simple and yet profound. Some might find it too simple, but that doesn't mean it is not important. I talk about the simplicity of breath and the coming and going of each day in your life. I remind people that each day that comes is one of the most valuable gifts they will ever receive. Incomparable.

For a lot of people that makes sense, and yet it doesn't make sense. We know each day is important, but that's not the way we accept it. The importance of a day is based upon what we have accomplished. Our life has been placed on a scale, and the weights that measure it have been given to us by this world. Everything is judged by failure or success. Yet we have been given a precious gift.

We have anniversaries and birthdays, and we give each other presents. But would you give a gorilla something precious like a diamond ring? Why not? A gorilla has fingers just like you, but a gorilla would never understand its value. Give a gorilla a diamond ring, and he will try to taste it, find it unappetizing, and probably throw it away.
Are we like a gorilla that has been handed the diamond ring of life? In many ways, we do the same thing—taste it and say, "My life is no good. I've got to do this. I've got to accomplish this. I've got to climb this. I've got to be there. I've got to have this title. I've got to have this and that in my life." And what is forgotten is the value of existence, the value of this breath coming every moment and blessing us. This is the blessing. But we don't know how to accept it.

We make everything conditional in our lives: "You're a good son or daughter if you do this, this, and this. You're a good wife or good husband if you do this, this, and this. And you're a good friend if you do this, this, and this." But breath has no conditions. When we are given breath, we are not told, "I'll give you this breath if you do this and this." It is given freely, without judgment.
When you look in the mirror, the face you are looking at is not asking for judgment; it is asking for admiration. It is asking for acceptance—acceptance of this life, acceptance of this breath, acceptance of the simple thirst of this heart.

The joy that you look for, that you search for every day, is searching for you—to embrace you, to accept you, and to fulfill you. I'm here to tell you that the peace you are looking for is inside of you.

Discover this life you've been living. Discover it the way it is meant to be lived—in joy, in gratitude, in beauty. Discover the potential of each day. Discover the rhythm as the sun shines on the horizon, light comes, and awakening happens; and then comes the sunset and sleep—everything is erased andanother day begins. Discover that.
That's what this existence is all about. That's what peace is all about, because peace is not in yesterday and peace is not in tomorrow, but peace is today. Tomorrow is anticipation. Yesterday is just memories. And today is the gift. The truest gift. The most important gift.

"Where Peace Begins"

When I travel and speak to people, my message is about the very real thing that peace is and the possibility of feeling that peace in this life every single day. So where does it begin? Let me tell you a little story that might put it in perspective.

One day a tourist arrived in a very remote village where the people were very simple. The next morning he put his mirror on the wall to shave, but forgot to take it down. Later on, an elderly villager with gray hair, bright eyes, and a beautiful shining face came across the mirror on the wall. He had never seen himself before, and so when he saw his reflection in the mirror, he was mesmerized. “Today,” he thought, “I have seen the face of God.” He left completely happy.

Then came a beautiful young girl. When she saw herself in the mirror, she was taken aback. “I have seen the most beautiful woman on earth, and when I grow up, that’s how I want to look!” Next, a man came along who had lost his father. When he looked in the mirror, he said, “Oh, my God, I saw my father again!” And he took the mirror with him.

Now, these three people who had seen themselves in the mirror started to get very upset. They started arguing, and before long, fights broke out throughout the entire village. Soon everybody was unhappy because whoever looked in the mirror saw something they liked, and they all wanted the mirror for themselves.

Finally, a wise man happened to come along and asked, “Why are you fighting?” One said the mirror showed him God, another that it showed him his father, and others told him what they had seen. So he called for this magical thing, and when he saw it, he smiled, “Do you know what this is? This is a mirror.”


He called the old man and said, “You did not see the face of God. You saw yourself.”
He called the young girl and said, “You did not see the most beautiful woman—you saw yourself.” He called the young man and said, “You thought you saw your father because now you look like him. But it was you.” One by one, he called everyone and he said, “Look. What you see in this mirror, what you like in this mirror, is not the mirror. It’s you!”

How does this story relate to peace? Peace begins with us. Try to understand where the idea of peace came from. Was it somebody’s invention? Was there some intelligent person walking along high mountains somewhere who said, “Peace. That’s a good idea. Let’s have peace.” No.

As long as there have been human beings, there has been a desire for peace. The need for peace comes from within. Peace is the desire of the heart. It is as simple as the coming and going of breath. The movie of life begins with the first breath. And we all know how the movie ends.

We are fascinated by the in-between part. This is what we live for: “Who am I? What am I? What have I accomplished?” That’s all fine, but never, ever forget the importance of where it began and where it ends.

Within you lies the possibility of peace. Peace does not belong to any nation, any society, or any religion. Peace belongs to people like you and me. Where will peace manifest? It will manifest in the cathedral of the heart. That is the only place where peace is welcomed. It is people like you and me who want peace and welcome it in our lives. It is here in our existence that peace resides.
-Prem Rawat (Maharaji)

"What It Means to Be Human"

Enjoyment is a tool that can conquer any mountain. When your heart dances, let it. And enjoy it. I guarantee that you will start to notice the difference. And the more you enjoy your life, the simpler it becomes.

Recently, flying through thunderstorms, it was magical. There were beautiful clouds on one side—almost like an opening. There were clouds on the ocean side and clouds on the land side. The sun was shining through. Sometimes just the tips were lit up, and then whole clouds lit up. There was no lightning, just showers. Beautiful rainbows. It looked like something straight out of a book.



I was sitting there, looking at all this. I know exactly what a rainbow is. I can actually tell where there’s going to be a rainbow, if there is going to be one. All it requires is suspended water droplets and the sun. It’s the refraction of the water droplets that makes the rainbow.
And then there’s the clouds. I know exactly what a cloud is—it’s moisture. And as the heat is sent up, the cooling begins, and as it cools, clouds form. Rain is all the humidity that was pushed up into the atmosphere where it gets cooled and falls down.

So I was sitting there thinking, “Yes, I know all that. But why is it so beautiful?”

I enjoy it. All the logic in the world is not equal to taking in what this heart has to offer and enjoying it. The heart is as much a part of you as your brain. Give it the equal time it needs, and your life will begin to change, because one thing that everyone can use, and is most deficient in, is appreciation.

Doctors won’t tell you this. It does not show up on your blood test. But we are all deficient in appreciation. We don’t know the value of the things we have been given. We don’t understand the beauty of this breath. I mean, once you understand the beauty of this breath, how can you not appreciate it?

Then the tears are not always of sorrow. Sometimes they are of joy. And you begin to understand the difference between the two. It is not the emotion of all the darkness, but it is the first rays of light emanating from the heart. A relief. It is the sense of relief the travelers feel when they see their destination in front of them.
A sense of relief. To come home. A sense of relief to have found what you were looking for. You didn’t even know what you were looking for, but, in a moment, you instantly know when you find it: This is it. This is what I was looking for. There’s a tremendous sense of relief.

In a fair, a child gets lost. All the balloons and the toys and the rides were attracting and attracting and attracting. And that was fine, but in a moment of distraction, the child let go of his mother or father’s hand. Now all the excitement of the fair could never compensate for that loss. But imagine the sense of relief when that child sees his father or mother coming toward him. All of a sudden, there is no reason to cry. The sadness turns into joy.

And so, we are who we are. There is the etiquette in this world of how we should be, but we are not that. We are human. What does it mean to be human? I don’t think anybody really knows anymore. Maybe they knew a long time ago, but now it has come down to being proper: how you should eat, how you should greet someone, how you should be seen, how you should show yourself, what you should say.

So many things happen. At the end of the day, we are all human. And the ability to enjoy this life is innate. So begin to enjoy. And that enjoyment can conquer mountains.