By: Lalit Garg
Every living being wanted peace. Everyone is affected by sorrows and uneasiness in life. Every human being wants peace but does not want to follow the right path. How can one reach the destination without following the right path? Without following the path of peace, how can peace be attained? If there are problems in life, there are solutions for them too. There is a need to take steps toward the solution. Try and leave the result to the one above. Those who give a big shape to the problem by sitting and thinking are bound to be disappointed, frustrated, and unsuccessful in life. There are many obstacles in the way of success. But these obstacles are not as big as the doubts of the mind. Doubts one after another do not allow us to trust ourselves or others. We are not what we used to be. Rumi has said, “Why do you shrink your heart with useless thoughts and whispering doubts? Do you turn this happy world into a narrow prison?”
People who live in narrow thinking and limited circles spend their whole life in unrest. The biggest center of peace and happiness is the mind. That’s why it is necessary to train the mind and control the mind. Mind is a huge collection; it is a junction of different thoughts. Various thoughts, fantasies, hopes, memories, frustrations, etc. live in it. Because of this, the mind remains restless. The mind is where the seeds of unrest first germinate.
A man planted an acacia tree and took care of it very diligently. People saw him working so hard on the thorny plant and said, “What are you doing?” that you are crazy where can mangoes grow on the acacia tree? But that man did not understand. Every day he used to see with curiosity that now mangoes will be planted on it, now it will be planted, but where were the mangoes to be planted, which would be planted?
Most people in the world are like that ignorant person. They sow the seeds of sorrow and think that they will reap the harvest of happiness and peace. This is never possible. This is why there is a proverb – “As you sow, so shall you reap.” The great philosopher saint Acharya Mahapragya has said that when the mind merges with the mind and when the lamp of consciousness is ignited by consciousness, the functional power appears; that is peace of mind.
If the mind is distressed, agitated, fearful, and restless, then even if one sleeps on a bed of velvet and flowers, sharp thorns will continue to prick him. As long as the mind is not healthy, calm, and meditated till then the experience of burning will continue even in an air-conditioned room in every way. Peace is related to the mind in the mind. Peace is not in the external comforts, but in the mind within the person. Man has to become aware of the inexhaustible power hidden within him.
Man has money, glory, family, house, business, fridge, cooler, computer, and car. Despite the huge increase in the means of life’s comforts, there is an atmosphere of unrest all around, the nation is in turmoil, the home is in turmoil, and even man himself is in turmoil. All around there is an empire of tension, suffocation, tragedy, and violence. Why is it like this? Wealth and glory can provide the minimum requirement of man-bread, cloth, and house. Today the problem is not of bread, cloth, or house, but of peace. Recitation of peace and peace will not bring peace. Peace will not descend on earth from the sky. Peace is not an item to be sold in the market, factory, mill, or factories.
Shakespeare said that wise men never weep for their present sorrows, but prevent their causes in the present. Life has to be given height, so depth is also necessary. The deeper the foundation, the higher and stronger the house will be. In this way, our personality associated with the superiority of life values itself becomes ideal. Nevertheless, in the journey of life, it is necessary to have unwavering faith in the mind toward your objectives. It is said that a man does not walk, his faith walks. Self-confidence binds all the qualities in one place, that is, in the light of self-confidence, the whole personality and actions of a man are revealed and this brings peace in life.
If a person wants to establish peace in life, then he has to imbibe human qualities like love, compassion, harmony, tolerance, equality, kindness, simplicity, alertness, sympathy, peace, and friendship. Invest your time, labor, and energy in acquiring these qualities. Such efforts are desired which can make a person calm, responsible, and social orient. In the present way of life, the mutual distance and the difference that has arisen between words and deeds have to be removed. As long as if your human life does not give the seeds of peace, irrigation of affection, the sunshine of discipline, air of friendship, skillful protection of selflessness, sustenance on the smiling and blooming fertile land of life, till then the cultivation of spiritual happiness and peace will not flourish.
If you want real peace, resolve that you will develop the power of renunciation. Will develop maximum restraint in life. Everyone should remember the incident related to Alexander’s life. When Alexander asked the monk to go to Greece with him, he flatly refused. At that time Alexander introduced himself to him as a world conqueror. There was a long dialogue between the hermit and Alexander and in the end world conqueror; Alexander had to accept his defeat in front of that self-conquering hermit. When the defeated Alexander asked for something after being pleased with the sacrifice of the monk, the monk said – ‘Move to a side and let the sun shine.’ Restraint is very important in this materialistic consumerist time. If life is to run smoothly, to live a peaceful life, then there is no other way than self-restraint and sacrifice.
Peace begins where ambition and craving ends. Colton has said that peace is the evening star of the soul, whereas virtue is its sun. These two are never separated from each other. Only through this do spiritual happiness and true peace result. Peace is the highway to all possibilities of development. Eternal happiness resides in peace. The desire for peace should be the way to happiness. (The author is a journalist, columnist & can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)