Prem Rawat: Birmingham England, 18 June 2012

Prem Rawat: Birmingham England, 18 June 2012

But here we are, and just as a trivia, thought you might be interested, do you know how much water there is in the Pacific Ocean? 71.5 trillion gallons, now of course this is approximate, because I'm sure they didn't take into account some little gully or some depth or something like that, but more or less I think it proves the point that there is a lot of water in the Pacific Ocean. Would you agree? Good. So, if I was to tell you about a little pot, a clay pot, it's about this big, opening on top about that big, midpoint about that big, about yea high, and then I would say, well, comparatively speaking, how would you compare the two, this little pot and the Pacific Ocean? Listen, it's okay, don't be so tense, you know, it's not like if you get this answer wrong you won't be let out of here or anything like that, it's not like that, it's really quite straightforward, because I'm coming to the point.

So anyways, from my observation I've flown across the Pacific many, many times and I would say that this pot, about this big, is like insignificant compared to the size of the Pacific Ocean, but, and here's my point, if there's a hole in that pot you can take the entire water of the Pacific Ocean and put it through this pot and it'll make no difference to this pot, none. This pot, so far it has the hole at the bottom, is quite capable of passing the entire water that is in the Pacific Ocean.

Now when you think about that, it's absolutely useless information. It is, I mean, because I don't think you're going to do that, you know, I know you have better things to do than to go out there and try to pour the entire contents of the Pacific Ocean through a little pot, but when the integrity of this pot is breached, the integrity, it is no longer whole, it is no longer intact, something happens and whatever is placed in this thing will just leak out. It no longer has the capacity to contain, to hold and we as human beings, when our integrity is breached, when we are no longer whole, when we are no longer complete, we too have no way at that point to contain within ourselves the value of all things that are given to us. So what does a day mean? It comes and it goes. What does a moment mean? It comes and it goes. But we are no longer capable of containing that moment, of containing that day, of containing what it brings, especially if the integrity of this vessel is breached. So what breaches it? What is our whole? It's little simple things. Clarity keeps us intact, doubt compromises our integrity, confusion compromises our integrity.

So then when somebody comes along and talks about the present, this moment, today, now, this life, it's just nice sounding words and that's the reality of it, my friends. That really is the reality of it. A moment's flash, wow, back to normal. It's literally, if there is any water being held in this pot, it's just because for a moment so much water was poured into this pot that the input was greater than the output and so it looked like it was filling up. But then as soon as the filling stops, everything is gone. Why is it like that? The today that you got will never come back again. There's no way. Absolutely no way. Absolutely no way. The moment that just went by is not going to come back. Absolutely no way. It is not possible. You have to understand one simple thing. Your hands can only reach so far. And as far as your hands can reach, that's what you get to grab. And your hands don't reach into the future and your hands don't reach into the past. So forget it. But that's what you try to do.

We have technology. We love technology. Wow. I was thinking about technology. You know all technology is, is to allow us to do things we can't do. Really. You know when you've got a broken leg and you can't walk? You put on crutches so you can still go from point A to point B? Human beings are not that good at too many things when you look at all the technology that is around us. Truly. We can't fly. We can't. We have to have airplanes. These birds made out of metal go on long runways, make a lot of noise, go thundering into the air, controlled by two people who are sitting in the front looking out the window, trying to remember myriads of things. In fact, so many that they can't, so they have checklists. Trying to control. Trying to program. Because we can't fly. And we know we can't walk very fast. And even if we can walk very fast, not for too long. So we have cars. And that's what they allow us to do. And then we have telephones because we've always wanted to talk to the guy across the street. And the only way we could do in the beginning was to like beat some drum. I don't know. Beat some drum. Get his attention. And then have a code worked out. If I beat, you know, at 100 beats, you're dead. We're attacking you. 120 beats, we haven't decided yet. I mean, you can just imagine. We look at ourselves as though we are so far advanced. Are we? Have you been to a shopping center? I'm sure you have. Have you been to one of the big grocery stores? There are aisleways. And people walk. And look. I was just watching. And I could see the hunter-gatherers coming. And you gather and you gather and you gather. And some people's baskets were so full it was like, what are you going to do with this much food? But that's why you're there. So have we changed? We get very proud when we get to the counter to check out everything because everything is barcodes. Wow. Wow. But the rest of the time, it's the same thing. And why do they have the barcodes? Because if we could take it all out without paying for it, we would. Easy way out of everything.

So here, we take pride in which people are going to look back at us and say, God, they were ridiculous. They had cell phones. They talked on these devices. They didn't know how to turn off the ringer. And God, you know, people tried and tried and tried to tell them how to turn it off. But it just wasn't a happening thing. I used to be one of those people where the phone rang and I would jump. Boom. Got to get to the phone. Then one day I said to myself, so what? Will it make a big difference? Because half the calls I was getting was just wrong number. Will it make a difference? So I stopped. Now phone rings and I'm just there. Because I know they'll leave a message. Then I can get to it. But what about that which does make a difference in your existence? In your happiness. In your contentment. In your ability to enjoy every single day. There's something that when I was on the tour in South America I mentioned. I'll mention it here again. And I said, you are asked this question, how are you? How are you? How are you? How are you? How are you? All day long. How are you? Hello. How are you? How are you? How are you? People ask, how are you? And what do you answer? Fine, thank you. I'm fine. Thank you. I'm fine. Thank you. You really don't want to tell them. Maybe you think that's none of their business. The flight attendant standing at the door. How are you? Welcome. How are you? How are you? How are you? Maybe you don't want to tell her. So, how can you answer how are you if you don't even know who are you? That's my point. If a dog wants to say something, what would be appropriate? Meow? Or woof? I think that would be appropriate. A woof or a wagging of a tail or something. Because that's a dog. That's how a dog does his or her talking. It's talking. A cat. If a cat started to say, and you said, oh, how are you? And the cat said, oh, I'm fine, thank you. You will jump six feet. Whoa, a talking cat. Meow, purring is most appropriate. That would be the appropriate answer. So when somebody asks you how are you, how do you answer? If you don't know who you are, then you don't know how you should be. So who are you? Who are you? Sally's uncle? Annie's mother? John's friend? Are you identified by the relationships of other people? That means you only exist because all these people exist and they have a relationship to you. Is that it? Are you a sum of your thoughts? Because if you are a sum of your thoughts, thoughts have changed across history. Remember there was a time they thought Earth was flat? And they were all afraid. Oh, my God, if you keep going, you'll just fall off. This is what they really thought. Did that change? Major time. I mean, you can imagine the buzz. Hey, you know what? Earth is not flat. I mean, what a shock that must have been to people. How do you know? How do you know? Oh, somebody just went around. Who was it? Were they telling the truth? When they went to the moon, a lot of the Indian pundits were freaked. They really were. I was there. And I was one of those people who would love to rub it in. So I would go to the pundits and I would say, Do you know what? They landed on the moon. And they would look at me like, no, they didn't. How could they? Thoughts change. Ideas change.

What doesn't change? And that, in my opinion, that which doesn't change makes for the most interesting subject to talk about. Because it's timeless. It's real. It's simple. It's not complicated. You don't have to go refer to it in a book. Its validity doesn't come from a book. A mango does not have on it, at the bottom, printed, Made in India. Made in Taiwan. Made in China. Expires. June 31st. Would you really look for that in a mango? Boy, it doesn't have an expiration date. It doesn't say where it's made. This could be the cheapest piano. Mango? I'm going to check it. Because it doesn't say. No. You take it, you smell it, you taste it. You don't have to look at a manual. You don't have to look at a booklet. And you go, mmm, it tastes good. That is your reality, too. That you, within you, carry this most beautiful, the divine that resides inside every human being. When will you be okay? When will you be fine? When everything else is fine? Are you waiting for everything to be fine? Because everything isn't going to be fine. The cat is not going to listen to you. Ever. It's not happening. It's not in their nature. Your neighbor may not ever become friendly with you. If you're waiting for everything to be fine, it's not going to be fine. Now, it's the Greek crisis. A few days ago, it was something else crisis. A few days before that, it was something else crisis. A few days… Have you ever seen a blank newspaper? Sorry. Had no news. Nothing bad happened. No. Every day, something. Something there, something there, something there. He did this, he did this, he did this, he did this. Are you really waiting for everything to be okay? Because it's not going to be okay. Only one thing needs to be okay for it all to be okay. And what is it? Go back to the pot. The integrity. The integrity of this being needs to be okay. That's all. And if it is, if it is, then the rest doesn't matter much. It's a change. This will change. When people are in love, quote unquote, they don't see the change. This will be like this forever. Hello. Not the nature of this clay. Not the nature of this pot.

Not the nature of this vessel to stay the same. And as it is, the nature of this vessel to change, there is an unchangeable within you. The ultimate contrast. The unchangeable is within. Do you know that? Do you know that? I don't know what concept you have. If I use the word divine, I don't know what that will conjure up in your mind. I don't know. A 65-year-old man with gray hair. Maybe older. 100-year-old man. Gray hair. Long white beard. Long flowing robes. I mean, you know, don't let all your imagination come from just one painting. I asked somebody the other day, I said, you know, if you had to be an age for the rest of existence, I mean, for the rest of existence of everything, what age would that be? 70, 80, 90, 100? And the conclusion was 25. I mean, that's young. You can see things. You can hear things. You can actually go for a walk and come back. You can actually remember things. And when it starts to get to, like, 50s, forget it. Memory goes south. I mean, it's just like, huh? And you say to yourself, I will remember that. That's important. I will remember that. 15 minutes later, what was it that I was supposed to remember? This is 50. You remember that you were supposed to remember. A little bit further down the line, you don't even remember what it is that you forgot. All you remember is you forgot. What you don't know. And once you get close to 70, you don't really care what you forgot, what you remembered, what it is, what it isn't. It doesn't matter. So somebody in their imagination portrays the divine as a hundred-year-old. I mean, in one way, that would explain a lot of things. Gee, I forgot. I was supposed to save those people down there. Well, anyways. You know, at 100, I don't even know what I was supposed to remember. You go up there, and it's like, but God, you know, I was calling you.

You were? But here, my version of divine is very different. Because I don't think, in my version of divine, that divine needs legs to go from point A to point B, like we do. We need it. We need to go from there to there. Divinity is there and there at the same time. It can't go from there to there, even if it wanted to. Because it's there and there and there and there and there and there and there and there and there and there. But it is that power that creates, and it is that power that destroys, and it is that power that makes sure that everything happens, not just here on Earth, but in the entire universe. It is the power that makes the sun shine. It is the power that contains everything, undefinable, absolutely, uncomprehendable, absolutely, and within you, absolutely. So what does it mean? What does it mean? What does it mean? When the integrity of this vessel is started to be put back to how it is supposed to be. You saw the videos in the prison. Would you, I mean, would you really say that that's the place to become happy? I don't think so. But when they found the fountain inside of them, the strength inside of them, no longer dependent upon circumstances. We are. We think it is the circumstances that will make us happy. So we try to improve our circumstances. But what really makes us happy, truly, truly, I am part of a much bigger picture. This you are. Every one of you is a part of a much bigger picture. So far, this breath comes into you. You are part of. And when that confusion is removed, when that doubt is removed, and clarity comes in, the integrity of this vessel is made whole. Joy is found within, regardless of the circumstance, is the key to peace. That's how we get to peace. People say, oh yeah, if everybody stopped fighting, we would be all at peace. No, you wouldn't. Absolutely no way.

Einstein said something wonderful. People who created the problem cannot be expected to solve it. That should be on every voting booth. I should say, right there, people, not who you should vote for, but before you go vote today, people who created the problem cannot be expected to solve it, Einstein.

So if everybody stopped fighting, we would start right up again. We would even start fighting if everybody has stopped fighting or not. That may be a conversation in a dinner table. Has everybody really stopped fighting? No, no. Yes, yes. No, no. I'll kill you. I don't want to see your face again. The centering of this vessel is based on everything else except what is real. Except for what is real. Turns out, fantastically qualified people were cooking the books. I find this absolutely amazing. Graduates of some of the highest regarded institutions on the face of this earth, and I don't know if there's any universities on the moon. I don't think so. I think everybody who went there did come back, so there would be really nobody there to start the universities, but the people with the highest qualified people cooking the books, telling lies, blatant. And would anybody query them? They said, and people said, yes. The yes group, the followers. Long time ago, yesterday was actually 17th, I arrived 41 years ago on June 17th in England. And I used to give this example of the sheep, and one sheep goes over the cliff, and the rest of them follow. I'm sure people said, why is he saying that, we don't do that, we're smart people. I mean, let's not talk about one country, we're talking about world economy, went pop, boom. Two months later, people are going, well, the economy in such and such place is doing pretty good. I said, how do you know? How do you know? Well, they said, so it's 10% growth. You don't learn, do you? Will they cook again? Absolutely. Because it's the same group of people in charge who did it the first time. Now, do you find that fascinating? I've been doing this for almost 50 years, talking to people, and what I've been telling them is no, K-N-O-W, no. Do people want to know? No. That's a short no, no. Do people want to know? No. Do people want to just hear what they want to hear? Absolutely. Do this, do this, do this, and you'll go to heaven.

If a travel agent says to you, I've got this wonderful place, wonderful, wonderful place lined up for you. I mean, just beautiful white sandy beaches, crystal clear ocean. The food is to die for. The hotel is incredible. I mean, what would you say to this travel agent? Wonderful. I mean, I would say wonderful. I'm glad you found this place, and I can't wait to go there. But can I see some pictures? And not your drawing, not your like, you know. Yeah, see, there's the beach, and see, it's all white, as white as the paper, and there's the palm tree. No, no. Show me the real thing. It is incumbent upon you to know that is the only thing that is going to save the integrity of this vessel. Otherwise, what's going to happen? The integrity of this vessel will be compromised, and a gift as beautiful as a day will be gone, as it has so many days. Average, 75. Lifespan, how long do you live? 25,550 days. That's not a lot. And you know why it's not a lot? Because most of it's gone. Most of it's gone. No. And the integrity of this vessel will become complete. It will not become. Understand! And that hole will start to plug in. So what is it like, then, when this little pot that I talked about doesn't have a hole in it? Amazing. Amazing. When water is placed in it, it stays. And not only it stays, but it is kept uncontaminated from all the elements that may hover around this vessel. The dust kept out. The dirt kept out. Now, the dynamics have changed. Before, when the integrity was compromised, you could put the entire contents of the Pacific Ocean, and it had no capacity to hold. And now that it is intact, it can contain. Contain what it is that this moment brings. Contain what it is that this day brings. Contain in it what this life brings. And then, you know, the second excuse, oh, I'm old. Can I do this? Who's talking about age? Who's talking about age? It's not about age. It's about the hole. Don't change the subject in your head. It is not about the age. But I don't know. I mean, you know, I've believed in this for so long. This is not about belief. It is about the hole. It is not about ideas. It is not about what you have read. It is not about what you have heard. It is not about all of those things. It is about that hole, that confusion, that non-clarity that compromises the integrity of this vessel.

Now, what could be simpler than that? What could be simpler than that? What are my words but the echo of the very thing your heart knows? What are my words but all that, that the few and the crowded confusion tried to point out? Why do we listen to the million questions and ignore the one answer? Are you not fascinated by the million questions? And when the answer is thrown towards you, do you listen to it? Million questions? Yeah. And what was the answer? Know thyself. That wasn't a question. That wasn't a question. Know thyself is not a question. Know thyself. I don't know. I could be wrong. It sure sounds like an answer to me. Somebody asking, so where will I find the answer to all my questions? Know thyself. Kabir says the same thing. You're looking for it on the outside. What is on the inside? How will you find it? You search for what you never lost. How will you find it? Then it gets that simple, you know, because people used to come to me. Now here I was just, you know, barely a teenager in the West. They would come much older than me and they would say, so I have been searching. Do you think you can help me? Because in those days, in the 70s, searching was a cool thing. I don't know what they were searching for, but they were searching. And I searched and I searched and I searched and I searched and I searched. They would look at the books. When you get hungry, when you get hungry, you're walking down the street. There's all these restaurants, one after another. All these food stores, one after another. And you get hungry, do you really go catch a taxi cab and go to a bookstore? I'm hungry, let's go to a bookstore. No, that sounds like a proposition to find a restaurant, sit down and eat. What we love. Talk about it. So what do you think? Oh God, tell me. The best person to ask this question, happens after you die, is a dead person. Don't you think so? I mean, he's a highly qualified person, he just died. You should ask him. Why are you asking a living person? They're not dead yet, they don't know. Exactly. Exactly. Thank you. Exactly.

That's exactly what Kabir said. He said, the fish is thirsty in the water and it makes me cry. No, laugh. It's funny. The living are interested in death. Does not make any sense. What? Have you blown it so bad that you know you're going to need one more chance? Because if you think that, I have a solution for you. Catch a moment, just even one moment, of that fulfillment. And all is well. That's how powerful it is. One day, good enough. The rest of your life, good enough. I'm talking about reality, not fiction. Because you're alive now. People think I'm talking fiction, and they are talking reality. 2008, hello. If that wasn't the biggest fiction, people lining up. People going to the banks and, can I have a loan for a house? And the bank would go, only one? I mean, why don't you buy three? You can have one to live in, have one to rent, and have another one in case your toilet overfloods. Then you'll have a place to go to. And the guy would probably look at his wife and, honey, what do you think? We could have three houses. Get it, do it, do it. And all of a sudden, I mean, I have seen magicians make things disappear. But not these magicians. They are too much. They made trillions just disappear. Where is it? I don't know. What did you do with it? Didn't you have it? I don't know. Will we get it back? I don't know. Well, where did it go? I don't know. Listen, this is one amazing magic act. I think it's worthy for an applause. Wow, you made millionaires penniless without even touching their wallet. That, to people, is reality. I love it when I get to say that. Because people are always like, oh yeah, well, you know, you're talking fiction. No, I'm not. I'm talking reality. You are talking fiction. Want more proof? Read today's newspaper. Read today's newspaper. Oh, and want more proof? Read tomorrow's. And want more? Read day after tomorrow's. Keep reading. Fiction keeps on coming. What do we need? Oh, we need this, and we need this, and we need this, and we need this.

Einstein already said, people who create the problem cannot be expected to solve it. Put that in your computation. And what do we do? Well, we'll vote for that person. We'll vote for that person. We'll vote for that person. They'll change it.

You want to change? Change yourself. Just change yourself. No party is going to change anything. The example I give is, if you have a son in school, and he fails the first year, a little disappointment, but… little tutorials and, you know, tutoring, maybe next year he'll pass. One year, right? Failed two years. Maybe you need to sit down and talk with him, you know. Maybe there's a problem. Maybe there's an issue. Failed three years. Ooh, yay, yay, yay. Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay. Four years. I think after five they throw him out of school. Because even the school knows. There's nothing. Just an illusion. How long have we been trying to get it right? Ten thousand years? Thousands of years? Talk about nothing there. Never was, never will be. The best thing you can say to that child is he's an alien, he does not understand earthly language. Thousands of years we've been going at it and we haven't gotten it right. And just apply Einstein's formula to that. Those who create the problem cannot be expected to solve it. You want to solve the problem? Don't be the one that creates it. Find that strength within you. Find that clarity within you because it is there. All it takes is consciousness. Cheap, free. All you have to do is remember to be conscious. That's all. In everything you do. You don't need concepts? Absolutely not. You don't need big ideas? Absolutely not. What you need is a reality and reality comes to you every single day. And it is sweet, it is perfect, it is beautiful. It's real. You are. Oh, forget about birthday thing. That's overrated. That's like sad news. You're a year older. That's like 25,550 minus 365 is your birth.

So what is today? Today is the first day of the rest of your together, right? Be conscious. Be aware. And then this heart fills with gratitude. And when this heart is filled with gratitude, you as a human being become alive. Alive. Real. Clear. And the integrity of this vessel is now intact. And with the integrity of this vessel intact, even a spoonful of the water from the Pacific Ocean will be. That's the gift. That's the gift that you have till you are. People don't want to let go of their ideas. People have these books about you do this and this is going to happen to you after you die and you're going to go there and this is going to go this way and you're going to go up that way and then that's going to happen and you're going to meet a crocodile and then you meet a donkey. Good God. What about living? And I was alive today. And I wanted to feel gratitude. And I looked clearly. And I saw the divinity within me. I felt the divinity within me as it is in everyone. As it is in the universe. And I could realize that I'm part of that universe that fascinates me so. The fascinating is within me as well. And today I recognized my oneness with this existence. Doesn't that sound a lot better than I saw a crocodile and a donkey and a couple of people were yelling at me all day long and they were asking me what have you done and what haven't you done and judgment. Some people think that's all God does.

They're divine. They just sit there and go, I'm watching you. Three strikes you're out. The prison system created there. Oh yes. Heat's going to be turned up. Heat gets turned up here. Knowing yourself. Like Socrates said, know thyself. Here. These guys are in prison. They are in that place where the heat is up. And they've got a smile on their face. That as I find my strength, that as I find my clarity I can enjoy. When I went there, there was this one kid he just said, I never smiled. And people would look at me and say, why don't you smile? You'll get along better. And he said, I couldn't smile. And then when I have been listening to what you say, I've started to smile. What was this phenomenon? How did that happen? Are you smiling, the real smile? Or the cordial smile that you must because you were taught good manners? As a human being, you have a real smile. Smile. Because you are. Be real. Because you are. Do not. Do not let the integrity of this vessel be breached. Absolutely. All for what? It's a blast. It's wonderful. It is divine. Thank you very much. Good night. Take care.