Ellam Ondre - All is One : Chapter 4

[Guest guest]

Chapter IV - Peace

 

1. What is peace? Although the world persists when a man is in deep sleep,

does he have any cares concerning it? His mind is tranquil and refreshed.

Should his mind be in the same degree calm and refreshed even when he is

face to face with the world and is active therein, then there is peace.

 

2. Can the mind remain so even when the world confronts us? It depends upon

our estimate of the world. The mind is more excited when one's own property

is plundered than when another's property is similarly plundered. Of one's

own things, the loss of one thing causes greater concern than those of

another. Why? Because our estimate of the things is the cause of the degree

of the delight or anxiety concerning them. Therefore, should one learn to

regard all equally, the mind will be extremely peaceful. Or should all

things be considered as our own and highly prized, then too there is no

cause for pain. Why? What will a man regret? The mind which knows that

universal concern is beyond its capacity, must needs become tranquil. Also

when one feels that one has no claim on anything or that everything is

perishable, the mind will remain cool. Thus there will be lasting peace if

one looks on all as of the same value. Peace is dependent upon one's

intellectual appraisals.

 

3. I shall now illustrate this. A man wakes up from a dream. His mind is

happy or troubled according to his opinion of the things seen in the dream.

But on waking, his mind remains unaffected by all the happenings in the

dream; it remains the same. Why? Because, only now his mind has learned to

value all the matters of the dream equally. He is not sorry for the

cessation of the dream. Why? He is convinced that the dream is not

everlasting and must end on waking. In the same manner, should a man be

convinced that he cannot but wake up sometime from the long dream of the

world, his mind will be unchanging. It is the state of freshness. This is

the state of Peace.

 

4. This is not to say that his relation with the world will cease. Now only

peace and freshness of the mind are his. His actions cannot but vary

according to circumstances. The only change in him after the mind has become

peaceful is this: his mind has known the truth and become unattached;

therefore, it rests in peace. His actions though changeful will always be

impartial. But the actions of others are changing and cannot be impartial.

Thus, the coolness of the mind produces enormous good not only to himself

but also to the world at large. Peace shows the way to right conduct.

 

5. A man walks with a lighted lamp in his hand. Can there be any hostility

between the light and the ups and downs on the way? There cannot be. But

light and darkness cannot be together. The light chases away darkness, it

discloses the ups and downs on the way and makes the man walk carefully,

whether he moves up, down, or sideways. It removes the cause of vain

complaints, such as, " That snag hurt my foot " or " This hollow made me slip. "

Similarly, after peace is gained, the state of peace makes the man neither

hate nor antagonize the world. Rather it dispels the darkness which conceals

from our view the true nature of the world and its snags. In the absence of

the light of Peace which enables people to adjust themselves to varying

circumstances, they condemn the world as full of misery, as they would

complain of the snags on the road. Therefore a man who has gained the utmost

peace after knowing the whole world as a complicated dream, should not be

considered either unrelated to the world or unconcerned with its activities;

he alone stands in effective concord with it; only he is competent to be a

man of action. Thus Peace is that which regulates one's duties.

 

6. The concern of a man of Peace in the actions of the world lies in

rectifying them. Should he feel fear before this world, what hope of

reformation can there be, especially from those who esteem it and want to

possess it? They are in the grip of selfishness, blind to impartiality. To

guide the blind on the way or treat the blindness of the eye, one's eyesight

must itself be good. Similarly, it is for him to reform the world who has

already discerned his unchanging nature from the changeful nature of the

world and become peaceful. These cannot help serving the world. Why? Can

anyone be so hard hearted as not to lift up a child when it slips and falls?

So also for the wise ones who can rightly appraise the troubles of the world

and help the people. Because he has already withdrawn himself from the mind

and body the sage feels no concern under the strain of service to the world,

just as the life principle does not suffer even when loaded carts pass over

the corpse it has left behind (by itself). He will not shrink from work or

trouble. Only truly realized peace can bestow such courage and coolness.

 

7. To all appearances. Peace will look poor and quite weak. But in effect,

it beats all. In tenacity and courage, it surpasses all. After all, success

depends on these qualities. Even if Mount Meru should topple over, the

incident will hardly produce a gentle smile in the man of peace, or it will

leave him unmoved. This state is helpful both for worldly and spiritual

matters. True happiness in the world is his, and that happiness comes out of

release from bondage. Peace means doing good to any one in any manner.

 

8. The obstacles to peace are several. They are meant to prove the man. When

they confront us we should be wide awake and keep the delicate flower of the

mind distant from even their shadows. If the flower of the mind be crushed,

it will lose its fragrance, freshness and color; it will neither be useful

to you, nor can it be presented to others, nor offered to God. Know that

your mind is more delicate than even a blossom. By means of a peaceful mind,

all your duties to yourself, to others and to God must be discharged. Let it

release the same freshness throughout. All blessings for the mind are

contained in Peace.

 

9. Unremittingly worship the God of your Self with the flower of your mind.

Let the children of the mental modes watch this worship. Gradually they will

learn to cast away their childish pranks and desire to delight like

yourself. As they watch your Peace, they will themselves recoil from their

vagaries. Continue the worship patiently. Be not led away by the vagaries of

the mind. On the contrary, they should become peaceful by your peace. All

must get peace.

 

10. I shall finish in one word: The essence of all the Vedas is " Peace. "

 

----------------

 

Swami