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So, what is the self? So, is the self your ideas? Or, is “self” the way you perceive the world? You can perceive it any which way you like it—it’s not going to change the world. It will be. It has been marching at a rhythm for a very, very long time. Do you know how big this stuff is out there?

Perceive? Perceive? Next time you are stuck in a traffic jam and the traffic is moving really slowly, remember this. You are on planet Earth, going at a speed, (around, around, around), of 1,040 miles an hour—and, around the sun at a whopping speed of a little over 67,000 miles an hour, (67,042).

Are you hungry for speed? Are you a speed demon? And this is what the cops should be telling people who speed too much—it’s like, “Sir, do you really want to be going that fast? Because, do you know how fast you’re really going?”

So then, what is the self? What?! “Yeah, well, you know, I…I have…I have over the years gotten to know myself. And…and…and sometimes I get mad, and most of the time, I’m okay. And....” You think that’s the self? You think that’s the self? Interesting question, huh? You’ve heard, “Oh, you should know yourself. ‘Know thyself.’” What is the self?

“I”—and “am,” which denotes existence. “I” and “am.” What is this “I”? Do you know? And because you don’t know, anybody can come and give you an idea—“I think you are” ... da-da-da-da, da-da-da—and that’s what triggers.

“Oh yeah, I, uh, I read—I read....” That’s one of our weaknesses: if we read it in a book, it has to be the truth. How did that happen?

Then the self is this be-ing that has the capacity to know that there’s something more going on here. The beauty, the power of that divinity of this entire universe in action, this earth spinning with you on it, with this breath going in and out of you—with a heart that has been in you wanting to be fulfilled, to the simplest of those things.

Is there anything more? And it doesn’t need glorification. This story of the human being just simply needs to be told.

– Prem Rawat

What do you focus on every day? Is it things that make you angry? Is it things that you don’t like in your life? Are you a complainer? Do you complain, “This isn’t right; that’s not right. This should have been this way; that should have been this way; why is this this way; why is that that way? And, ababla-bla-blable, ablabla-blablalba.....”

“Why me?” Are you one of those “why me’s”? So, if you are a “why me”—good luck. That’s not a nice note to end with, “Why me? Nothing is right. Why is everything so unjust?”

Remember Yudhishthir! Same thing, he’s caught in the injustice and he cannot go. He’s caught. The cycle of birth and death, the inconvenience of the birth, and he’s caught in it. Because he’s also caught in his concepts of “what is right, what is wrong, what is right....”

He’s caught up in his concepts of what is right and what is wrong. And this is then driving him to start looking at what is just and what is unjust. And so far he’s going in his life, going, “This is just; this is unjust; this is just; this is unjust,” he’s caught in fear; he’s caught in anger; he’s caught in all those things that he doesn’t really want.

When he frees himself from that, severs those.... I like the word “sever”; just to, “Kkkch,” indiscriminately. Not like, “Where should I do it?” No, just do it. It doesn’t really matter, if you’re going to cut a rope, whether you cut here or you cut it—and just cut the thing.

And then, then that comes; then comes the freedom. Then comes the freedom. And the freedom? And, when you are free, you can feel. Now you are free to feel this life; now you’re free to feel the gratitude; now you’re free to feel what that beauty is.

The life should never be about, you know, three things only. Life is giving you a lot more than three. Take it all! “No, no, we should only have....” Not one.

“What is the most important—well, what is that one most important thing to you?” God knows who started that. But it’s the same people who said, “Take that little ball and put it in the little hole.”

Trying to explain to the aliens, you know, again, “Yeah, they just—somebody has four important things, but this guy only wants three!” I won’t mention your name, Mitch, in case there is an alien.

So, just to keep that focus and continue to enjoy this life, this is what it is. And that is the best way to pay the tribute to what is the past—whatever you have learnt that is good, keep it, and move forward with it.

- Prem Rawat

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.

Cecilia Valenzuela:

Success. For some, success is the happiness of family, fulfillment in their career. Others believe that success is, to make a lot of money. What is success for you?

Prem Rawat:

For me, the question comes that people have pre-defined what success means to them. And day and night we pursue this. And sometimes we get so caught up in pursuing that we don't ask ourselves the fundamental question, "Today, am I happy? Am I happy today?" Because for most people the answer is, "Oh, I will be happy when I am successful." And my point is, of course you should be happy when you have succeeded, but you should be happy every single day pursuing your success.

Freedom is when you feel free inside.
That’s when you are doing what you are meant to be doing.
That’s why it feels good.
And that’s why your heart then dances.
A fundamental joy, a fundamental elation starts to take place
And it isn’t the pacification of mind
But it is the fullness of the heart that emanates.
And then, the human being is fulfilled.
That’s how you become fulfilled.
-	Prem Rawat

Let's just try to understand what it means to be alive.

You know the water vaporizes, comes out of the ocean, becomes a vapor, becomes a cloud, and it rains. Some places it snows; some places when it rains, drenches through the soil and the source of many many lakes, many many rivers, is a drop.

I mean, the water just goes through its percolation process or whatever it's going to go through and emerges as a drop for, you know, whatever. Whatever it's dropping from, however the height is, it begins and it drops, drops, drops, drops, drops. And then it merges with the water, and that's it. That's it.

It becomes indistinguishable. You cannot now distinguish this drop. This drop is now only a drop. And so far it begins its journey as this solitary little mass of water, and it falls and it hits the water, and that's it. It becomes indistinguishable from the rest of the water.

That's a drop. That's the journey. Bloop.

You see, you know, we read this, "Oh! Life is a journey." You've read that; you've heard that. Of course, they didn't tell you how long. Bloop. Fini! Just a mass of water now; the drop is gone. But in so far as it is a drop, it is in this world unto itself. Even though it came from the ocean, which at 71 point something trillion gallons just in the Pacific ocean, god knows how many drops that would be. And it made this incredible journey, and then it emerged as a drop, and when it was a drop, it was individual. And it was beautiful, and no two drops are alike. And it could shine with the sun. It could take the light and it could pass it through. That drop is you and I.

So when I say, "You are alive," I am saying something so precious, so beautiful, so simple that you really have to look at it for what it is worth. And it is worth everything. It is worth your existence. It is worth all your aspirations; all your dreams are in that. And what do you truly aspire for

You aspire to be content. Now a lot of people go, "Uh no... what's he talking about?" In our civilized world, it's called gratification. We do what we do to be gratified. If it doesn't bring us gratification, we really don't like it.

Everybody has a list of chores they absolutely do not like to do. Why don't they do it? Because it brings no gratification. What does gratification mean? Look it up. It means, contentment. Contentment. That's what it means. And ultimately the heart's desire is just that: to feel that till this journey is afoot. From the time that it leaves to the time that the inevitable will happen, this is the want; this is the desire to be—to be content.

- Prem Rawat