Prem Rawat at Rotary International at National Chambers for Performing Arts
Maharaji was invited by Rotary International for an event at The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), in Mumbai, India. Maharaji addressed by civic, government and business leaders from India.Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. It is a secular organization open to all persons regardless of race, color, creed or political preference. There are more than 32,000 clubs and over 1.2 million members world-wide. The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), in Mumbai, India was established to disseminate knowledge, promote appreciation, provide training and sponsor or undertake scientific research in these fields with the objective of further development by encouragement of innovation within India and by interaction with the arts of other countries.
Maharaji spoke about peace as not just an absence of conflict, but as a state of being. He suggests that although people look different on the outside, everyone is searching for the same thing. He says that one can feel peace every day, and the way to find it is to turn within.
Excerpt of the Event:
There is a basic need of every human being, and that is to be fulfilled. Regardless of who we are- whether we live in a poor village or a seventy-story building- we want to be happy. We want to be content. We want to be fulfilled. It doesn't matter what we call it- we have the same purpose.
We came from the same place and landed on the same dock - earth. Then we got caught in the web of what we should be doing. The wind of this world scattered us- and we see our differences, not our similarities.
What is our heart saying? Once again, we need to hear and identify the call, the voice, the want, the need of our fundamental being. Not formulas or ideas. We need to feel. That's how we are made.
It comes down to very simple fundamentals. The voice of our heart is saying, 'Be fulfilled.' When the heart is full, there is enjoyment. When doubt is replaced by clarity, when questions have been traded for answers, when duality has been replaced by singularity, then there is the most content heart. Then there is joy. Then there is a human being on incredible journey of life.
In the middle of adversity, the human being seeks peace. In the middle of questions, the human being seeks answers. In the middle of doubt, the human being seeks clarity. This is the nature of the human being. This is the need to fulfill.
The happiness that we are looking for is inside of us. Something needs to be felt within. Peace happens to be one of those things. Joy happens to be one of those things- not a joy that comes and goes, but a joy that permanently resides inside. Not a happiness that comes and goes, connected to the outer world, but a happiness that is always there. Even in the darkest moment, that joy resides within me. There is a solid feeling of peace when we go within and find that place.
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