Positive
Aids to Peace of Mind
A prime cause for losing one’s peace of mind is dependence on others
even for one’s basic needs. Paradhinam Prana Sankatam. Dependence is
pain. Independence is bliss. Become self-reliant. As far as possible, of
course. If you earnestly try, you will discover that there are many areas left
in which you can become self-reliant. Learn to wash your clothes, sweep your
room, cook your food, type your letters. You need not do them daily, but in an
emergency, these small talents will come to your rescue.
Do not evade responsibilities. Do not shirk. You cannot gain peace of
mind that way. You will only gather more worries, because the thought that you
are shirking your duties will corrode your mind and take away what little peace
there is. Rather, face your responsibilities to the best of your ability.
But—and this is important—do not add on to your responsibilities every day by
taking additional loads on your own egoistic initiative. In colloquial terms,
this is what is called purchasing trouble. Do not purchase trouble. Rather, cut
down your external activities more and more consistent with your
responsibilities. Yearn to spend more and more time in an inward life of
prayer, introspection and meditation. Perfect peace of mind arises when the
mind itself dies down. Mind means thoughts. Thought means restlessness. The
lesser the activity the fewer the thoughts. The fewer the thoughts, the greater
the peace of mind. Thoughtlessness is the highest state where perfect peace
reigns.
Have regular hours of meditation. Meditation calms down the mind. It
induces quiescence in the mind. If you meditate earnestly for one hour, even
during remaining twenty-three hours, the tendency introduced by meditation in
the mind persists and the mind does not oscillate as much as before. Gradually
increase the period of daily meditation. This will not interfere with your
daily work, because meditation increases your various faculties and gives you
the capacity to turn out more work in less time.
Always be doing something positive, something worthwhile. Do not waste
time wondering, "Shall I do this? Or shall I do that?" You will spend
days, weeks, months—why, years—in that futile mental debating and end up doing
nothing. Don’t plan too much. The planning is done by God. Be doing something
good all the time. Allow no gap in your concrete activity. You can never do
enough to take time for rest. Let there be no spare moments, no wasted moments
in your life. Even a few careless moments can pull you down in life. Time is
life. Value your time and spend it most profitably.
Even if you are resting physically, do not keep the mind vacant.
Occupy yourself in healthy reading or Japa or mental prayer. All havoc starts
in the mind. Harsh words and evil deeds originate in the mind. Keep the sources
clean. The river of your life will flow as crystal.
Doing things gives self-confidence. It does not matter if you fail the
first time. You can rectify your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting
back in the chair and worrying will lead to nothing. It will only make you a
total pessimist.
Some people get upset when they attempt to do something good and
obstacles come in. It is natural for obstacles to crop up in the way of any
good work. They come to test the mettle of the performer of the good work. They
come to test his sincerity, his patience, his faith. You will experience that
the stronger your resolve to do something worthwhile, the more powerful the
opposing forces. Do not feel frustrated. Do not give up. Do not yield. Overcome
the obstacles by faith in God and faith in yourself. You cannot win laurels in
any field without undergoing tests and tribulations. It is unfair to expect a
Degree while showing unwillingness to undergo a qualifying test.
If you fight shy of obstacles, then you can do nothing worthwhile in
life. You can at best vegetate, but that is not living. Living, to be true,
must be purposeful. You must have goals to reach, ideals to strive for. And
goals cannot be reached without encountering opposition. Such opposition should
not upset your peace of mind, but should strengthen your will to fight the
battle of life heroically. It will be possible if you learn to accept these
opposing forces as an inevitable part of phenomenal life, as unavoidable evil.
Never regret. Learn the lessons from your past experiences. Remember
the lessons. Let the lessons guide your future actions. But do not brood over
the past. Do not regret "If I had done that, I would have become this...
If only I had."—it is all futile thinking, waste of time and energy. Because
worry depletes energy. Does nothing more. The fact is whatever happened was
destined to happen only that way. It could not have happened in any other way.
Everything, from the tiniest movement of a particle of the mightiest
disturbances in the universe, everything in the past, present and future, every
cause and every effect, has been ordained in certain way by the omnipresent,
omniscient and omnipotent Will of God. Things happen as they are destined to
happen. Whatever will be, will be. No man has the power to alter the course of
God’s Will. Que sera sera is eternally true, universally true. To
regret, to brood is to show your cowardice in the face of the inevitability of
events and to disturb your peace of mind for nothing. Wisdom lies in seeing the
working of God’s Will in every happening and remaining at peace with your self
and the world.
Are you utterly selfish or do you think of others at least sometimes?
A selfish man can have no peace. On the other hand, if you are selfless, if you
serve others without motive, you will feel great peace... at once. Motiveless
service yields pure joy. Make others happy. You will begin to delight in their
happiness. This is something which is open to everyone to experience. Serve
others in a small way or a big way as is given to you but without thought of
reward or recognition. Service for the sake of service. Service at every turn.
Whenever opportunity offers itself.There are many ways in which one can help
others at little or no cost. Only a pure heart is required.
Harih Om
Tat Sat
(To be Continued....)
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