Quest for Peace By Sri Swami Chidananda

[Guest guest]

Dear Members,

 

We talk constantly about peace—it is one of the most popular topics of

discussion in the world today. Peace between nations, peace in our societies,

peace in our schools, peace in our families, peace within ourselves. Yet,

although billions of dollars and millions of hours are spent each year on think

tanks, brainstorming sessions and international conferences, this much-desired

peace continues to elude us.

 

What is the secret of finding this elusive treasure? Let us discuss it. Because

without peace both inner and outer—all is meaningless. We can spend millions of

dollars building posh downtown centres in our cities, but if we are at war with

another country, they will bomb that centre to ashes in a second. We can spend

thousands of dollars building beautiful homes, but if our neighbourhood is our

enemy, our windows will be smashed and our new lawns destroyed. We can work hard

and successfully at our jobs, but if we come home to turmoil in the house, there

is no joy in the success obtained at work that day, for there is no one with

whom to share. We can devote ourselves to obtaining high education, top

credentials and a beautiful figure. However, if we are miserable inside, no

outer achievement will ever pacify us.

 

Recently in Chicago a woman came to see me. She told that she was stressed and

tense. She said that in order to sleep at night she took a pill called calmpose.

I told her that she did not need to take

calmpose. " Just calm you pose " , I said " And you will sleep beautifully at night

and be peaceful all day. " If we are peaceful inside, humble inside, then nothing

outside can ruffle us. So, the first message today is, calm your pose and you

will never need to take calmpose.

 

The obstacles and the solution are buried in this statement. Listen: I want

peace. What do we have? An ‘I’, a ‘want’ and a ‘peace’. If you remove the ‘I’

and the ‘want’, what is left out? Peace. You do not have to look for peace, find

peace or create peace. All you have to do is remove the ‘I’ and remove the

‘want’ and peace stands there in its full glory for the entire world to imbibe.

It is the ‘I’ and the ‘want’ which obscure this treasure from our view.

 

So, how to remove these? First let’s talk about the ‘I’. ‘I’ is one of the

greatest obstacles to peace. ‘I’ is our ego. ‘I’ is our sense of ownership,

doership and pride. This ‘I’ says, " I want to be in the centre. " Isn’t it true?

We always want to be the ones getting the glory, the appreciation, the prestige.

Even when we don’t do anything still we want to be appreciated. That is our

downfall.

 

We are so proud, this ‘I’ is so proud. It thinks, " Oh, I am so successful. I am

so good. " But the truth is that we only go to work; God works. We can do nothing

without His grace. One minute we are at our desks, acting like king of the

world. The next minute, one nerve, just one microscopic nerve in our brain fails

and we can no longer speak or write. One small blockage in one tiny blood vessel

and we cannot even go to the bathroom by ourselves. We must be fed and taken

care of for the rest of our lives.

 

So, what to be proud of? He works. We just go to work. As soon as we realise

this, then we can take our little ‘I’ and merge it in the big ‘I’, the universal

‘I’, the divine ‘I’. Then we surrender our lives and our every action to Him.

Then we say, " God, let my tiny drop of water merge with your great ocean. Let me

be a tool for Your will and Your work. "

 

It is through this selfless surrender to Him, that the pain of the ‘I’ is

removed and with that all our troubles and unrest disappear.

 

Remember, we said " I want peace " . ‘I’ and ‘want’ are the barriers of peace. If

you remove them, then there is nothing left but peace. So, first we merge this

individual, obstructing ‘I’ with the divine ‘I’, the universal ‘I’ and in doing

so we become free of the pride, ego and tension which block our attainment of

peace.

 

Then, we remove the ‘want’, our wants, our perceived needs, our desires. What

obstacles these are to peace? The more we have, the more we want. People always

think that if they attain something more, whether it’s more money, a better job,

a degree, a good usband, then they will be happy.

 

It is not the having or not having that is the issue. The issue is the wanting,

the yearning and the expecting. These external things never bring any lasting

happiness.

 

We must give more and want less. Then, we will know true joy and peace.

 

Peace comes through prayer. It doesn’t matter what name you use for God or what

language you pray in. You can pray to Allah in Arabic, or you can pray to Jesus

in English, or you can pray to Adonai in Hebrew, or you can pray to Lord Buddha

in Japanese, or you can pray to Lord Krsna in Sanskrit. It doesn’t matter what

name or form you use. It doesn’t matter what language you pray in. Just pray.

And then you will see the magic. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of

faith is love. The fruit of love is devotion. The fruit of devotion is service.

The fruit of service is peace.

 

Through this—prayer, faith, love, devotion and service—we will all, inevitably

attain that sought-after state of inner peace. Then, when we are at peace

inside, that harmony will radiate out to all those around us, bringing peace to

our relations, peace to our communities, peace to our nations and finally peace

to the world.