An Indian poet once said that human beings have all the wealth they could possibly want. They just don’t know it. The infinite is in every heart, and when it is recognized, everything changes. Everything becomes beautiful.

Not knowing what we have, we measure ourselves by what we don’t have. And we are told that if we have this, this, and this, we will be happy. I know a person who was very successful, and in one week everything turned upside down. He went from being at the top of his game to being nobody. He even became distant from himself.

I know that solitary confinement is considered the harshest punishment for people because we are social animals. What if you had to be just with yourself? How would that be? Have you made peace with your existence? Or would you be hounded by questions you do not want to ever be asked but that you carry within you—the darkness of the unknown, of your fears?

Everyone has fears. There is the fear of failure: how you appear in the eyes of others—what your colleagues, your neighbors, the world think of you. But have you learned to live with yourself? Have you socialized with this human being that you are?

You, as a human being, what is your value? You judge yourself by all the scales that people put in front of you, “This is what’s important, this is what’s important, this is what’s important.” And you say, “Let me see where I am on this scale.” And that becomes the measurement of your success. Get rid of that scale. You don’t need it, because it is relative. You can be extremely sad, but on that scale, you’re still right up at the top.

So how steady are you? How steady is your house? Instead of wasting time trying to measure up, strengthen your house, because the storm is going to come. Maybe it will be a little storm, maybe a big one. It’s irrelevant, if your house is strong. Inner strength is the strength that lasts.

The person I was talking about had everything. All he needed was inner strength. But when his house of cards fell, he fell with it. His house wasn’t strong. If he had had that inner strength, it would’ve been okay. He would’ve been happy. He’s still not poor, but that’s not the point. That scale will fluctuate. The question is, will you fluctuate with it?

Don’t judge yourself by what the world has done to you and what the world tells you, by what has happened or what has not happened. You are alive. You’re breathing. And because you are breathing, you are rich, not poor. You have a great gift. The same power that’s backing up the entire universe is backing you up—something I cannot even pretend to fathom.

I know the word infinite. I cannot fathom it, but I can feel it, because that infinite is also within me. And that’s my strength. The universe breathes; it comes together and expands, comes together and expands. It’s a living thing. Something is keeping it all intact. And breath is coming to you, courtesy of that. Most people ignore it: “Breath? What is this breath?” But don’t ignore it, experience it.

This thing called life has been described as a portal, a gateway. This is as close as the infinite and the finite can get. And here, in this life, the finite can experience the infinite. Just like in space, eventually the infinite will consume the finite. The finite will go back to being dust again, and the infinite will remain.

That’s amazing, I think. There’s a lot of nothing out there. And then there is something, and that something is really something. And then, a lot of nothing again. Expanding and contracting. Breathing, existing. Disappearing, reappearing. Colliding. Becoming something else. It’s quite a thing. Amazing. Here you are; you are something. Don’t compare it, “Oh, that’s so trivial.” In this universe nothing is trivial—nothing. Even dust is not trivial, because that’s all there is—compacted dust and loose dust. You’re dust. But it’s something, not nothing.

So let go of your confusion, doubts, misery. Do not always worry, “What’s going to happen? Where am I going?” This is what you’ve been wondering all your life. People have so many ideas. Fine. I absolutely believe that heaven is here. And I not only believe, I know this is the vessel that can feel the beauty of heaven. This is what has been given to you.

Prem Rawat

Los Angeles, February 7, 2008 — A grant from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) will provide nutritious breakfasts for 530 aboriginal children attending 14 primary schools located on offshore islands and in remote mountain areas of Taiwan. The breakfast program, which needs to be renewed each year, is offered by the Taipei-based Eastern Culture Foundation (ECF) and their sister organization, the Eastern Charity Foundation.

Typically, aboriginal children in remote areas arrive at school feeling so hungry that some become faint before lunchtime. They are unable to concentrate, and their ability to learn is seriously undermined. Malnutrition and underachievement affect every aspect of life for these children and leaves them with little hope of improving their economic prospects as they grow older. Simply stated, hungry children cannot concentrate or learn new skills. For most aboriginal children in Taiwan, however, breakfast is a luxury that few can afford.
Mr. Lee, principal of Gu Feng, one of the participating elementary schools, reported that none of the aboriginal students attending his school were fed breakfast at home. Their first meal of the day is the government-supported lunch served at noon. In spite of their hunger, many children even save part of this meal for their dinner.

A-Chang, a third grader in Mr. Lee’s school, has fainted several times during morning assemblies. He suffers from long-term malnutrition, weighing only 24 kilograms (52 pounds), and his situation is by no means uncommon. Each morning, he gets up at daybreak to help his grandmother with household chores before beginning his long walk to school along a mountain road. From now on, he will be able to look forward to a nutritious hot breakfast before beginning classes. Providing a healthy breakfast for A-Chang and his classmates costs less than one US dollar per school day.

The program sponsored by TPRF will provide each student a breakfast consisting of bread, noodles or rice, along with other foods such as eggs, cheese and drinks. Schools will either hire helpers to prepare and serve the breakfasts or use a voucher system for the children to be fed at nearby breakfast restaurants.

The ancestors of Taiwanese aboriginals arrived in Taiwan from islands in the South Pacific approximately 8,000 years before the first Chinese. Since the major Chinese migration to Taiwan in the seventeenth century, they have experienced economic and military conflict with a series of conquering peoples, each one of whom became a threat to the preservation of their culture, languages and way of life.

Today, over a third of Taiwanese aboriginals are unemployed. While Taiwan was experiencing an economic boom during the latter part of the twentieth century, these tribal people lost more and more of the land they depended on for hunting and planting to developers. Many were forced to migrate to the cities where they suffer from social prejudice, language barriers and an inferior education. ECF provides the kind of assistance to rural aboriginals that will address the inequities between them and their peers in the cities. It is a major long-term undertaking, of which the breakfast program is only a part.

Kuo Shiang, Chang, CEO of ECF, says, “We hope this is the beginning of a long and productive relationship between ECF and TPRF. ECF expresses grateful appreciation to The Prem Rawat Foundation for joining ECF to accomplish this task together.” Since 2004, ECF has launched several successful projects to provide better nutrition and education to aboriginal children, as well as to enhance their culture. Their focus is on helping aboriginal people help themselves. The TPRF grant will enable them to continue their breakfast program in 2008, helping make it possible for more children to receive the education they need to become self-sufficient adults.

 

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TPRF advances the internationally acclaimed message of peace of Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji. In addition, it helps provide the necessities of life for people most in need. The Foundation often partners with other humanitarian organizations to bring food, water and disaster relief rapidly where it is most required.

Discover more about Prem Rawat, his message of hope and peace, and the humanitarian activities of The Prem Rawat Foundation