Focus Like a Flower

To understand the value of life, human beings need the determination of a sunflower tracking the sun, says Prem Rawat, known around the world by the honorary title of Maharaji.

"A sunflower does not have a global positioning system, maps, or instruments," he says. "Yet at night it somehow turns around to be ready for the sunrise the next day. Even if the weather is cloudy, it faces in the right direction. Clouds won’t stop that sunflower, because ultimately it isn't the clouds that are permanent. It's their relationship to the sun that's permanent. Whether those rays are visible or not, there is a connection."

The daily trials and triumphs people get caught up in, Maharaji says, are like clouds to that flower––temporary. He suggests instead a greater focus on something more permanent: the feeling of being alive.

"People need to understand the importance of their relationship with existence," he says. "Then and only then can we begin to understand the value of being able to go within to feel the peace that's inside."

Maharaji began speaking publicly before he started the first grade about the need for individuals to feel peace within. In response to invitations, he took his message to the West at the age of 13. Since then, he has talked about personal fulfillment to more than 10 million people in 97 nations. He emphasizes that he doesn't just talk, but can show people a way to experience inner contentment.

"That is what I give to people who want it," Maharaji says. "We need to know what we have, because the path to peace within begins with opening our eyes and seeing things as they are, not how they could or should be."