Prem Rawat:
Hello, everyone. I hope you’re all well. I hope you’re, under the circumstances, enjoying yourself. Because the true enjoyment has not been locked out; that true enjoyment is always with you. The peace that you are looking for is always with you. And it’s a question of truly understanding what is going on, what is happening.
So, you can look at it, “Well, gee, I’m locked down; I’m in lockdown; I have got this situation; you know, I’ve got this problem; we’ve got the coronavirus thing happening,” and I mean, everything that, you know, comes with it.
And I can understand people getting angry and getting upset. Blaming—blame game: “That guy did that; that guy did that; that guy did that; that guy did that.” And of course, easy to blame. And especially the world leaders, that the way they’ve been, so many of them—not all of all them, but most of them, the way they’ve been acting is of complete idiots, you know?
And so, what can you do? Whether they have to bear the brunt of it or not, but common people have to. And, you know, give a thought for the poor people; I mean, what have they got? Nothing. Nothing. The way this world is, poor people have got the worst deal you can possibly imagine.
And yet, this is who we are. Everything that we have got in this shopping center, we don’t get to take with us. We came empty-handed—and empty-handed we have to go. None of these assets, none of these things, we will ever take. We don’t think ourselves as poor—but just like a poor man, that’s how we’re going to go, not going to take anything with you.
And so, looking at this, understanding all this, what can you do; what is possible? So, what is possible, that’s always been possible—it doesn’t require money; it doesn’t require assets; it doesn’t require anything—but it just requires you. That you have these wonderful, wonderful, wonderful assets that are truly yours. Nobody can steal them or a thief cannot come into a room and steal.
There’s a story—it’s a Zen story and I really like it. Because one time this Master came to his little hut and he realized that a thief had been there and taken all his valuable things. Of course, he didn’t say anything and he sat down by the chair by the window. He opened the window—and it was the most magnificent view. The moon was rising, the stars…. It was just gorgeous.
And he said, “Hah-hah! The thief forgot to take the most valuable possession I have.”
And I really like that story. Because that, that the heart can appreciate, that you as a human being can truly appreciate, that’s what’s important; that’s what’s real. Everything else is in a constant flux of change. It’s going to change because that’s its nature.
What is our nature, in a way? And it’s really not our nature; it’s our misunderstanding—and our misunderstanding is, we don’t want things to change. We want things to stay exactly as they are. I mean, just look at the industry—and this huge industry of, yeah, “anti-aging industry.” They want to make you look exactly how you are not—young.
Young? When you’re young, who cares? You know, you’ve got a face full of zits and it’s like, “Okay, that’s how it is.” Then you get old and you see one wrinkle—and it’s like, “Oh my God, oh! No, and my wrinkles are coming; I’ve got to….” And then you’ve got an “anti-wrinkle cream.”
You know, in India, they have this cream; it’s called “Fair and Lovely.” So, I was doing an interview with a television station. They asked me; they said, “Oh, you walk in and you’re so radiant. How, how come you’re so radiant?” I said, (hah!), “Because I use that cream, ‘Fair and Lovely.’” I didn’t—but it was just a joke to break the ice.
And that’s what it’s all about—you know, we want to be who we are not! What is this fascination that we have of being something that we are not? Nobody tries to just be human. Can I be just human? Can I be a human being—who has the asset of patience? That’s our asset—but see, well, you have to come into that circle of being a human being to understand this asset of being patient.
Because what else are you going to do? You’ve got to be patient. It’s like, “Oh my God! You know, oh, and my God, I’m locked down; I can’t do this; I can’t do that; I can’t—this is wrong; this is wrong; this is wrong; this is wrong.” And the list just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
But once you come into that circle of truly being a human being—and appreciating your valuable assets that you have—the patience, the understanding, the clarity, the power that you have, the light that you have inside of you. That even in this time of hopelessness, where the hopelessness starts to come in, to be hopeful.
Why? Because there is a clear, clear evidence every day that you wake up, every time, that, what is essential. You don’t have to sit there and go, “Breathe in; breathe out; breathe in; breathe out.” Some things happen automatically; there is a kindness; there is an incredible gentleness; there is an incredible kindness that goes on. You have to appreciate that.
And that kindness gives you hope, hope to go forward. Hope that, “Yes, whatever the situation may be, whatever the situation may be, I will be okay. I will be okay.” You cannot let this, whatever is going on….
I mean, the worst part of it—I mean, let me tell you, the worst part of coronavirus is actually not the coronavirus; it’s the misinformation that people have. And the misinformation that, (uh!), some of the leaders who’ve got….
I don’t know what’s going on with the leaderships, but, you know, just it’s like, “Ah! We’re going to do this. And no, we’re not going to do anything. We’re not going to do anything. And we’re”—I mean, it’s like, “Come on.”
You know, and you look at the United States. And they, they knew it was coming. They could see what was happening in China. And people just, you know, going all over the place, traveling, traveling, traveling, traveling. And those things we thought that were so wonderful, all of a sudden, we’re like, “Oh my God, this is dangerous!” And yeah.
But we are human; what is our forte? We thought our forte is to, you know, invent and to make these machines and “Look what we have accomplished and….” And will we get over this coronavirus thing—of course, we’ll get over this coronavirus thing.
But how do we cope with it? What have we learned? It has become, not an epidemic, but a pandemic. What have we learned over the years, over the years and over the years and over the years? Have we learned that one death due to this is too much? If it could be avoided, it needs to be avoided. Where is, where was the preparedness? Nowhere.
But even in this circumstance—even in this circumstance, I want you to look at your self—and in looking at yourself, find the answers. Not the questions—find the answers that are in your heart, that are in your being—that is not a pile of misinformation.
You know, whatever social media is good for, one thing that it is definitely good for is spreading the wrong kind of news. And it—you know, I was reading about it and it’s like, it’s causing people anxiety. Well, what kind of “good news” is that, that causes anxiety? Freaking people out.
You know, depression comes in; all of these elements start to come in. See, and the only way you can stop it—the only way you can stop it is to turn within. All this garbage, the only way you can stop it is to turn within.
And somebody’s like, “Oh, we have got to do this; we’ve got to do this; we’ve got to do tha….” Hang on. What do you have to really do? What is the most important thing? Get your priorities straight. Get your priorities straight. Get your priorities straight.
Your priority, my friend, is to take this breath. Your priority, my friend, is to be in touch with your heart. Your priority, my friend, is to be content. Your priority, my friend, is to be in peace. Your priority, my friend, is to be in joy, regardless of the circumstances you are surrounded by.
To be in that beautiful, simple joy, to swim in that beautiful, beautiful ocean of serenity. To be content, to be calm, to be understanding—to look forward, without losing the sight of today, without losing the sight of now, without losing the sight of what is present.
That’s the problem. We are so anxious to look at the future, we lose sight of today. And when we lose sight of today, then that future is not guaranteed. We get so enamored by yesterday, we lose sight of today. When we lose sight of today, then that past is not going to help us do anything. You have to, absolutely, maintain your situational awareness as it relates to what is happening in this moment.
Where you love, express that love. Once is not enough. Once is not enough. That love needs to be expressed again and again and again and again; that’s how it is! That’s how it is.
You know, it’s like a potato chip. You eat one—and you can’t just eat one; you have to eat another one and another one and another one and another one. It’s like ice cream. You know, you put a little spoonful in your mouth and it tastes so good, and you put a little more and little more and little more and little more.
You see a little kid, you know, and they’ve got an ice cream cone and they’re licking that ice cream—and the joy, I mean, the focus! The focus—is absolutely, absolutely determined focus to enjoy that ice cream. Doesn’t matter what’s going on around the world, the focus is right there.
And I need to be like that. I need to be like that; you need to be like that, so focused on extracting all the joy that today has, that “right now” has—the beauty that is dancing in your heart, that you are!
You know, do you judge yourself by the eyes of others? Well, you should first judge yourself by your own eyes. You should see yourself with your own eyes. But it is easier to look at yourself from other people’s eyes: “I wonder what they’re going to think?” And that’s such a powerful thing. That’s such a powerful thing.
And it’s not about other people. Your life is yours. You’re the one who came in; you’re the one who made that effort, that monumental effort to make that transition from mother’s womb to this earth. You made that effort.
And then the day that you go, you are the one who’s going to transition beyond that wall. And that’s why this is called “your life—your life, your existence.” And to appreciate all this, to have that patience, it’s truly understanding who you are. And when I say, you know, “Try to extract all that enjoyment that today has for you,” it’s a gift! It’s a gift. Accept that gift; understand that gift.
Otherwise, life is—and like some people say, “Oh, this is terrible about it and that’s terrible about it.” And those who have understood that joy that is inside of them, they don’t say “it’s terrible.” They say “It’s beautiful. It’s a gift. Be thankful.” Those three things, “Know yourself. Live your life consciously. And have a heart full of gratitude.”
So, thank you very much—and I’ll see you tomorrow.
Onscreen text:
Today Prem Rawat also
spoke to Dr. John Horton
who answered some pressing
questions about COVID-19.
Watch it on
PREMRAWAT.COM
TIMELESSTODAY.TV
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