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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

There is something constant. And all the days you’re going to be alive on the face of this earth—all the days—how many are there? Even if you live to be a hundred years old, how many days is that? Thirty-six thousand, five hundred. Take 365, put two zeros at the end, right?

I know I can see disbelief in some of your faces, like, “Whoa, whoa, what, you’re missing a zero. It has got to be three hundred and sixty-five thousand. Couldn’t just be thirty-six thousand, five hundred.”

But unfortunately, or fortunately, that’s all it is—and a big chunk of it is gone. And I only say this, not to scare you, but to provide the spice of urgency of how important it is for you to know yourself, so that the rest of the days that you exist are spent existing to your fullest potential. You have no other choice; you’ve got to live every single day to its fullest—and that’s not “party.” That’s the grand party, the party in which you are happy!

You’re not happy because you are with your friend, but yet, you are happy because you know yourself. You are happy because you have the courage to understand. You are happy because you have chosen, by your own choice, the fifty percent that’s good in you. And you have chosen to tame the fifty percent that’s bad in you.

That you have chosen, you have made a choice in your life to be real. That you have made a choice in your life to find the joy of being alive, to find the joy of existence, to find the joy of understanding, to find the joy of what it really feels like to have courage to know.

– Prem Rawat

All our dreams, our road maps that we make in our mind to achieve happiness.... And we draw little maps: “If I have this, I have this; I want this, I have this, I have this, then I can be happy.” These are our road maps to happiness.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re educated or you’re not educated, whether you have a job; you don’t have a job—you do, every day, you aspire to be happy. This is who you are.

Now the question becomes, if this is who you are, this is what you aspire, this is what you want, why doesn’t mankind succeed?

– Prem Rawat

There would be quite a case to be made if there was no clarity! There would be quite a case to be made if there was no joy. There would be quite a case to be made if there was no understanding. There would be quite a case to be made if there was no compassion. Because this world then would be very empty, very empty.

But there is compassion—and it’s in you. How much? Limitless. As much as you need. All you have to do is use it. How much love is in you? How much love do you think there is in you? Oh, my God! That you could never measure it. All you have to do is use it! And when you use it? Multiplies. It’ll never ever go down.

Unfortunately this is true for anger, too! How much anger is in you? Oh, my God, no limit! And more you use it? Tank will be full all the time. It’s not like if you got angry, angry, angry, angry, you would use up your anger. You won’t! You can never use it up.

You can never use up kindness. More kind you are more kindness there will be. This is—this is who you are! This is what it is like to be a human. And that heaven, and that hell? Well, when you are in heaven, you’re not in hell! And when you are in hell, you’re not in heaven.

And of course, you know, I ask all the religions—I say, “Okay, whatever you teach people, where heaven is, where hell is, fine. But just do one thing. Just do one thing. It won’t change anything in your religion—just do one thing. Declare ... that ‘If you want to go to heaven ... then first you have to make heaven here.’ That’s all. [applause] That’s all.”