You were born; you are alive. And one day, whether you like it or not, you have to go. Right? Where do you go? Where do you go?

I ask this question: “When a child is born—and say, the child weighs ten pounds, five kilos, whatever—does the earth get five kilos heavier? And when you die, does the earth get that much lighter?”

So, where do you go? Where do you go? You go nowhere. Where did you come from? From nowhere—right here! From all the materials of this earth you are made. And when you die, these materials go back to where they came from. Earth doesn’t get any heavier because you were born and doesn’t get any lighter because you died.

Do you understand what that means? Think about it! Think about it. This is it! This is it! You are here. You exist. You’re alive and that means so little to you, so little. Till the day comes…or, the doctor says, “You are going to die.” The doctor says you’re going to die. And you go, “Aaaaaaaah!”

It’s funny. A lot of people come to me, very concerned, “Oh, the doctor said I’m going to die.” I say to them, “You didn’t know that? You didn’t know you’re going to die one day?” You are living in this world like you’re going to live forever? Excuse me. What the doctor said was just stating the obvious. “You’re going to die.” Well, don’t you know that?

And once they understand that, then I said, “Let’s help you. Let’s find out what the problem is, and let’s help you.” And I have a very good team of doctors from around the world, and it works. A lot of people have been helped.

But, the first thing is, “What do you know about yourself?” You were born. You came in this world, not because you pushed a button; you did not choose your parents. You came….

Now, let’s see—so, you’re alive for eighty years; you’re alive for ninety years—even if you’re alive for a hundred years—that’s a long time, a hundred years. The last thing that’s going to happen, do you know what that is? The last thing. Do you know what it is?

We talked about the first thing—that was the breath, right? You know what the last thing is going to be? What the doctor looks for? The doctor will look for a pulse, but the last thing the doctor is going to look for is if you are breathing or not. Right?

In the old days they used to put a mirror under the nose to see if you were breathing, because if you were breathing, then they could see the steam; they could see the fog. So they knew, “Okay, he’s still alive”—he, he is what? “He’s still alive.”

He is what? “He’s still alive.” He’s quiet. He is not solving any problems. He is not ordering his wife around, but so far he’s breathing, he is what? He’s still alive. And, so far he’s still alive, he gets to stay where he is. Because after that? No more breath? “Sorry.” First thing: the sheet over the head. Finis.

Hmm! Well, this is very interesting. It all begins with that breath, and it ends with the breath, right? Do you agree? So, this drama that you are going through in your life is in the middle of that first breath and the last breath. This is the drama.

You know the drama—right? But you don’t know the breath. Do you understand this breath? Do you understand the meaning of this breath? Do you understand that this is life? Not life style—life. Big difference: lifestyle and life. I’m talking about life, not life style. Lifestyle is rich or poor. Life is life. A poor man is also alive; a rich man is also alive.

How long is a poor man poor? So long as this breath is still coming into him. How long is a rich man rich? So far this breath is coming into him. You have children? How long do you have children? So far this breath is coming into you, they will call you, “Dad, father.” When this breath goes away, they have no problem taking you and burying you six feet deep.

The difference between six feet under and sleeping on your bed is? This breath. Without this breath, you neither have a personality or a life!

So, this breath is your candle. In this darkness, this is your candle! Only if you can understand it, understand the self—that at the base, at the core, you exist!

– Prem Rawat