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And so under this circumstance, in which there is so much greed, there’s so much pain—and the pain isn’t created by anyone else, but people around us and us—to understand the idea of, "one day would be enough" for anything is hard to imagine. What would be—where one day would be enough when a lifetime isn't enough?

But you haven't given your life a chance to show you the possibility it has. You have given the world a chance. You've given this world many, many chances. "You're fired." "Eww!" "You're hired," "Aaah!" "You're fired," "Euuuh." You’re hired again, "Aaaah!" You're fired again, and, "Ewww." "Sorry sir, you've missed your flight." "Euugh."

I mean, there are these shows, and airport shows, where the people, you know, showing the airline thing—it’s like, "Wow. Wow!"

But have you given your life a chance to show you what it has? What does the world of joy look like? What does the world of understanding look like? What does the world of answers look like? What does the world of clarity look like?

Where you can rest and fade away your tiredness—to become excited about, indeed, every breath that comes into you: "Wow, what a gift!" To embrace reality that is not born of ideas or discussions—but a reality that you feel, that is tactile!

Not just empty promises. Don't you see the difference between empty promises? And what your life wants to show you is not empty promises.

- Prem Rawat

People say, “People are not born with a manual.” I disagree. The manual is so good; it’s innately built inside of every human being. You don’t need to read anything. It’s innately there. And what does this manual say to you? “Listen! Be the bird, not the wind.” Because the day you try to be the wind, you will realize that you will never be successful.

But what you can do is be the bird, extend your wings, and fly. That’s your relationship. Be the bird, not the wind. Be the bee, not the flower. Don’t try to be a flower, because that’s not your nature—you are the bee. Go from flower, to flower; and you have the expertise of extracting the nectar!

Do it! The good! The beautiful. The adoration for peace is your nectar from the flower of every day—you be the bee. You be the bee, and every day that that flower comes to you, extract the most amazing nectar from it.

Be the candle, not the light. Be the candle, not the light. Too many people try to become the light. Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh, be the candle. When it is lit, light will be there. That’s who you are. You are the source! What is not in you? Do you know what is not in you?

Do you know that love is in you? Do you know that? Love is in you? The other person is just a catalyst. Love is in you. Hate is in you! Questions are in you; answers are in you. Understanding is in you; misunderstanding is in you. There’s more in you than you realized. Lies are in you; truth is in you. Confusion is in you; clarity is in you. What don’t you have? What don’t you have? And yet, what do you practice?

Driving here today, I was looking at the rivers and the waterfalls and the mountains. And I looked at the rocks, and I said, “The rocks have the rigidity and the firmness. The water is supple and liquid. The rocks, rigid and strong—solid! But, at the end of the day, guess who wins? Not the rock. The water. Water carves the rock.

Do you know the art of water? Water has patience! Water has patience. Do you have patience? Have you understood your own patience? Have you acquired the skill for patience—to understand, every single day, every single day, the possibility that is presented to you? Simple! But profound.

- Prem Rawat

My strategy is very simple. And my strategy isn’t to have world peace. I said it. “Aagh,” pin-drop silence. Because that’s not possible.

But this is what’s possible—you, be, first in peace with yourself. It’s just you. Nobody else is involved. You be in peace with yourself. And how can you be in peace with yourself? One—and that’s why we are here tonight: “Journey to the self”—you must know yourself.

And once you know yourself, you then must gain victory over the self. Not victory over your neighbor, not victory over that person, and that person, and that person, and that person, but victory over the self.

And when you are victorious over yourself, then you can be in peace with yourself. And when you are in peace with yourself, then you make peace with the world.

And when enough, enough people make peace with the world—because they have made peace with themselves—then, vaguely, the idea of world peace starts to come into view.

When every war happens and the innocent die.... Same way, when you are at war with yourself, the innocent moments of your life are being slaughtered. Because they’re innocent! They can be anything.

Never have I seen more innocence, in a moment of existence.... It’s, totally, as it comes to you, it’s innocent—just brings you possibility, anything you want—like a baby, like a baby.

You can mold it; you can fold it; you can destroy it; you can create a monster out of it if you wish. Or you can have it as the most tender-est, gentle time—the time with you, listening to that feeling which fills this heart and causes the gratitude to emerge.

- Prem Rawat

How magnificent this earth and how magnificent the being that carries in them the possibility of being clear—clarity. Clarity. Love! And the most amazing thing, love! Caring! Appreciation! A heart that can fill with joy. A heart that can understand. A heart that then offers the greatest gift of gratitude.

That with all of this amazing stuff, should it really be the grind of day after day after day after day after day? Or, are we missing something? Simple question. Simple question: “If this is the possibility, then what are we achieving in our lives?” Not.... Listen. Just forget about the world for a minute. Just you. Just you.

You’re alive; this is your time; you exist. You can feel; you can see. What do you think—you think, is the possibility for you? The grind? All that we deal with? Or is there something more?

Is there such a thing as a “content human being?” Is there such a thing as a human being full of gratitude? Is there such a thing as a human full of clarity? Is there such a thing as a human being full of joy? Is there such a thing as a human being full of understanding? Is there such a thing as a human being full of light? Is there such a thing as a human being full of answers?

Is there such a thing? Because if there was, then to experience this, one day would be enough. To experience that, one day would be enough.

- Prem Rawat

Falling in love is not a formality. Falling in love happens, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Falling in love with the idea of happiness. Falling in love with the idea of peace. Falling in love with the possibility to be content. Falling in love with the possibility to be clear. Falling in love with the possibility to be free. Falling in love with the possibility to know.

Love!

If you don’t have the love and you have all the rituals, all the rituals of this world cannot make you fall in love.

You can have your wife tattooed with “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”…You can have your towels embroidered, “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”. You can buy the wallpaper, “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”. You can go and… and you know breakfast cereal which has got all the alphabet, you pick the “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you”. But all that “I love you” will not make you fall in love with that person. No way. Not possible. Because falling in love happens with the heart.

The simplicity. The innocence of falling in love. Innocence. You cannot go out and say, “Today I’m going to fall in love.” Love sees no time. Love is not lust. Don’t ever mistake love for lust. Love is love; lust is lust. And many, many of you might see a picture, might see a postcard, might have a thought… that might be lust, but love is different. And love is innocent. And it is from an innocent place that it comes. And if you do not have that innocence, you will not have the love.

So if you want to be in love, work on the innocence - Not embroidering the towels, because it was that innocence that brought you to that love. And the day you begin to believe in your heart again, the complicated world will magically disappear.

The complication of this world that hounds you can only exist because of one reason: ignorance. Believe in this heart and the message of this heart to you, to be fulfilled. Isn’t that what caused your search to begin with?

Each one of our stories that is so different and yet so alike. Your name is different, your face is different, where you were born is different, how you were raised is different. How you view this world is different. But falling in love and its innocence is the same for every one of us.

- Prem Rawat

Don’t sit on your living room sofa while somebody’s knocking at the door going, “I wonder who that is. It could be Uncle Tom. It could be my friend Jerry. It could be my friend from India—no, and no, he wouldn’t do.... Hmmh, I wonder who it is? Let me call Prem Rawat! ‘Who is at my door?'"

So, go find out! This is what I’ve said. All along, people have said, “Oh, wha’, wha’, wha’...?” Go find out. Know for yourself. Know it for yourself. And that’s being victorious over the self. You make the rules. You make the rules.

Not just somebody’s.... And, do you know how many people there are in this world who have swallowed the idea of heaven, the heaven that you go to after you die, if you’ve done everything right? Swallowed it, “gulp!” How you could swallow such a big horse pill, I don’t know. But you swallowed it—without water.

Oh.... Heaven? There is a heaven—of course there is a heaven. It’s here. And you need to know it! And so, what is hell? Well, if you don’t know it—and you’re not in heaven—guess where you are! And do you get toasted? Yes, you get toasted. Raked over the fire, absolutely—again and again.

And there you are. One day you find yourself totally devastated and destroyed. And somehow you’re put back together again, to have the same experience two days later? Same exact thing: fried, toasted, not any flour, not any oil, just dry-toasted over the great barbecue that you light yourself, that you create yourself. And that’s what happens.

So, the victory over the self: most important, most important. And it’s not so complicated; it’s not sophisticated; it’s not like, “He’eeah-heeeaah, victory over myself."

No—because it’s very simple. First, you begin by knowing yourself. Now that you know yourself, easy to gain victory over yourself. This is not about swords and dragons. This is about, "very simple, very practical."

- Prem Rawat