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Prem Rawat:

Well, hello, hello, hello, everyone. I hope you’re faring well. And over the weekend, I figured this would be a good time to answer some questions—so I’ve got some questions here.

And the first question we are going to deal with is from Sanjay, from, (I don’t know where he exactly is; he doesn’t say). But he says, “I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas on lockdown situations. It has really helped me understand the reality”—well, that’s good—“given strength and hope.” That’s exactly what I want—you to have strength, and I want you to have hope.

“Government officials, people are giving so many directives and suggestions for being physically safe from coronavirus. It would be very nice to hear from you for the same. Sanjay.”

Well, thank you for writing, Sanjay. And what I’d like to tell you is this. Look, I’m no doctor—and I’m not a virus expert by any stretch of the imagination—and I don’t do that.

But I can tell you one thing. Of everything that I have heard and I have gathered, two things: “Don’t give it to anyone—and don’t get it from anyone.” That’s it. Don’t give it to someone if you’re a carrier—and don’t get it from someone if they are a carrier.

Whatever that takes, very, very simple. Wash your hands. You go out; you wash your hands. Take it easy. Feel good; feel hope; feel safe. Have patience. You’re going to need patience. Patience is required. And have patience; feel good. And deal with this from courage. Not from weakness, but from courage.

So, I hope, you know—and again, you know, what I’m talking about here is for you to have a good time even in this situation. Because the “good time” that I’m talking about is inside of you. And tap into it.

So, you know, have a good time! Be coming from that place of patience and having courage—and having two goals, “Don’t give it to someone—and don’t get it from someone.” Whatever that takes. So, that’s it.

“What about those people who are essential workers; do you have any words for those, this time?” From Casey. Well, thank you for writing, again. They’re doing an incredible job; they’re really risking their lives so that the rest of us can go on and have some sense of normalcy in this situation.

So, one, I would like to thank all of those people around the world who are doing this. And two, I think—and like I said for Sanjay, [sp] we really all need to come from courage and patience. And those two things, we need to all exercise as human beings on the face of this earth, especially in regards to coronavirus.

That’s what it takes. You know, it takes approximately fourteen days for the quarantine to go on. And to spend that time, not go stir-crazy. And it takes patience.

So, I really—well, one, again, I would like to thank all those people who are doing this and providing that. Be safe. Obviously, you have a lot of courage. And please, be patient—and keep doing what you’re doing, so that the rest of us can go on being and having some form of normalcy in our lives. And, again, “thank you” from me.

“Thank you for the lifeline of wisdom you are sharing. I have a question. Although for many, this is a time of forced isolation, for many others it means being cooped up indoors with an active child, children, and no time to yourself and increased stress and irritability. Children don’t understand what’s going on and want to see their friends and go out and play.

“I hugely appreciate your parenting advice and perspective. Do you have any advice during this time? With love and thanks, Wendy.”

Well, my advice is, children will pick up on your irritation. Don’t be irritated. If you are irritated, something is wrong. When they start to smell the “wrong,” it’s over. Believe me, it’s over. At that point, it’s like a frustrated parent, you know, picking up a child and going, “Do not cry!” I mean, that child’s going to cry.

So, calm down. It’s okay. They’re your children; you’re around them, whatever. Engage with them. They have the sweetest way of seeing this whole thing. They don’t see the problem; they see much more of a solution; the solution is, “Why can’t we have a good time?”

You can have a good time. Coronavirus has no—you know, it doesn’t attack “good time” by any stretch of the imagination. You just have to discover what that good time is. And we have gotten so used to these routines of “good time” that we have forgotten how to tap into “good time.”

There was a time when there was no television. There was a time when there was no form of these “entertainment,” quote-unquote. There was a time, there were no iPads; there were no iPhones; there were no, you know, cellular phones; there weren’t these super-computers, nothing!

And so, what did people do? Well, people took it upon themselves—and even “time of silence” was great, was wonderful. But now that’s looked at as a punishment.

I mean, it’s really, really bizarre but a child, you know, will do something wrong and it’s like, “Well, go to your room and sit down and think about it!” Excuse me. That’s a good thing. You’re using it as punishment, but that’s a good thing, for somebody to sit down and think, think it out, think out your day because you’re going—everything is going so fast.

So, you may have to reinvent what once you and everybody knew—but now you have forgotten it, so it’s a question of actually reinventing that time with a child and having a good time!

And maybe taking a story and looking at it different ways and understanding different things, sparking the imagination—that’s all that a child needs. So far their imagination stays sparked, so then, that’s really good. But that’s what I think, anyways.

You know, so—but it’s not like I am a parenting expert or anything like that. So, I hope you understand where I’m coming from. And thank you, thank you for writing.

Here’s another question, “How can I choose clarity more? How can I choose serenity, kindness, compassion, love more? How can I afford to live a well-cared-for life of security, peace, joy and happiness that focuses on what is real, more and more?”

Look—well, whoever you are, thank you. Your name isn’t here, but—it’s a good question. And the most important thing is that these things that you talk about, “kindness, compassion,” they are in you. They are in you.

You know, you know exactly what anger is and what does anger look like. This is this emotion; it comes in and it explodes; you turn red; your blood pressure goes up; your heart is pounding; you’re mad; you’re—you know! You know exactly what anger is like. And after that anger is past, you can, of course, look back and say, “Yeah, that made me angry.”

Are you that familiar with kindness? You know what hate is like—but are you that familiar (as you are familiar with hate)—are you that familiar with kindness? Are you that familiar with compassion? Are you that familiar with peace? Are you that familiar with joy? Are you that familiar with happiness?

If you’re not, therein lies the problem because you should be. Those things are in you at any given moment. Those things exist in you at any given moment; it’s not like you leave your happiness behind. It is not like you leave your compassion behind. It’s not like you leave your joy behind. Wherever you go and whatever you do, it’s right then and there.

Just like anger, just like hate, just like confusion, we truly need to understand these attributes. And when we begin to really understand these attributes, then there is something inside of us that will begin to choose those attributes over the attributes that we, by default, choose now, which are anger and fear and everything else.

With so many people with this coronavirus, the biggest thing—people are afraid. And why are people afraid? “Oh, what’s going to happen to me?” And when you look at the numbers—and I was looking at them this morning—it’s far more people who have died of natural death than from this coronavirus.

But it’s not right; it’s not good—I’m not saying that. But when you look at the numbers in terms of just what happens every day, it’s not a huge thing! The numbers are not that big—even though they’re exponentially growing and growing and growing. And this is, again—a lot of the world leaders are not doing such a good job of leading people.

But regardless of that, what do you think being scared of this thing, of coronavirus, will do—absolutely nothing. All you need to do, like I said, is have that goal, “Don’t give it to someone; don’t get it from someone.”

So, we are very familiar with some attributes that we have—but we are not familiar with the other attributes we have. Knowing yourself then truly becomes knowing those attributes as well! Saying, “Yes, I have anger—and I don’t like anger. But I have compassion. I have joy.” And more familiar you get, easier it becomes to choose those.

Understanding that that’s who you are, your value—and this is an example that I give, is “What is the value of a box, of a small box?” And maybe all it has, that box, you know, all it holds is a ring—and the value of the ring is like 200,000 dollars. Then what is the value of the box?

Well, maybe the value of the box is fifty dollars. (Ten dollars, twenty dollars, whatever.) But so far that ring is in that box, the value of that box is also 200,000 dollars.

This is what you have to understand. Take out the ring from the box—and the value of the box is fifty dollars, (five dollars, ten dollars, whatever). So far that ring is in that box, the value of that box is equivalent to that.

And then? That’s the same thing that’s happening to you. So far in you, there is that thing called “life,” your value is infinite. Take that away—and of course, nothing; this is just a box. And this is what happens.

So, be more familiar with those attributes that you have; fall in love with those attributes. And then you can enjoy this life more and more and more.

Another question. “Thank you, Prem. Might you say something to those who have the virus? I have been texting the lockdown clips to many people who don’t know you. So fantastic for everyone.”

Well, all I can say is, look, again, the same thing. Do this—you have the virus; they’ve told you you have the virus—be patient. Feel good. Get good sleep. And face this thing with courage. Face this thing with courage. Not with fear. Face this thing with courage.

You will get better. People want you to get better. But you need to have that hope coming from inside of you.

Do this with courage; do this with patience. Let it run its course. Take the steps that are necessary. Feel well! Take those steps that are necessary. And I hope that you have an incredible, speedy recovery. And that would be wonderful.

Here’s somebody who writes, “Hi, Prem; I’d like to thank you for everything that you have shown me and for helping me.

“My daughter asked me a couple of years ago when she was seven or eight, ‘Dad, when I die will I remember you? And when you die, will you remember me?’ I didn’t want to BS her, so I replied, ‘Good question but I really don’t know.’ I’ve been thinking a lot ever since. So, the question for me became, ‘Does the heart have a memory? Or is it only aware of the moment now?’”

When you love someone and you are with that person, what exactly do you get out of them? What do they bring you? When you see that person, you love that person, they bring you joy. So what does that mean, “joy; they bring you joy?”

Well, what does joy look like? Has it got their name stamped on it? Or does that just make you feel good, being with that person, thinking of that person?

And that’s what the heart knows about, that feeling, that goodness, that joy that that other person might bring. Maybe the catalyst; they’re just the catalyst for it.

And of course, through whatever, if you have brought joy to each other, (she to you and you to her), then you will carry that joy, without any labels of names, forever! Because the heart is about being full.

And you may not be taking.... You know, when you to somebody’s house and you have a wonderful dinner, you don’t take that dinner with you wherever you go after one week, two weeks, three weeks. But you will remember that good time that you had at that dinner. And life is like that.

So, I hope that that answers your question—so, yeah, I’m not being very specific, I know. But the heart is about being full. And if she brings joy to you and you bring joy to her....

And this is what’s so important in the relationships, that we really understand that that’s what it is about, you know, “How can I bring joy to that other person and how can I receive the joy that that other person brings to me?”

Then, it’s really just that. Just that. And that’s a gift that you give to her—that has no value. Monetarily, you could never fix a value to it. The value of it is infinite. And the joy that she brings to you, the value of that is infinite; there’s no limit to it.

So, I hope that helps. So, thank you very much—and I’ll see you all very soon. There are quite a few more questions, by the way—but we’re going to keep the time about the same.

So, I’ll see you tomorrow! Thank you.

Jessica Zweig:

I think it’s also gotten a lot more difficult to get in touch with who we truly are because of the sheer noise of life—technology, opportunity. The desire to know oneself is sort of trendy today. And I think that, in and of itself is overwhelming for people.

So, how do you tap in? What would be the first step?

Prem Rawat:

You’re absolutely right! People are so caught up in everything else that they have forgotten who they are. And so our journey must begin with first establishing base with ourselves—not with other things, not with other solutions, but with us, with us, just as an individual, just as who you are.

Continuing onscreen text:

SimplyBe. Podcast

Jessica Zweig, Host of The SimplyBe Podcast.

Interviews Prem Rawat, Author & Global Peace Ambassador

The SimplyBe. Podcast is a collection of conversations about building a business by knowing WHO YOU ARE at your core, and showing up as your true, unapologetic, authentic self.

Jessica interviews thought leaders, CEOs, and some of the most magnetic personal brands of today.

A Common Thread

Jessica Zweig:

Welcome to my show Prem; thank you so much for being with me today.

Prem Rawat:

It’s a great pleasure to be with you and with your audience and to share some insights. I’ve been doing this for quite a long time, and it’s just wonderful to help people all around the world who need help, who want to take some help.

Jessica Zweig:

I could not agree more. And it is; the honor and privilege is mine. I know you have a prolific career, over fifty years traveling the globe, speaking in over 250 cities, probably more, on this topic of peace and the universal desire that we all have for it. And I’d love for you to speak to that—why, why peace, Prem?

Prem Rawat:

Well, but, you know, so much of the education that we receive.... Because everything that we think we know is really something that has been added to us; this is not fundamentally what we knew when we were born.

We knew one thing when we were born, which is, "Give a cry if you need something, and if you are happy, go to sleep." And that’s how our lives actually started. And then it’s like, "Oh, I have to do this; I have to accomplish this; I have to succeed in this." All this was learnt later on.

And what does it mean when we learn all these things? Do we make a separation between these things and who we are? We don't! We think, "This is my idea; this is what I have to do." [Jessica: Umm.] And on we go!

And then, before you know it, we find ourselves in a very complicated situation. And the situation might be that we even have a job that’s bringing home the bread and butter, but we hate it; we hate it. And we hate going to our work every single day.

And there we are, caught in this paradox of “What do I do now?” Because I know that I have to get bread and butter home; maybe there are other people in my household who are relying on me to bring that bread and butter home, but something in me doesn’t want to do it. I don’t enjoy what I’m doing; I don’t enjoy being who I am; I don’t enjoy—"This is too much pressure; this is too much...."

And a lot of people, they go, "Okay, ahh...." All of a sudden one day, they find themselves walking on a road. And they find that a shoe that they’re wearing is full of a very sharp rock.

And instead of taking the time to remove the rock from the shoe and comfortably go on walking, they are like, "Well, give me an aspirin; give me something that’ll take away my pain; give me a band-aid; give me something because this is horrible."

And somebody comes along and says, "Well, you know, why are you taking all this medication? Why are you doing all this? Do you know why you’re doing this, because you don’t have to. All you have to do is take away that rock that’s in your shoe, and you will be comfortable again."

And sometimes it sounds so simple when you say it, but it's so complicated. With all the challenges that we have in our life, we find ourselves nailed against the wall sometimes. And we’re looking for a solution out of this misery. And yet it's just like, the more solutions we look to, the more complex those solutions are.

You know, it’s like, "Okay, sit down in a room—and don’t think about anything." And it’s like, "Control your thoughts."

And I remember, when I first came—I was a teenager when I first came to America; I was thirteen years old. And people much older than me and much more educated than me would sit down and go, "Okay, how do I control my thoughts?"

I said, "Well, why do you want to control your thoughts? I mean, what do you think you’re going to gain by controlling your thoughts? Don’t you understand that the desire to control your thought is a thought in itself?" [Jessica: Right.]

You’re still attached to the thought, and you’re going to be sitting there in some room, going, "Am I controlling my thoughts? Have I controlled my thoughts? Have my thoughts gone away?" And you’re going to be thinking about your thoughts going away. And so, how have you become thoughtless? You’re not thoughtless; you're still thinking.

And that just goes to the quintessential essence of it. Because we need to understand who we are as a human being. And if we understand who we are as a human being, we can understand our limitations, and we can also understand our strengths.

And this is what we don't know; we don’t know our strengths, but we finally have learnt our limitations. [Jessica: Yeah.] And the world is frustrated because of that.

Jessica Zweig:

Right. Well, I think it's also gotten a lot more difficult to get in touch with who we truly are because of the sheer noise of life—technology, opportunity. The desire to know oneself is sort of trendy today. And there are all of these different ways in which we can explore that. And I think that, in and of itself is overwhelming for people.

So, how do you tap in? What would be the first step? Because I agree with you; it's really, really simple—but it's still so hard for people.

Prem Rawat:

Yeah. And you know, it's like, in a way, exactly what you said and it's very true. But at the same time, it's like, "Well, I can't smell myself. I can smell the flowers and I can smell the bees and I can smell everything else, but I can't smell me."

And it's like, "Well, but excuse me. You don't know who you are? I mean, you are in you—and you are attached to you. And yet you are so alienated from you. How can that be?" Wait, what's going on here? What mirror are you looking at? Who are you looking at, if you cannot find yourself amidst this huge ocean?

And yet you are absolutely right. People are so caught up in everything else that they have forgotten who they are. And so, our journey must begin with first, establishing base with ourselves. Not with other things, not with other solutions, but with us, with us, just as an individual, just as who you are. Not how you should be—but who you are. [Jessica: Right.]

And begin with that—and that is the very first step.

प्रेम रावत जी:

मेरे सभी श्रोताओं को मेरा बहुत-बहुत नमस्कार! आज के दिन मैं आपको एक भजन पढ़कर सुनाना चाहता हूँ, जो कबीरदास जी का भजन है —

चंदा झलकै यहि घट माहीं, अंधी आँखन सूझे नाहीं ॥

इसी घट में वह चन्द्रमा झलकता है, मतलब प्रकाश का जो स्रोत है वह आपके अंदर है। पर, क्योंकि ये आँखें अंधी हैं आपको दिखाई नहीं दे रहा है।

यहि घट चंदा यहि घट सूर, यहि घट गाजै अनहद तूर, अनहद तूर ॥

इसी घट में चंदा है, इसी घट में सूरज है और इसी घट में बज रहा है वो, बिना बजाये जो बजता है। बजाने वाला कौन है उसको ? कोई गायक नहीं है, कोई म्यूज़िशियन (musician) नहीं है, परंतु वह बज रहा है।

यहि घट बाजै तबल-निशान, बहिरा शब्द सुने नहि कान ॥

क्योंकि कान जो हैं वो बहरे हैं, उनको सुनाई नहीं दे रहा है।

जब लग मेरी मेरी करै, तब लग काज एकौ नहि सरै ॥

जबतक मेरा-मेरी करते रहोगे, तबतक कुछ बनेगा नहीं। कुछ काम नहीं होगा। मेरा-मेरी, यह मेरा है, मेरा है, यह मेरा है, यह मेरा है, मेरे को क्या होगा, मेरे से क्या होगा, मेरे को क्या होगा इस परिस्थिति में! यह जो मेरा-मेरी है, यह सिर्फ चीजों को लेकर ही नहीं है, परन्तु परिस्थितियों को लेकर भी है। और इस परिस्थिति में सब अपने बारे में सोच रहे हैं, सब अपने बारे में सोच रहे हैं कि मेरा क्या होगा, मेरा क्या होगा, मेरा क्या होगा, मेरा क्या होगा! परन्तु कोई, जो सारा समाज है उसके बारे में कोई नहीं सोच रहा है। क्योंकि जबतक यह मेरा-मेरी रहेगी, तो एक भी काम बनेगा नहीं।

जब मेरी ममता मर जाय, तब प्रभु काज सँवारै आय॥

जब यह ममता खत्म हो जाती है, तब उस दया से, प्रभु की कृपा से कार्य सुलझ जाते हैं।

ज्ञान के कारन करम कमाय,

ज्ञान को पाने के लिए लोग कोशिश करते है, कर्म कमाते हैं।

होय ज्ञान तब करम नसाय ॥

जबतक ज्ञान नहीं होगा तबतक कर्म खत्म नहीं होंगें, इनका जो फल है वह खत्म नहीं होगा।

फल कारन फूलै बनराय,

फल कारन — फल के कारण जंगल में, पेड़ों में फूल आता है।

फल लागै पर फूल सुखाय ॥

जब फल लगने लगता है तो जो फूल हैं उसको जाना पड़ता है। इसी प्रकार समझें कि —

मृगा हास कस्तूरी बास,

जैसे मृग के नाभि में कस्तूरी है और वह सारे जंगल में खोजता रहता है।

आप न खोजै खोजै घास ॥

घास को सूंघता है।

तो इसका तुक क्या हुआ और मैंने क्यों ये पढ़कर सुनाया आपको यह भजन ? क्योंकि मैंने जो नई किताब लिखी है, उसमें भी यह भजन मैंने दिया है इसका ट्रांसलेशन अंग्रजी में।

मतलब है कि, इसी घट के अंदर, तुम्हारे अंदर ये सारी सुन्दर-सुन्दर चीजें झलक रहीं हैं। और इसका तुम आनंद उठा सकते हो। बाहर मत खोजो, क्योंकि लोग जब इन परिस्थितियों में दुखी होते हैं, तो इनका यही है कि यह कब खत्म होगा, यह कब खत्म होगा ? कभी भी खत्म हो, हमको तो यही आशा है कि जल्दी ही खत्म होगा। परंतु खत्म कभी भी हो, जब भी हो, आप सुरक्षित रहें यह सबसे बड़ी बात है। और जैसे मैं पहले कह रहा था — "न किसी को ये बीमारी दो; न किसी से ये बीमारी लो!" अगर यह समझ में आ गया तो बहुत अच्छा है।

तो लोगों का मन जो है यह विचलित होता है और यह सोचता है, "अब क्या होगा, अब क्या होगा, अब क्या होगा, मेरे साथ क्या होगा, मेरा क्या होगा, मेरा क्या होगा!" जब तक यह चलता रहेगा, तब तक कोई काम नहीं बनेगा। और जब मनुष्य यह सोचने लगेगा "ठीक है, जो भी परिस्थिति है, इसमें मैं आगे कैसे चलूँ! मेरा उद्धार — इस परिस्थिति में भी मेरा उद्धार हो!"

तो समझने की बात है, देखने की बात है कि क्या उस परमांनद का अनुभव इस परिस्थिति में भी किया जा सकता है या नहीं ? इसका उत्तर स्पष्ट है कि बिलकुल! इस परिस्थिति में भी वह चल रहा है। आपके अंदर वह चांद चमकरहा है, वह सूरज प्रकाश दे रहा है। अगर आप उस बात को स्वीकार कर पाए अपने जिंदगी के अंदर, तो फिर आगे चलने के लिए आपको मजबूर नहीं होना पड़ेगा, दुखी नहीं होना पड़ेगा और आप आनंद से, इस समय में भी आनंद से आप इसको गुजार सकते हैं।

परिवार के साथ अगर आप आइसोलेटेड हैं, तो सभी मिल-जुलकर के इस समय का पूरा-पूरा फायदा उठाएं। कैसे ?

द्वेष से नहीं, क्लेश से नहीं, एक-दूसरे की — "तूने ये कर दिया, तूने ये कर दिया, तूने ये कर दिया, तूने ये कर दिया!" इससे नहीं। एक दूसरे के अंदर जो अच्छाई है उसको बाहर लायें कि तुम्हारे में क्या अच्छाई है, तुम क्या कर सकते हो ? ये नहीं है कि दूसरे की त्रुटियां देखना, दूसरे की मिस्टेक्स (mistakes) को देखना। नहीं! उसकी अच्छाइयों को देखना। यह भी तो समय है और इस समय का पूरा-पूरा फायदा आप उठा सकते हैं।

अपने आपको जानो, यह मैं हमेशा कहता आया हूँ — "अपने आपको जानो, अपने आपको समझो कि आप कौन हैं।" यह मौका है, यह मौका है। जब और चीजें नहीं हो रहीं हैं, तो आप अपने अंदर जाकर के इस चीज का अनुभव कीजिये कि आप कौन हैं । और उससे जो आपको राहत मिलेगी। बात तो राहत की है, अब क्या राहत मिलेगी ? कैसी राहत मिलेगी ? जब आदमी अपने आपको समझने लगता है और वह जानने लगता है कि मेरे अंदर स्थित जो चीज है, वह अनमोल है। मैं एक उदाहरण देता हूँ आपको —

एक डिब्बा है। डिब्बे की क्या कीमत है ? 100 रूपए लगभग! परंतु उस डिब्बे के अंदर एक हीरे की अंगूठी है। और उस हीरे की अंगूठी की कीमत दो करोड़ रूपए है। डिब्बे की कीमत 100 रूपए, हीरे की अंगूठी की कीमत दो करोड़। जबतक वह अंगूठी उस डिब्बे में है, तबतक उस डिब्बे की कीमत क्या है ? आप सोचिये, तबतक उस डिब्बे की कीमत क्या है ? उस डिब्बे की कीमत तबतक वही है, जो उसमें है। जो वह — जबतक वह अंगूठी उस डिब्बे में है, तो उस डिब्बे की कीमत दो करोड़ है। और एक सौ रूपए, जो उसकी कीमत है असली में। क्यों?

क्योंकि अगर किसी को अंगूठी चाहिए और किसको खोजेगा वह ? कहाँ थी ? उस डिब्बे में थी। डिब्बे को खोजो। अंगूठी को नहीं, डिब्बे को खोजो। हरा रंग का डिब्बा है या लाल रंग का डिब्बा है उसको खोजो। और जब वह मिल जायेगा तो वह अंगूठी भी मिल जायेगी। परन्तु जब उसमें से अंगूठी निकल जाती है तब उस डिब्बे की कीमत क्या है ? तब उस डिब्बे की कीमत सिर्फ सौ रूपए है। जबतक आपके अंदर वो स्थित चीज है, जिसके कारण यह स्वांस आ रहा है, जा रहा है, तबतक आपकी भी कीमत वही है, जितनी कीमत है उस चीज की जो अनमोल है।

तबतक आपकी कीमत भी अनमोल है। पर, जिस दिन वह चीज निकल जायेगी, उस दिन आपकी क्या कीमत रह जाएगी ? यह खाल की खाल; ये हड्डियां की हड्डियां; ये बाल के बाल; ये दांत के दांत; ये खून का खून, ये सब। कोई कीमत नहीं रह जाती है इसकी।

सबसे बड़ी देखने की चीज है, आप जिंदा हैं और जबतक आप जिंदा हैं, तबतक आपकी कीमत वही है, अनमोल! जिसका कोई मोल नहीं। इस बात को समझने के लिए आपको हृदय रूपी दर्पण की जरूरत है। हृदय रूपी मिरर (mirror) की जरूरत है। हृदय रूपी आईने की जरूरत है ताकि आप देख सकें उस आईने में कि आप असलियत में क्या हैं ? संत-महात्माओं ने इसी बात पर ध्यान दिया है। इसीलिए यह कबीरदास जी का भजन —

चंदा झलकै यहि घट माहीं, अंधी आँखन सूझे नाहीं

यहि घट चंदा यहि घट सूर - सूरज

यहि घट गाजै अनहद तूर।।

यही सबकुछ हो रहा है और आपको होश-हवाश नहीं है, आपको यह होश नहीं है कि ये सबकुछ हो रहा है। आप बैठे हैं, अपने कमरे में बैठे हैं या अपने लिविंग रूम में बैठे हैं या अपने बैडरूम में बैठे हैं या कहीं भी बैठे हैं और आपके दिमाग में यह हो रहा है कि "अब क्या होगा या मैं बोर हो गया।" लोग बोर हो जाते हैं! अब अगर किसी के पास टेलीविज़न नहीं है, किसी के पास ये नहीं है, तो चुपचाप बैठे हुए हैं, "कैसे होगा; अब क्या होगा; क्या करेंगे; क्या नहीं करेंगे। बाप रे बाप! उफ्फ! ये तो बहुत हो गया।"

बोर पड़े हुए हैं। बोर्डम, (boredom) बोर्डम आ जाती है और बोर्डम न आये तो ततततततततततत... फ़ोन के ऊपर लगे रहते हैं, टेलीविज़न के ऊपर लगे रहते हैं। कहीं न कहीं, कुछ न कुछ मनोरंजन के लिए, उस मन की ख़ुशी के लिए लगे रहते हैं, जिस मन को आप खुश नहीं कर सकते। वो मन कभी खुश होता नहीं है। उसका तो यह है कि कोई चीज उसको चाहिए वह मिल गयी उसके बाद वह दूसरी चीज चाहेगा। तो लोग बोर हो जाते हैं।

पर संत-महात्मा क्या कह रहे हैं, बोर, बोर —

इस घट झलकै वही चंदा — चंदा भी इसी घट में झलक रहा है, सूरज भी और चांद भी इसी घट में है और इसी घट में बज रहा है अनहद तूर — बिना बजाये जो बज रहा है। इसी घट में है वह ढोल, इसी घट में शब्द सुने नहि कान। इसी घट में सबकुछ हो रहा है। परन्तु आपको हवा ही नहीं है, तो बोर्डम अपने आप होगी। और उसके लिए जिसको यह मालूम है कि यह मेरे अंदर हो रहा है उसको यह भी मालूम है कि मेरे को बोर होने की जरूरत नहीं है। मेरे अंदर तो क्या-क्या नहीं है!

तो यह बात समझें और जैसे मैंने पहले भी कहा, यह हिम्मत से काम लेने का समय है। यह हिम्मत से और सब्र से काम लेने का समय है। सब्र रखिये, क्यों रखिये ? इसलिए रखिये सब्र, क्योंकि यह भी खत्म होगा। एक समय था यह नहीं था, एक समय है जब यह है, एक समय होगा जब यह नहीं होगा। ठीक है, पर सब्र रखिये!

कैसे बीते दिन ? हिम्मत से, हिम्मत से बीते दिन। आनंद से बीते दिन! मैं यह कह रहा हूँ आपसे, मैं आपको सिर्फ यह नहीं कह रहा हूँ कि "भाई! किसी न किसी तरीके से इस दिन को बिता दो। ना! मैं यह कह रहा हूँ आपसे कि ये दिन भी आपका आनंद में बीतना चाहिए, क्योंकि यह आपकी क्षमता है।" चाहे कुछ भी हो, यह तो मैं आपको कह रहा हूँ। आप जेल में नहीं हैं, आप अपने घर में हैं।

जब मैं जेलों में जाता हूँ, लोगों से बात करता हूँ। उनको भी यही मेरे को समझाना पड़ता है कि भाई! एक तो यह बाहर की दुनिया है और एक तुम्हारे अंदर की दुनिया है। तुम अपने अंदर की दुनिया को समझो। बाहर की दुनिया तो तुमने समझ ली और यह भी समझो कि बाहर की दुनिया तुमको वो आनंद, स्थायी आनंद नहीं दे सकती है। जो आनंद है, अगर फिल्म भी देखने को जाओ, जबतक उस फिल्म हॉल में बैठे हो, फिल्म देख रहे हो तबतक आनंद ही आनंद है। हो सकता है कि आधे घंटे के लिए, पंद्रह मिनट के लिए फिल्म देखने के बाद भी तुमको अच्छा लगे। परंतु उसकी भी एक सीमा है, उसके बाद भूलना शुरू कर जाओगे। परन्तु जो अंदर का आनंद है, तुम जहां भी जाओ, कैसे भी रहो, कुछ भी होता रहे, वह आनंद हमेशा बना हुआ है। इसीलिए अपने आपको समझने की कितनी जरूरत है। क्योंकि इतनी बड़ी चीज, इतनी बड़ी बात, मनुष्य इसको खो रहा है।

तो चाहे कोई भी परिस्थिति है, मैं यह नहीं कह रहा हूँ कि यह परिस्थिति अच्छी है, नहीं अच्छी नहीं है। परंतु फिर भी मेरा लक्ष्य क्या है ? क्या मैं इस परिस्थिति में फंसकर दुखी होना चाहता हूँ या इस परिस्थिति में रहते हुए भी मैं सुखी होना चाहता हूं। यही समझने की बात है, यही समझने की बात है! असली चीज क्या है ? मैं असल में क्या चाहता हूँ ? अगर यह बात आपकी समझ में आ गयी कि आप उस चीज को जो आप सचमुच में चाहते हैं, वह अभी भी आपके अंदर है। तो फिर आपका दृष्टिकोण बदल सकता है, इन सारी परिस्थितियों के बारे में।

तो सभी लोगों को मेरा नमस्कार!

Jessica Zweig

Host of The SimplyBe. Podcast

Jessica Zweig:

So, a lot of the people that listen to my show are entrepreneurs, particularly women, who are really wanting to follow their passion and grow a career and a life on their terms. I am one of those women, right?—and I feel we’ve subconsciously gotten sucked into a very hustle-oriented culture and mindset.

And that it’s celebrated to be a “girl-boss,” or it’s to slay like a queen, right? These are all images that are actually, in my opinion, really masculine and sort of out of alignment with, with who we are. But yet women are rising and we are becoming more empowered.

And I think that—and I truly speak for myself—a lot of that innate peace and that softness and that stillness really gets deprioritized. And I would love to know how—speaking to the women, mainly, that listen to my show—what advice do you have for them-slash-me on how to really incorporate and prioritize ourselves, the way that you’re speaking?

Prem Rawat:

Well, first of all, there is absolutely no conflict in, whatsoever, to have your ambitions fulfilled, the ambitions that you have. There’s no conflict. But you have to know one thing—and that one thing that you have to know is yourself.

You know a lot of things in this world. And you think that knowledge of these things will take you and fulfill you and fulfill your ambitions. But the thing is, that if you know everything but you don’t know who you are, who you are as a being, as that one person who took that first breath…

That you came out of your mother’s womb and you took that first breath, and you’re alive. And you’re alive. And that, one day, this whole chain of breath is going to keep on happening—and then one day this breath won’t be anymore. And everything you do, everything that you think will be gone one day.

But right now you’re alive. Who are you? That person that starts with that one breath—and their life ends with that other breath, that last breath—and in between, you have this fantastic possibility of life, of being alive, of being who you are, of fulfilling your dreams, of accomplishing all the things that you can, and only you can come up with.

And you are the one who, in your life, makes all the difference to yourself. Then, who are you? What are you? Not the dream fulfiller, but the dreamer. I’m talking about the dreamer, not the dream fulfiller.

And everybody wants to become the dream fulfiller. And nobody’s paying attention to the dreamer. I’m talking about the dreamer. I’m talking about the innate thirst that you have in you.

That you feel that by fulfilling all your ambitions, one day you will be fulfilled—that person who carries those ambitions, that’s the person I’m talking about.

And the rest of it, I don’t see a conflict, even though I talk about peace. And a lot of people might just go, “How can you say that?” Because I don’t—I don’t see a conflict, you know?

Somebody, one time, came to me and said, “Oh, look at—I just bought a Rolls Royce. And do you think I should have one? I’m looking for peace in my life; do you think I should have it?”

And I said, “So, what, what is the poor Rolls Royce going to do? It’s neither going to bring you peace nor is it going to take away your peace. Of course, enjoy it! You want to enjoy it, enjoy it. Do whatever you want to do.”

I’m not making any rules about what you should or shouldn’t do. All I am doing is saying one thing: “The dreamer that you are, you need to know that dreamer. You need to understand that dreamer.” Because if you don’t understand that dreamer, you won’t actually even know what that dreamer is trying to dream about.

Prem Rawat’s life’s work has been focused on putting people in touch with their inner peace.

In his latest book, “Escúchate” (Learning to Hear Yourself), Prem Rawat tells us, “Peace is in people, not in things. It is in you. And it is there to be sensed, felt, experienced, treasured and celebrated.”

One week after the book launched, Prem’s words were resonating in Spain, where, according to ABC newspaper, “Escúchate” reached the Top 10 Best Seller non-fiction list in Spain.

Media celebrity Anne Igartiburu hosted Prem’s sold-out event at Madrid’s Calderón Theater, sharing the exciting experience with her 132,000 Instagram followers: “There are certain occasions in life when you feel you are very lucky. The launch of the book #Escúchate . . . was one of them.” “Escúchate” was also launched in Argentina on March 1 and in Uruguay on March 16, 2020.

Model and wife of international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Georgina Rodriguez, (16.9 million followers) posted that the book helps its readers find inner peace, supporting the idea that "self-knowledge is what allows you to experience it.”

Prem’s compelling interviews with HOLA! Magazine ( 5 million readers) and with Cristina Galafate of TELVA, El Mundo’s lifestyle magazine (3.4 million readers), have also inspired people to read his highly regarded book.

Of the over 80 reviewers on Amazon Spain, 98% have given “Escúchate” a 5-star Rating (see excerpts below). Visit Amazon.es for full reviews in Spanish.

“In this book I have found an enjoyable, beautiful and direct guide to the heart.” – Gema

“It makes you feel that it is transforming you as you read.” – Marife G.

Order this book in Spanish