Prem Rawat:

Each one of you has a tape playing in your head. (In my book, I call it “noise.”) You allowed that tape recorder to record. I’m not saying it’s your fault. Because that’s also your nature. You were given an empty tape recorder: “Record.” And you recorded some good things…. (Few and far in between.) Mostly, what you did manage to record was one hundred percent pure noise.

And what do we do? We listen to that noise again and again and again and again and again, trying to make meaning of it. Because it’s in our tape recorder.

And you can’t make meaning of it. It has no meaning. But people listen to that noise; again, “You should be doing this; you should be doing that; you should be more mindful of this; you should be careful of this. You know, you have to pay respect to that person. Oh, but, yeah, well, what do these people think about you?” That’s the big one: “what other people think about you.”

So many of us want to be like other people. If your—if your effort is to be like other people, when in the world will you know yourself? How could you know yourself? When would you have the time to know yourself?

So, what are we trying to solve? When the reality is very, very simple; you are a human being, and your needs are very, very simple. You need to feel peace in your life. Peace is not absence of war. Peace—if you want to say is absence of war—if you want to say is absence of war, then it is the war that rages within you. Not the outside one.

This euphoric scenery that we have created for ourselves, that’s not the reality. The euphoric scenery is, “Everybody will not fight; everybody will get along with each other…. You will give your food to the other person,” (even if they don’t want it).

This euphoric scenery that we have created is not the right one. What we need to do is turn within! Like a mirror. And see and feel, look of who you truly are. Understand your simple needs.

You understand your wants, and at this point in time, it has become so bad, you don’t even know the difference between wants and needs. You can live without wants; you cannot live without needs. That’s the difference.

What have you allowed to come in into you is jealousy, fear, anger…. Not kindness. Not love. Not understanding. And you are expecting what? What results are you expecting? If you’re going to keep inviting thieves in your house, be prepared to have a few things missing.

Anger, fear, jealousy, all of these are thieves; they rob you! And so, a few things are going to be missing! That’s, that that’s what thieves do! They steal!

Understanding, joy, peace, these are givers. They leave you presents; they give you things. What do you want? Do you feel poor? Do you feel rich? What do you want to feel?

When everything is not right, you get upset! When everything is right, you get joy; you get happiness; you get peace; you get kindness; you get understanding. All of these things.