Prem Rawat:
All stories begin with “Once upon a time.” The story that I really want to tell you also begins like this, but there is a small difference—and the difference is, “Once upon this time, there lives you.”
Prem Rawat:
Hello everyone. I just want to take a few minutes and say a few things to you, few things that could encourage you, help you towards that beauty that lies inside of you—encourage you to look towards that, to move towards that, to understand that, to accept that.
You know, in our lives we will accept many things. And we will be told to accept them; we will be told, “Oh, yeah, this is how it is”—and we will go, “Right, this is how it is,” and we just merely accept it.
And I’m not asking you to merely accept it because I say so or somebody says so or it’s written in a book. That’s the difference. Because I want you to accept only that that you feel, that you understand, that you can see the benefit. I’m not telling you to pursue happiness blindly. And I want you to experience that happiness that lies inside of you!
I mean, they have created a standard of happiness, of what happiness is, and it’s like, “Oh, you have to have your bank account and you have to have your this, and how, if you have….”
And excuse me; excuse me. If you look at all the standards of “happiness” as defined by the world—not as defined by me—and you’ve got all of that. And you’ve got this; you’ve got this; you’ve got this; you’ve got this; you’ve got everything!
And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, you start sneezing—and you sneeze and you sneeze and you sneeze and you sneeze. And you develop a little bit of a cough—and now, you’ve got your bank account.
You’ve—you’ve got this and you’ve got that and you’ve got security and you own your house and you own your car and you, you own this and you own that and you own your donkey and you own your dog and you own your cat! But you’re sneezing. And it’s not bad—it’s not that bad.
And then, let’s take it one step more. And then all of a sudden, you stop sneezing; everything is fine—you stop coughing. But this thing, this little thing comes into your brain, your thoughts, that you just might have coronavirus.
Now, in reality, you don’t—you were only sneezing because there was something in the air; you were coughing because something was in the air…. And that’s all gone and you’re fine and you don’t have coronavirus but you haven’t gotten tested—and this thing has come in your head.
So, in reality, everything is fine—and you should be happy! (Because you’ve got your bank account and you’ve got your dog and you’ve got your donkey and you’ve got everything!) But a thought has come, a doubt has come—and you’re doubtful. A doubt has come—that you might, just might have that coronavirus.
Now, where is your happiness now? It’s gone. It’s gone! What kind of happiness—what kind of happiness relies on a totally fake situation? In reality, everything is fine; you’re fine; you’re fine; you’re fine; you’re fine. But a doubt sneaks in—and destroys that happiness; is that happiness? Is that happiness?
Because if that’s happiness, then I would say, happiness is overrated. (Hmm-hmm, hah-hah.) True happiness is yours. And true happiness, nobody can take it away from you—no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the doubt. Regardless of what happens in your life, that happiness is still lying inside of you—that’s the true happiness.
That’s the true joy—that’s the nature of the true joy. How is that possible? Example: light, darkness. Pile on the darkness. Pile it on; pile it on; pile it on; bring on more darkness and more darkness and more darkness and do you think the light will get any less? No. Because it’s the nature of the light. It is the nature of the light.
Bring on more light, more light, more light, will the darkness start to disappear? Absolutely. That’s the nature of light. That’s the nature of joy. That is the nature of this beauty that is life.
These are the gifts that we have been given—simply, the most astounding gifts that we have been given, the most incredible gifts that we have been given are such gifts of joy, of clarity—of peace! Of serenity! That even in the midst of the greatest turmoil, they do not abandon us. And that infinite, that power, even in our darkest moment, it does not abandon us.
Because what would the human state be, if in that time of the greatest need, we get abandoned? We are left to our own vices? Left to our own condition? Our nature to forget, our nature not to remember, our nature to get confused? This is all we would end up with.
There would be no light. There would only be darkness. And that would be hideous. That this—then this life would not be a gift.
But it is a gift. And what makes it a gift? And a beautiful gift, an incredible gift. This joy is a gift, most incredible gift. That when we would need it the most, it would be there. That clarity, when we need it the most, that that clarity would be there.
That when we need it the most, that joy would be there. That when we need it the most, the understanding would be there. When we need it the most, that serenity would be there.
Otherwise, the mountain of doubt would undoubtedly overtake this existence. And when this life is filled with doubt—un-clarity, darkness, misunderstanding, anger, fear—believe me, for somebody to come along and say “This life is a gift” sounds a bit audacious. (“What do you mean, ‘This life is a gift,’ doesn’t feel like a gift.”)
When I go and visit some prisons—and I say to the inmates that this life is a gift, every time this happens, believe me, there’s a stark change, a stark difference that you can see in the audience.
There are those people who have been coming to the Peace Education Program, have been with the Peace Education Program and have heard, have experienced, have felt. And they, when they hear that, just that statement—when they hear that, a smile breaks out on their lips. Their eyes shine a bit.
And those who have just come to see “what this is all about,” for them it’s like, “What are you talking about?” In fact, one of—one of the persons in the prison said to me; he said, “How do you know?” (Huh-hah, huh-hah. How do I know? I know.)
Pain is pain. You can have more of it—you will feel more of it—or you can have less of it but it’s still pain. And in the stark reality of things, yeah, there are moments when those two wolves, (the good wolf and the bad wolf that is inside of you) fight—and this fierce fight. And there are times—my God, there are times when it feels like the bad wolf is going to win.
And that is, believe me, the scariest thing—to know that that bad wolf might win. In the midst of that, there is the goodness. There is, in that darkest, darkest, darkest of nights—and it’s always called “a glimmer of hope”—and that glimmer of hope can outshine all that darkness. That’s the power. Indeed, that is the power.
And time and time and time and time and time again, that’s the tussle. And every time—every time, the light wins. No matter how dark that night might be—and in the morning, the horizon turns pink and the heralding of the sunrise is imminent. And then it breaks; everywhere is filled with light. And when that light comes, there’s no question; the darkness is gone.
In my life, in your life, it’s not any different. We too desire that joy, that happiness, that kindness from our heart, because that’s our thirst. It is in the light that we function well. It is in the light we can see our obstacles well. It is because of the light we can circumnavigate those obstacles—and proceed towards that destination that is the same for every one of us, to be content.
Look at the lot. It doesn’t matter who we are, what we believe in. It’s all going to be the same. Eventually, it’s going to be the same. And one day, everybody, everybody has to go. And it’s not about going. But it’s every day that you have, that this breath comes into you, what do you do with it, what do you make of it? How you allow the good wolf to win.
And that is how, my friends, you celebrate life. No other way to celebrate life. No other way to celebrate existence, not a candle, not a cake, not a this, not a that, not a balloon, not a party hat, not party favors.
But when you feel that tranquility, when you feel that joy, when you feel that clarity, when you feel that understanding—when you feel that peace dance inside your heart, be busy celebrating life.
Thank you very much—and I’ll see you soon. Stay safe; stay well. Take care.
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