PEACE IS EFFORTLESS

Joy in life comes when there is no stress and when you are connected to the Self. It is then that you see that the paradise of true peace is not somewhere out there - it is within you. When you are in love and happy to serve, you see yourself in others and are in paradise. These feelings are contagious, and inspire others to be happy and serve too. Through your work, and your expression of peace, you are bringing out the divine qualities in others, and this helps us create paradise right here and right now.

We are busy wanting something all the time. One want or desire finishes, then another want comes up right away. Desires come in rapid succession, one after the other. They are in a queue, like at the airport. One plane takes off, and in another two minutes another takes off. Through meditation we can relax the pace of life, observe the desires, and go deeper into the experience. “What am I up to? What is the purpose of my life?” These very questions enliven the human values in our system, and in our Self.

Getting rid of all our stress and tensions brings about inner peace. Because our very nature is enlightenment, that is why human and the Divine are not two separate things. Human is the outer skin, and the Divine is the inside, like the pulp of a fruit. Stress is the outermost covering, such as the plastic wrapping around the apple. You can consider the skin (of an apple) as human, and the inside pulp as the Divine, and the packaging in which it comes as the stress, tension, or ego.

Our inner peace and the related experience of harmony rely on our ability to take conscious stock of a situation, separate out our emotions, and observe the impermanence of stress, tension and ego. Without such a capacity, we would be animals, and probably savage ones at that! Being human is like being on a bridge between the two sides. On one side there is a shore of divine qualities, and on the other side, there is the shore of animalistic qualities. That is why there is more conflict in human life than in any other species.

Have you ever paid attention to the behavior of your mind during a conversation? If during that time you receive ten compliments, and one insult, the mind will forget all the ten compliments, and hang on to one insult. The mind continues to go on and on and on about it. What else does the mind do? It runs either to the past or the future. We are angry about the past, or anxious about the future. In the first instance, the anger is about something that has already happened. Is it of any use? Anger now is meaningless. Anger is meaningless because it is always about something that has already happened. And anxiousness is about something that is somewhere in the future. The future could be in 10 years from now, or perhaps in 10 days. “What will happen tomorrow?” you wonder. You had the same question last year, the year before, and even ten years ago. You were anxious about this or that. But when you just turn back, you see that all our anxiousness has happened to be meaningless. Giving a deep look into the present moment shows that our anger also seems to be meaningless. Such a realization brings immediate peace in one’s life. The mind becomes full of joy and evolves into a peaceful state which you can call love.

This notion of love is quite contrary to our usual definition of love as an act. When we live in the present moment, the mind is more clear, and not angry or anxious. It is simple, and full of love. Children exemplify this. When you look into their faces, you see so much love in the way they look back at you. Why are children so joyful and sharing? Because they are in a state of love. They allow that love to radiate, without these blocks of tension, stress and strains.

All of this love and awareness make children peaceful, and not angry about the past. Children are naturally peaceful over the course of time. Children don’t say, “Oh mommy, you didn’t give me candy yesterday, or you didn’t take me to the toy shop yesterday.” Children may have fought with you yesterday, but today they are friendly with you. Even very young babies live and act in the present moment. Five minutes ago they were crying, and before the tears even dry on their cheeks, they are smiling again. It is a magnificent and peaceful sight to behold. And we all have this ability. But what has happened in our life? The more intelligent we become, the faster we lose our innocence.

Enlightenment is maintaining this innocence, and growing in intelligence. This combination of life - being intelligent in life while maintaining your innocence - is a gift of nature. This is very precious in life.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR The writer is an Indian yoga guru, a spiritual leader, founder of The Art of Living