00:01:12
The Journey Home
Duration : 00:01:12
"I have done something in my life I can’t forgive myself for.” - South African P...
Individual: [reading question]
“I have done something in my life that I cannot forgive myself for. I killed two of my children and nearly killed myself because of the abuse I was suffering. I want to feel the peace that you are talking about, but I think I have lost the capability to feel it. Is there any chance for me?”
Prem Rawat:
Well, do you think there is any chance for this person?
Audience:
Yes!
Prem Rawat:
There is the answer. Sometimes you may have walked too far away from your home. And when she did what she did, she walked a little bit too far away from her home. But her home is still there. And it may be a long journey, and it may take a little while, but the home is still there.
– Prem Rawat
00:04:39
Where Courage Resides
Duration : 00:04:39
You don’t need fear; you need strength; and it is already within you.
You have a mind and you have a heart; you’re balanced. If you learn how to use both of them equally, not only will you be in peace, but you will prosper. Most people only know how to use one. The heart, they don’t understand.
I say “the heart,” and people go, “What are you talking about? What is this thing called the heart?” But let me tell you what it is. The heart is the place where the courage resides, the courage to move on, to go forward, to fulfill who you really are.
The heart is the place where your truest wisdom resides. The heart is the place where you will find your passion. The heart is the place where you will find your compassion. The heart is the place where you will find the quest, the thirst for being fulfilled.
All that is good in you—not from the perspective of the world, but that is good in you from the perspective of a human being—is the place where all these beautiful things reside. And that is the place referred to conveniently as being the most important, and thus called “the heart.”
That’s what a heart is. The courage. The courage to seek clarity in the midst of confusion. When everything is going wrong, the courage to say, “No! I want clarity; I want to be fulfilled.”
Have you experienced this courage? Have you felt this courage? Have you understood this courage? It’s your power to thrive in this world—to thrive, to shine, to be.
You don’t need fear; you need strength. And the strength that I am talking about is inside of you. Knowledge of the self, of you! So you can understand, so you can see, so you can feel, so you know.
To welcome every single day like you will not get another one—and that’s when every day starts to become a gift.
– Prem Rawat
00:07:14
The Magic Formula
Duration : 00:07:14
If you start practicing kindness, you will get good at it.
When you get angry.... Mmm, do you ever get angry? Only three or four people in Benin get angry? Wow! I’m moving here. I mean, come on! How many of you get angry? I’m raising my hand.
And when you get angry, where does it come from? Where does it come from? In you? Wow. So, that means.... Oh, do you get angry after you leave home, ever? Mmm? After you leave home, you can get angry? Yes or no? Yes? So that means you don’t leave an-ger at home.
That means, wherever you go, the anger goes with you. Wow! So next time you go in the bathroom and close the door and think it’s private, just remember, anger just came with you. Frustration came with you. Confusion came with you. Joy came with you. Clarity came with you. Understanding came with you. Kindness also came with you.
All these go wherever you go. Do you know that? Wherever you go! This is all... This is you. See, it’s not just you. You look at yourself in the mirror and you go, “That’s me.” No, no, no, no, there’s a lot more going on. There are other ones. There’s another one of you. It’s an anger. You don’t see it in the mirror, but it’s there.
And there is one that has joy, clarity, understanding, and beauty, and kindness, and all these things. And the opposites of all of them go wherever you go. Now, the question is, what do you practice the most? Do you know what that means?
What do you practice? Every day, what do you practice? How long does it take you to get angry? Oh, so you must...you’re good at it.
You’re good at getting angry. So, if you’re good at getting angry, what does that mean? You practice anger? Oh, how long does it take for you to get afraid? How long does it take for you to get afraid? Not very long. Oh, so you practice fear?
That’s why you’re good at it. How long does it take you to lie? Did I ask a personal ques-tion? How does it take you to lie? Not very much, does it? It can just flow right away.
At home, you don’t even say “bonjour” to anybody—your wife, your friends, your chil-dren. You go outside? And it’s “Bonjour.” That’s what you practice, telling lies? You have become good at it.
So I say to you, if you start practicing courage, you will get good at it. If you start practicing kindness, you will get good at it. If you start practicing understanding, you will get good at it. If you start practicing clarity, you will get good at it. And if this is what you want in your life, that’s all you have to do. Practice what you want.
If you practice knowing yourself, you will become good at it. If you practice peace in your life, you will become good at it. That’s the magic formula. That’s how you do it.
– Prem Rawat
00:04:36
A Mind and a Heart
Duration : 00:04:36
You have a mind ... and you have a heart. You’re balanced!
You have a mind ... and you have a heart. You’re balanced! You’re balanced. If you learn how to use both of them equally ... not only will you be in peace, but you will prosper ... in this world.
Most people only know how to use one. The heart, they don’t understand. I say “the heart” ... and people go, “What is a heart? What are you talking about?” I’ll tell you what a heart is.
Heart ... is the place ... where the human courage resides. Heart is the home of your clarity. Heart ... is the place where the Divine in you belongs and exists. Heart is the place from where you seek the truest gratitude of your existence. Heart is the place where the love, because of reasons—no reason, that love resides.
Heart is the place ... where, in you, the thirst to be fulfilled ... is. That place ... that contains all this that is good ... is called “the heart.” That’s what a heart is. The courage ... the courage ... to seek clarity in the midst of confusion. When every thing is going wrong ... the courage ... to say, “No. No. I want ... clarity. I want ... to be fulfilled.”
Have you ... experienced this courage? Have you felt this courage? Have you understood this courage? Because ... this is your power! It’s your power! It’s your power ... to thrive in this world ... to thrive! To shine! To be! Not the stupid little road maps ... that you have created.
“Oh, yes, please-please-please-please, give me a promotion.” You want a promotion? Work hard for a promotion.
You have something to say to the Divine? Then make it real. And what is it? Only one thing: “Thank you.”
00:04:05
Defeat the Dragons
Duration : 00:04:05
There is a dragon. What form does the dragon come in? Oh, any form you like
There is a dragon. What form does the dragon come in? Oh, any form you like. Any form you like. The doctor tells you, “You’ve got two weeks to live; you have incurable cancer.” “Grrrr!” Here it is! Comes out of its den breathing fire, breathing confusion, looking at you, showing the teeth. "I get to eat today.”
Somebody you love—really been close to all your life, and they pass away. Powh! Here it comes. Boss says you’re fired. Kkkch! Here it comes. The dragon approaches, breathing fire. This is the weapon of the dragon—confusion.
So, there you are. And you are going to be the most afraid when that dragon is in front of you. It’s powerful. It’s breathing fire! Confusion is just pouring out. Its teeth! Enough to put fear in anybody. Its size. And all this is making you feel totally inadequate.
And in that moment you want to win, but you know you can’t! And it is precisely in this moment when you need to draw your sword and engage the dragon. Sounds like fun, huh?
And if that dragon smells fear in you, it will breathe even harder and show his teeth even more. And its claws.
So, do you practice with your sword? Is your sword familiar to you? Are you at ease with your sword? Do you have enough confidence in yourself to be able to take on this dragon? Because that’s what you’re going to need. That’s what you’re going to need.
Because that dragon is so huge, there is not enough muscle-power in you to ever be able to defeat it. So, the only way to win is to show the dragon your strength so it just backs down. Because if you think your sword is bigger than its one nail in the claw, that’s only because the dragon is not close enough yet.
But if you can show that strength, show that you are completely willing to fail, without ever accepting failure, this, to that dragon, is the most intimidating thing. Any dragon. When it has understood you’re not going to back down….
There is a dragon, but you don’t have to be afraid of it. Because if you call upon your wisdom, upon your experience of you, that’s one thing that that dragon cannot fight—it knows that. It will get defeated. It will get defeated. It knows—it has never been able to fight that. Ever!
– Prem Rawat
00:04:37
Contentment
Duration : 00:04:37
Peace is something that really cannot be talked about. It needs to be felt.
You know, the understanding of, well, who the self is—a lot of people think that this is a very Eastern idea—understanding the self. It’s not. It’s a human idea—understanding the self.
“Who are you? What are you?” Everybody on the face of this earth, soon or later, will ask the question, “Who am I?” Above and beyond everything that we get involved in—“Who am I? What is it to be a human being?”
You come in this world—and I was thinking today, “For me, everywhere I go, it’s like passing through.” So I go home, and I’m just passing through. I’m not there too long; I’m passing through. And I go to one country, and I’m passing through—and go to another country, and just passing through.
And before you know, life is the same way—just passing through. And this is what we do. And in one way all the complexities of being on earth—our relationships, our ideas, our wishes, our dreams—trying to realize those dreams…
Trying to wonder why things happen to us the way they do; why things are good; why things are bad; why things are right; why things are wrong … all these complexities—and we want to understand them!
But we never focus on understanding, “Who am I?” And unless you know who you are, what is your reference? Unless you know what a human being is, how would you know what a human being is supposed to be?
But, what is a human being? Of course, these are physical traits—but what is a human being? And what is the importance then, of understanding what a human being is?
Because, in our aspirations, what do we want? There is a state of being, and in this state of being a person becomes desireless—desireless. You can call that state “contentment”; you can call that state “happiness”; you can call that state “bliss”; you can call that state “peace”—and I don’t really care, because these are just words.
What I do care about is that state. I don’t care about the words. Ah, but the world’s caught up in the words: “Talk to me about peace. You’re Ambassador of Peace.” What? Peace is inside every human being. And peace is something that really cannot be talked about. It needs to be felt.
So, the question then becomes, “In this process of feeling the self, understanding the self, do you feel that state? Are you in that state, in that state of equilibrium?”
Now, you may say, “What are you talking about?” Well, this is how your body works—your physical body works like this: if there is something wrong, it’ll tell you. But if there’s nothing wrong, it shuts up!
Feeling of well-being is… some people call it “peace.” Because there, no more, no less, nothing being weighed; nothing being measured. “Go on. Be. Exist.” And filled with the feeling of well-being, glad to be alive, content—content—this is the nature of the self. This is the nature.
– Prem Rawat
