Your Real Strength
Prem meets with prisoners at Malmesbury Prison
Malmesbury, South Africa
Prem Rawat:
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, it’s an honor to have this opportunity to address you. And I will make it very simple—because I know this is one place you don’t want to be at. You want out.
But you’re here. And well, how can I help you in your life so that you can understand who you are? We have schools, universities, training how to learn languages, how to learn how to speak, how to learn how to write, how to do math. But there is no education in this world in how to be you. Nobody teaches you that.
You find yourself—circumstances are against you—you find things that are not going the right way. You end up being locked up—and what do you do? You blame everybody else: “He did that; he did that; he did that; he did that….” But first of all, you are responsible for what you do.
You have in you, good—and you have in you, bad. You must understand that. How much good; how much bad? Exactly fifty percent. Not fifty-one/forty-nine—exactly half-good, half-bad. It’s up to you who you make friends with—the good or the bad. Who should you do this for? [Individual: Ourself.] Who should you do this for? For your family? [Individual: No.] Who should you do this for?
Okay, listen—you’ve got to answer this question. I’m not going forward…. [Individual: For yourself; you do it for yourself.] Okay, so one person said, “For themselves.” What about the rest of you?
Are you going to do it for yourself, or you’re going to—who are you going to do it for? [Audience: For yourself!] How can you be so confused about this? [Individuals: For yourself. For yourself!]
Has to be for you! Has to be for you—because you matter! You know why you matter? Do you have any idea why you matter? Because of other people?
Is it that all your life you have spent for other people? Compared yourself to other people, tried to win the respect of other people? And you did whatever you did for other people? Well, where are those other people? Are they with you? [Individuals: No.]
This is who you did it for—and they’re not even here! Mistake number one—when you don’t live your life for yourself, but live it for somebody else.
Who does this breath come into? You? It comes into you! Can you give a minute of your life to somebody else? [Audience: No!] If, if people could sell five minutes of their life, you think there would be anybody poor in this world? [Audience: No!] All the rich people would buy that and give them a lot of money.
But you can’t, not—you cannot even give one minute of your life. So, who are you living this life for? Life is living itself for you—and you are living it for somebody else.
When there is a hole in the pot—when there is a hole in the pot, there isn’t enough water in the ocean to fill that pot. Do you understand? [Audience: Yes.] You can put the whole ocean into it, all the seven seas—and they won’t fit in that pot because of a little hole. (This is not the size….)
What you have, you have been given. It began the day you took your first breath. What were you given that day? When you were born—and you took your first breath, what were you given; what do you think you were given—you were given an opportunity to be. To exist.
What does existence mean? What does existence mean? What good is a pot if it has a hole in it? You cannot say, “Oh, it’s not very big.” It doesn’t matter. It can be the size of a pencil and the ocean won’t fit in it. It can no longer hold anything.
You have an opportunity: you have the possibility of truly being alive—what does “alive” mean? What does “alive” mean? You have the possibility—but first, you—you, as a human being, have to be filled. And only when you are filled will you be able to help other people.
You want to be a good father? First, you have to be a good human being. You want to be a good brother? First, you have to be a good human being. And what does “good human being” mean? What does “good human being” mean? The good human being is the human being that understands what his heart is.
And what is the heart? Heart is where the courage resides; heart is where the wisdom resides; heart is where the clarity resides; heart is where the Divine resides—doesn’t need an address. (Some people don’t need an address.) Heart does not need an address. Heart just is a place that is inside of you.
And do you feel that? Do you feel that, the kindness in you? Every human being has the same amount of kindness as they have anger—as they have cruelty.
Two things are certain—the day you were born, and one day you have to go. And you can’t change that. You can’t change that—but every day between those two, you can. That’s what it means to be alive. That’s what it means to be a human being: the one who knows and understands “that every single day it’s up to you.” It’s up to you.
You look for peace? Where is peace? Yesterday a lady asked me this question, “You know, you speak of self-Knowledge. How do I get in touch with that? What do I have to do?” And I said, “That peace, that self-Knowledge is inside of you! Stop searching; start feeling.”
Peace is inside of you! And when you start to understand that you have a heart; when you start to understand that you are a human being; when you start to understand that you have this opportunity and that you are alive, you immediately are lifted from that hot, boiling soup—to where you say, what? “Thank you. Thank you; thank you for this life.”
You stop counting all the wrongs—and start counting the rights. How many rights have happened in your life—and how many wrongs have happened in your life? Do you know? Okay, let me put this in context for you.
I know there are quite a few bad things that have happened in your life—right? But every time you took a breath—that was good; that was right. It brought you life. Right? [Individual: Yes.]
So, now that you know that every breath that you took was right—how many rights have happened in your life?—and how many wrongs have happened in your life?
There have been a lot more rights in your life, and continue to go on—but are you aware? Are you understanding; are you going with it? Are you going with the right, or are you going with the wrong? Are you letting a little wrong stop all that that is right? And if that is the case, what’s going to happen?
You have to weigh the right and the wrong, good and the bad—you have to weigh. And there is a lot that is good. Embrace that. Understand that.
To understand—that for you, right now, something is keeping you alive. You don’t need to know its name—because something that is keeping you alive, and that thing that is keeping you alive is doing you a favor. Is giving you a gift.
When you receive a gift—and it is an important gift; it is a valuable gift, what do you do? Huh? [Individuals: You must treasure it. Treasure it.] Appreciate it? [Individuals: Yes.] Be thankful for it? Are you? [Individuals: Yes.]
What is the price of life? You cannot sell it; you cannot give it away. Are you appreciating it? Are you thankful for it?
These are the opportunities. This is your strength—this is your real strength. Not some fancy ideas—I’m not here representing any religion to you. I’m not here to represent any religion—no philosophy. All this I say to you is from my personal experience.