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There are certain things which we don’t accept—and they don’t change, whether we accept or we don’t accept.

If we don’t accept, it isn’t like, “Well, no, I have four kidneys; only two bad. I have two more.” Fine. You can believe that all day long. But you only have two. And maybe they’re both bad.

We don’t understand—this is a formula. “We weren’t. We are. We won’t be.” This is it! This has been playing out on the face of this earth ever since it all began.

In fact, the scientists say that this earth is not going to be around; the moon is not going to be around; the sun is already devouring itself—it’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and hotter, and bigger. And pretty soon it’ll get so hot that life on earth will not be able to sustain itself. This is our future.

“Should we get happy? I mean, what’s the point!? Well, why should people get married? I mean, it’s not going to last....”

Ah, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about understanding that joy can be experienced not only every day, but every moment of that day. But your moment of making it exceptional is to accept every moment that you have, and to be in peace with yourself—not in peace with your wishes, but in peace with yourself.

– Prem Rawat

Without peace, this world is going to come apart—there’s nothing, there’s no glue. When a human being starts to hate another human being, you know that it is the beginning of the end.

When one human being gives more reasons of why he does not want to see another human being on the face of this earth, the reasons become more important than the fundamental reality that you are a human being, that the other person is a human being. And eliminating that person is anti-life. It’s not good for life.

Gandhi said, “If everybody took an eye for an eye, the whole world would be blind.” And that’s exactly what’s happening today. The world’s going blind. The terror that is being struck....

When you go in a room, and it’s your house, or it’s your apartment, or it’s your room and you close that door and you sit down on your bed, you feel a certain sense of comfort—that, when you close that door, you shut the world out—and that you sit on that bed, and maybe you are alone, maybe you are with somebody, but there is a certain sense that you’re okay.

When that very sense is taken away from you, and you sit on that bed wondering if you’re going to wake up tomorrow, wondering if you’re going to be able to sleep tonight, then such a fundamental part of a human being has been taken away.

– Prem Rawat

Many people in their lives, they see things not going their way; they start losing hope, and the next thing you know, calamity. But it takes courage to have hope; it takes courage to have clarity. And when there is that courage....

This is what’s beautiful. If you get angry, you know what you will be rewarded by? Anger. Just think about it, right? You get angry; you’ll be rewarded by anger. What is the reward of anger? Either you will get more angry.... Maybe, maybe you begin by being angry with your friend, and the next thing you know, you’re also angry with yourself—for being angry at your friend.

Anger rewards anger; anger begets anger. Fear rewards fear. You get afraid of being afraid—and that’s when it really sets in. It’s more than the boogeyman in the closet. Now, you’re afraid to be in the room; you’re afraid to be alive. “Oh my God....”

But...but what is the reward of hope? It brings you more hope. What is the reward of joy? It brings you more joy. What is the reward of happiness? It brings you more happiness. What is the reward of knowledge? It brings you more knowledge. What is the reward of being content? It brings you more contentment. What is the reward of knowing? It brings you more knowing.

This is how it is. This is how it’s always been.

– Prem Rawat

Don’t worry—I am not a politician. I’m not going to be in…I’m not in politics; I’m not going to run for politics; politics is not my thing. I want to bring people together; I don’t want to divide them.

And that’s why I don’t put any labels…I don’t want to use any labels. People would love to give me a label. I don’t want any labels.

People say, “Oh, you are Ambassador of Peace.” I want everybody to be Ambassador of Peace—everyone! Because that’s what your possibility is; that’s what your potential is. This is what you can achieve in this life. You should be an Ambassador of Peace. You should be.

One little…one little act of kindness goes a long way—one little act of kindness. But what do we believe in? “Thank you.” So, this is what the mother teaches the little boy: “Say thank you.”

He doesn’t know what ‘thank you’ means—so he looks up and he goes, “Thank you.” And what are you teaching that little kid? Do you know what you’re teaching that little kid? “Say something you don’t understand.”

Instead of teaching the kid, “Did you feel good when somebody gave you this? Did you like it?” The child will say, “Yes!” “Then, take that liking that you have, and share a little bit of it back.” That’s what gratitude is. That’s all gratitude is.

If somebody did something for you, and it felt good, then give them a little bit of that goodness back.

– Prem Rawat

It’s about you—it’s about your story. Fulfillment is a feeling, not the quantity of food. It is not about how many glasses of water you drank, but is your thirst quenched or not? It is not whether you were in bed for twelve hours or not, but how much sleep did you get? You’ll understand that one, right?

It is not about the lectures that tell you, “You are free; you are free; you are free,” that will set you free. How free do you feel?

And this is what I say to the inmates: “It’s up to you! It’s up to you!” Everybody is behind some wall; everybody is behind some bar. The only difference is the color of the bars, the shape of the bars, and the material that they are made out of.

Some are made out of metal; some are made out of concepts, ideas, right here. But they’re bars—and they hold you back. They will not let you be free.

Do you want to be free? Good question—“Do you want to be free?” [Individual, male.: Yes!] First understand. Before you set off on a journey to be free, understand what’s holding you back! Why are you not free? All these ideas you have about things that are not yours—that were just, cct, ppbt! Poukh, chu-chu-chu, boomf! And you went, “Thank you.”

Somebody came, opened the head, poured it in, “Dah, dah, you’re good.”

Some apes, they look at themselves—they can’t recognize. So, dogs are like that too! They look at themselves in the mirror and they go, “What’s that!? Arrrrrrrgh!”

You have the ability to go, “Ah! That’s, that’s me!” And the scientists say, that is one of the human attributes! Why stop there? Know the self! This is what Socrates was talking about, “Know the self!” If that’s you, looking in the mirror, you can say, “That is me,” then knowing yourself, that is the human attribute that makes you who you are.

– Prem Rawat

What does fear do to you? What does fear do to you? It destroys you; it can destroy you. What does confusion do to you? It can destroy you; it can destroy your moment; it can destroy a whole day, just like that.

So, heaven is here. What do you think? You believe or you know? Know or believe? Know? Yes? No? Yes? Yes! And do you know? Not because of me! No, no, no, no, no. I disagree

I am a mirror. Does the mirror make up the face? I am a mirror. I don’t make up your face. You can experience heaven, not because of me, but because you are alive. If you are not alive, there can be nine million of me, and we cannot help anyone. Because it’s you. You have in you the Divine

What is this quietness? Do you? Or don’t you? You do? You believe this or you know this? You do know this? You know this? Wow. So I have another question for you.

Do you celebrate this? Every day? What could you ask for more in your life, than the Divine being in you? Closer than any friend, closer than your wife or your husband, in you?

The one that will accompany you wherever you go. In the darkest place, the Divine is with you. On top of the mountain, the Divine will go with you. In confusion the Divine is with you. In your troubles, in your sorrow, in every emotion that you consider to be hell, the Divine is with you. Do you celebrate this? Do you thank? Do you thank the Divine for being with you?

Your friend? If you do not acknowledge your friend, your friend won’t be your friend for very long. At some point in time you have to tell your friend, “I like you. Thank you for being my friend.” What do you say to the Divine?

These are the paradoxes that we should be working on. Because when we do, the resolution of these paradoxes, knowing—this is truly, truly knowing the self. “Know thyself?” Well, here’s a very good reason why you should know yourself—because this is who you are.

– Prem Rawat