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Prem Rawat:
When we, in our existence, stop seeing the obviousness, the newness of this breath – and the gravity of its joy, the gravity of its beauty, the gravity of its simplicity – then we too get struck by pain, sorrow, suffering, confusion, doubt, fear!

And then we wonder – then we wonder, “Is this it? Is this life?” You know, and it also depends where you are in the movie. (Which part did you miss; which part is still there; which part is still going on?)

But all this! People are still fighting. They were fighting 2,000 years ago! They were fighting at the time of Krishna. They were fighting in World War I. They were fighting in World War II. You would have thought that they would have learned, “Don’t do it. Just don’t do it.”

No. Then came the “II.” And now, again, we’ve got wars going on, a little one here, a little one there, a little one there, and a little one there. It goes out of control, and then this country joins with this country; this country joins with this country; this country joins with this? We’ve got the making of all those things as though it never ever happened.

That’s not new! The wars are not new. The suffering isn’t new. The problems of the world are not new! People following their beliefs and ignoring what is obvious is not new.

Some country comes up with a new currency; that’s not new. Somebody comes up with a new law; that’s not new. What is new – is your breath that comes to you, bringing you the gift of life. This is the gift! I don’t bring you joy; I remind you that the joy is within you. I remind you that what you are looking for, that that which will set you free ...

And when you understand how new this breath is? And it came into you. And you were there to catch it. You were there to accept it. Then? You got it. You got it! And the day it came and you weren’t able to accept it, you missed it. You missed it.

I’m not here to tell you what you should do or you shouldn’t do. What I am here to tell you is whatever you do and don’t do, don’t miss it. Don’t miss it.

Many people in their lives, they see things not going their way; they start losing hope, and the next thing you know, calamity. But it takes courage to have hope; it takes courage to have clarity. And when there is that courage....

This is what’s beautiful. If you get angry, you know what you will be rewarded by? Anger. Just think about it, right? You get angry; you’ll be rewarded by anger. What is the reward of anger? Either you will get more angry.... Maybe, maybe you begin by being angry with your friend, and the next thing you know, you’re also angry with yourself—for being angry at your friend.

Anger rewards anger; anger begets anger. Fear rewards fear. You get afraid of being afraid—and that’s when it really sets in. It’s more than the boogeyman in the closet. Now, you’re afraid to be in the room; you’re afraid to be alive. “Oh my God....”

But...but what is the reward of hope? It brings you more hope. What is the reward of joy? It brings you more joy. What is the reward of happiness? It brings you more happiness. What is the reward of knowledge? It brings you more knowledge. What is the reward of being content? It brings you more contentment. What is the reward of knowing? It brings you more knowing.

This is how it is. This is how it’s always been.

– Prem Rawat

Now you tell me, how should your life be? Should we really be talking about contentment? Should we really be talking about clarity? Should we really be talking about being happy? Well, maybe not. Maybe we should be talking about more serious things.

But then, who is going to convince your heart – your heart – that you can live without clarity, that you can live without simplicity, that you can live in this paradox? Who? Who?! Who?! Who will convince?

This is that time! There’s nothing practical anymore. It’s like, “No, let’s be realistic!” “Well, realistic, what?! What realism are you talking about?” But all this “reality” that people talk about, “Oh, be realistic! We have obligations in this world” – sure, go right ahead. What obligations? What obligations?

And I was thinking about this. And I know a lot of people, and I love them. And then there will be a time when I have to go; I have to move on. And when I do, that’s it. I will never meet those people again, ever. Never, ever. (Never ever, ever? Never, ever?) Ever.

I want you to think about that. If you have family, I want you to think about that. Because this is your time to look them in the eyes. And let them know how much you love them.

It’s so final. So incredibly final. Those who you love need to know that you, you love them. To understand that! You see the importance?

No, but what do you harbor? Anger. You harbor fear. You harbor all those things that’ll do you no good. And you do not allow the love, the kindness, the caring to truly surface. That’s how it has to be.

Look, there is that which is important, and then there is all that that is not important. And what is not important, let it go; shake it off; let it roll off the shoulders. Don’t invite it to yourself. Just say, ‘Go away.’ And what’s important, bring it.

(Prem Rawat) So, because of this COVID-19, this coronavirus, so many things have happened. So many people, unfortunately, have died, gone. So, this, of course, brings about a lot of changes. But the changes that happen are here! Because you think! You think about life. You think about existence! You think, “What does it mean to be facing this challenge?”

And so many people I know, their life has come to a stop. But let’s just take a look, (not zoomed-in but zoomed-out), take a look at the big picture of what is really happening. Do you think that one single wave of the ocean stopped because of this coronavirus? No. You think one cloud slowed down because of this coronavirus? No.

The sun rose like there is no coronavirus. And the moon shone like there’s nothing wrong. Birds, they go about their business. The ants, they go about their business. The trees, they go about their business. Flowers, they go about their business.

Of course, all this time, you are completely freaked out. You’re the only one out of business. “Oh my God, what’s going to happen? Oh, aie-aie-aie-aie-aie.” But nothing! It just goes on, moves forward. Can you take a look at that? Can that be something that can inspire you?

The sun has been rising every single day since you were born. (At least for you, since you were born. Before you, too, it was rising.) But for you, it was rising every morning – whether you looked at it or you didn’t look at it. The ocean did its thing; the rivers did their thing. So many lakes are filled with water because, one drop, one drop, one drop, one drop, one drop.

All these things, they’re going on; they’re not stopping. They’re doing their thing; they’re doing their magic; they’re doing their dance. The question, of course, is, “Are you part of that dance or not?”

By design? Of course you are part of that dance – and you should dance in that dance of your life. Even if you are secluded in a room, that does not mean you don’t have a desire to be happy. Of course you do. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have a desire to be content; of course you do. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have a desire to be in clarity; of course you do.

You see it has nothing to do with coronavirus; this is what you have always wanted – before coronavirus. And you will want this after coronavirus. And of course, you want this during coronavirus.

You are ... I hope – I really hope you get to discover that you are not this world. And what the world is bent over doing? “I want to socialize. I want to be with other people.” You cannot be with yourself; what good is it going to do to you, being with other people – when you can’t even be with yourself? What do you think socializing will satisfy? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

Sometimes I hear a bird singing, chirping. This time when I went back and I was in quarantine, (for quite a few months, lockdown), around my house, all these birds would come and they would – they would sing a little song. I’m sure they were not singing for me. And I am sure that that wasn’t a song.

But they would sing. Cute little birds, colorful, just come sit down; they would sing. And I would wonder, “Wow. They’re singing away, happily doing what feels good to them: enjoying. Chirping, jumping, flying, darting along, ‘jhee-chee-chee-chee, chee-chee-chee.’”

Something in me also wants to express a gratitude, a song, a chirping, a dance, not for other people, but for me – when I can be in that clarity, when I can be in that place of contentment.

There is the one that is omnipresent. And why should you, why should you get in touch with that? Because that power, that energy is the giver, the gifter of boundless joy.

Not pain. Not suffering. Not ambiguity. Not uncertainty! Remember we were talking about uncertainty and how “pain in the butt” it can be? Yes! Everybody is looking for answers of some kind. “Why does this happen? Why does this happen? Why does this happen? Why does this happen?” No?

In South Africa, it is full of it! Everybody’s trying to figure out, “What happened to me?! And why did it happen to me?” And the stories are unbelievable. They could make anybody cry. They could make anybody cry.

And you hear these stories – I mean, look at the situation of the world today. Right? I mean, don’t you feel like looking up and saying, “God, you know, if you are going to come, this would be a really good time”? I mean, things are really screwed up. And they’re just getting screwed up faster than anybody ever thought.

And why, then, I am saying, sitting here, “We should be experiencing that infinite that resides in your heart”? Because regardless of those “problems,” the giver of joy is still willing to give you joy, still give you true happiness.

Prem Rawat: 

Is peace still possible? Yes, peace is still possible. Is joy still there, yes; your heart is still there, yes. Is the infinite still around? Of course. And so far the infinite is around, you’re set! If the infinite is gone, then you’re in trouble. But the infinite is around, and you are around? It’s all good.

When I was in lockdown, (hah, hah-hah), a long time ago, I, you know, in the 80s, I had turntables. I had records. So, I said, “You know, I had these wonderful, beautiful records. Where are they?” And couldn’t find them, couldn’t find them, couldn’t find them, couldn’t find them, and then one day, way back tucked somewhere, there they were, all my records.

And I brought them out, started cleaning them. And there they were! They were something that I had gone, I had bought. Some of them had been unopened; they were unopened albums. And there they were from the 70s, all this incredible music and – there it is! I realized, “I’m not going to take it with me. But I’m going to enjoy it, so far I can enjoy it.”

This life, my friends, is about enjoyment. And if you can enjoy the divine, that’s the motherlode. Because there’s nothing like the divine. Always there. Always was. When you were one, when you were two, when you were three, when you were four, five, six, seven.

Isn’t it nice to discover something that is from a long time ago in your life that you liked, and it was wonderful? (Like my records?) Well, the infinite is like that. The infinite was there when you were one, and two, and three, and four, and five – all the way to however old you are.