Positive
Aids to Peace of Mind
(Part 1 of 4)
It is common knowledge that good health and economic security are a "must" for peace of mind. But having both, many are still in a state of perpetual mental restlessness. The chances are that your trouble is mostly of your own making and therefore avoidable.
Do you interfere too often in the affairs of others? May be they are
wrong. But why should you be disturbed on that account? Do not criticize
anybody or anything. God has not delegated to you the authority to sit in
judgment over others. All men act the way they do because they are prompted
that way by the God within them. It is a good rule to mind your own business to
keep your peace.
Mind your own business. An excellent dictum to follow for the man who
prizes peace of mind above everything else. Nothing in this world requires your
attention. There is a God to look after everything in fact. He looks after you
as well. Do not forget this fact.
Let me repeat: Mind your own business. Do not criticize anybody or
anything. Criticism is tantamount to blasphemy. Why? Because whatever happens,
happens by the Will of God. Nothing can happen without the concurrence of God.
The fact that something has happened—no matter whether it is good or bad from
your point of view—is in itself proof positive that it has God’s approval. And
if you criticize the happening, you are questioning the Will of God, the Wisdom
of God, the justice of God. Do not do that. You will keep your peace.
God sees things by the whole. Man sees things by parts. God sees
happenings over the three periods of time. Man sees events only in the present,
isolated from the past and the future. That is why man sees discord where God
sees harmony. Man sees lack of logic where God finds perfect logic. Put
yourself in the place of God. Feel you are God. Feel that the entire universe
is your creation and operates by your will. At once you will feel tremendous
peace and strength surging within you.
You may say, others insult you without reason, injure you without
cause. Even if that is true, do not get agitated. Face the situation calmly.
You will find that calmness can be a powerful weapon to overcome difficult
situations. Shut your eyes to insults. Let others think what they like, say
what they like. This is a world of ignorant people. You be wise. Be humble
before everybody. Be humble in every situation. This will be possible if you
give up the idea of inferiority and superiority and learn to see God in
everybody and everything "God wills it so. So be it.": Say that to
yourself and keep quiet in the face of insults. Be unruffled. If you put up
with insults, you will grow in humility and purity. You will grow spiritually
rich.
Do not develop ill-feeling inside your heart for the man who has
insulted you or injured you. This is worse than open anger. This is mental
cancer. Do not nourish grievances. Forget and forgive. This is not just
an idealistic maxim. This is the only way to retain your peace. The habit of
nurturing grievances is highly injurious to one’s own self. You will lose
sleep. You will poison your blood. You will develop blood pressure and
neurasthenia. After all, the injury or insult was done to you once. Now it is
past. Why do you want to perpetuate the misery of that injury or insult by
constantly remembering it? Get over the bad habit. The best way to do so is to
keep yourself ever busy in any work which absorbs your interest. You can gain
peace of mind if you actively follow a calling or profession, or even hobby,
which holds your interest. You will then have a sense of fulfilment, of
achievement. Remember the proverb: Man does not live by bread alone. If you can
afford it, and if you value peace of mind more than money, you would even do
well to take to a calling or job which you like but which is monetarily less
rewarding than one which you dislike all the time but monetarily more
rewarding.
Do not aspire for worldly glory, worldly recognition. This is the
surest way to mental and physical restlessness. Why do you crave for
recognition by others? The "others" are mostly ignorant people. The
most successful men of the world are often men of little real wisdom. Why do
you place so much value on their recognition? Instead, aspire for God’s
blessings, the blessings of wise men of saintly souls. That is worth earning,
worth striving for.
Do not attach much importance to public opinion. Public opinion is
often wrong. Attach importance to moral values, codes of conduct, scriptural
teachings, opinion of saints and holy men. You can never go wrong.
Jealousy often disturbs peace of mind. Jealousy is a canker. It is incorrect
to imagine that A has blocked your promotion in office or that B has ruined you
by competing in the same business. Again and again remember: no one can make or
mar your career. Your career and your life are shaped by your previous Karma.
If you are destined to rise, not all the world can stop it. If you are not so
destined, not all the world can help you to come up either. Each man is
governed by his own destiny. Each man’s life is independent, though seemingly
interdependent with the lives of others. Remember this. Understand this point
well. Never again be jealous of others or blame others for your misfortune.
May be, you are fed up with your environment which disturbs your
peace. Instead of trying to change the environment—the chances are you may
fail—change yourself for the better. Purify yourself. As you do this, even the
environment which has remained bad for you, may be for years, will mysteriously
begin to dance and change for the better. The more you grow in purity, the more
congenial and harmonious the environment will become. Do not ask.
"How?". Try and experience, my friend.
Put up with things. What cannot be cured has to be endured. Endure
cheerfully. Learn to live with a hundred inconveniences, annoyances,
irritations from morn till midnight. You will gain in patience, in inner
strength, in will-power. You will turn disadvantage into an advantage.
(To be Continued....)
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