In this world, everyone has a different idea of what peace is. To someone, peace is when countries stop fighting, or when their neighbor is quiet, or Sunday morning when there is no traffic, or when the sun comes out and the birds start singing.

Let me tell you about a peace that is not bound by definitions, that is not outside. Outside everyone is screaming, “This is what’s important. This is what’s important.” There was a time when the only thing that was important to you was what you felt from within—the want to be content that is so innate and fundamental. Even if your mother or father said, “Be quiet,” you cried because you had a need. When that need was fulfilled, you were fine.

In my life, I want to feel joy, contentment, just like that child. Today, so much has come between me and that contentment, that simplicity, that beauty. And no one threw it at me; I invited it. I need to see clearly who I am. My desire for peace has to be crystal clear every single day. Nothing can come between that and what I feel. My heart is saying to me: Be content. This is a journey. You have come here. You are dancing, moving, seeing, thinking, experiencing. And one day, all of this will be no more.

Enjoy this time that you have—not in a fake way, but in the real sense. Not to say, “Look what I have,” but, “Look what I have discovered.” Discover what already exists within.

I talk about our similarity, not our differences—the thirst of the heart that is the same for every single human being. I have traveled this earth many times, and I have never come across anything called “the world.” I have only come across people. This is who we are. We are this moving miracle, this dancing miracle—the miracle of all miracles.

You want to hear about a miracle? You are a miracle. In you comes this breath that is the kiss of the Creator coming into you, touching you, bringing you life. Life is the magic that allows you to see, to hear, to feel, to think, to smile, to be, and to feel happiness, joy, peace.

Peace is looking for you. Are you looking for peace? This is not coincidence or imagination. It has to be real, and peace has to be felt.

People say, “Isn’t that selfish?” Is enjoying the sunrise selfish because the joy of the sunrise is within me? Is happiness selfish? When a baby smiles, is that selfish? Which grandmother, mother, or father thinks it’s selfish when their little baby waddles up to them and gives them a big hug and kiss? That’s not selfish. “Ah, he kissed me. He came to me!”

In the same way, this breath came and touched me. I embrace it back and feel the gratitude. When the heart is full, there is gratitude.

In your life, allow yourself to feel peace, to be filled with gratitude. Unwrap what you have been given—a gift you haven’t opened for a long time. It’s about you—your journey, your ship, your boat on this ocean. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, the time has come to open the greatest gift of all.

Maharaji
   

Sometimes when I sleep, I dream that I’m talking to people. Here is one story that I dreamt recently: There was a man who bought a house, and he realized there was a serious shortage of water. So he did some research and found a place to dig for water. He bought a spade and started digging, but it was very hot and difficult. One day, it reached the apex. He had been working in the heat, and he was so thirsty that he realized if he didn’t get water soon, he would die. So he started yelling, “Water, water, water.”

Somebody heard him, came to him, and said, “Come with me. I will take you to water.”  Then that person took him by the hand behind his house and around the nearby mountain, and there was a huge river flowing with beautiful, clear water. When the man saw the water, he jumped into the river. He cooled himself, drank the water, and was content. Then he came out, thanked the person who had helped him, went back to his house, picked up the spade, and continued digging his well.

The river was not that far from his house. After he found the river, he didn’t need a well, but he was so into digging that it became more important than finding the water itself. So much time and energy had been put into it that, even after finding water, he kept digging.

My experience says that if I have discovered a river, I don’t need to dig a well. The river is much more beautiful. Maybe I didn’t know that there was a river so close, and I didn’t create that river, but somebody helped me discover it.

Like that river, there is a joy that is the same for everyone—the real joy. The real joy is not about accomplishments. The real joy is about discovering the peace within your own self. Find the river within you. Find the joy within you.

You might say, “I don’t think there is anything within me; it’s all outside.” What about the people who for centuries have been saying, “What you are looking for is inside of you”?

Maybe you’re digging the well, and you are hot. All I am saying is there is a river in your backyard. Would you really say, “River or no river, I’m going to dig this well. I have a spade, and I have already spent so much time on this. I can’t stop now.”

Our lives have been what they have been. In a desert, there is sand everywhere, but there are also incredibly beautiful flowers waiting for rain to come. Then it will become an oasis. Maybe in our lives all we have seen is sand, but let the rain of understanding come and turn this desert into an oasis. Let the seeds germinate that have been waiting and waiting.

Make your own decision how important peace is to you, how important it is to be fulfilled. This is a process of discovery. You can’t say to a thirsty person, “But you’ve just had water.” Not unless he’s actually had water can he feel satisfied. It is the same way for you.

There is a wonderful possibility within you—not in a book or on a mountaintop, but within you. Discover that possibility, be fulfilled, and enjoy this existence. Learn while you can learn. Grow because you want to grow. And feel peace because you want to feel peace.

If you want that, I can make it possible. This is what I do. I know peace is possible. Why? Because it resides within you.

Maharaji