The way to Divine Peace

Once there was a rich man who lived in a village. He possessed all the materialistic wealth. Despite having a luxurious life, he always remained worried, anxious, and restless. Coincidently, an enlightened master also lived in his village. He went to an enlightened master and asked. "I wanted to attain meditation and peace. Ask any price I will pay for it." The master sensed his trouble. The rich man knew only the language of money. He got a beautiful palace, a luxurious car, etc. through the money. He always thinks in terms of money. The master told him, "There was a poor man who lived a few miles away from here. He had attained meditation and silence. Just go there maybe he will exchange his mediation and silence for money."

The rich man went to meet the poor man. He told him, "I wanted to buy meditation from you. Ask any price I will pay for it and if you refused to sell it then I bought the soldiers they will take you away by force." The poor man started laughing. He replied, "Meditation is not a commodity that you can buy. It is a feeling, a personal experience that you have to experience by yourself. Even if you throw me into chains still you can't get it." The rich man understood the lesson. He came to know that the deep experiences of life can't be bought through money. One has to go deep within himself to experience those things.

The man hankers for power. The outer power acts as food for his ego. The power that comes from the outside brings with it the shadow of turmoil. He is in constant fear of losing power. Fear gives birth to turmoil and anxiety grows out of it. The more he accumulates the outer power, the weaker he seems to be from the inside. This creates anxiety. Now he becomes restless. When someone works very hard then he starts feeling hungry. In the same way, when a man is really troubled the thirst for peace will arise.

Don't ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness. Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Dalai Lama

Now he longs for power that gives him peace and silence. Real power and peace lie within ourselves. It awakens when we look deep within ourselves. The problem is we are looking for them in the wrong places i.e in the outer world. We are what we do. Actions determine the quality of our lives. Let peace be like a compass of your life that will help you to navigate which course of action should be taken place. Any action that is disturbing your peace then remove it from your life like the dust is removed from the mirror. No matter what you do if it is making you restless then it is not worth doing. Life is given as a gift to us by existence. Live it, dance in it, celebrate it, and spend every moment of your life in bliss, silence, and peace.

The technique to attain peace in life given by Mabel Collin is:

The peace you shall desire is that sacred peace which nothing can disturb,

and in which the soul grows as does the holy flower upon the still lagoon.

Everyone wants to live a happy and peaceful life. Getting disturbed by trivial things means that real peace has not yet flowered within us. A feeling of real peace will remain unaffected by external events.

How do external events affect us?

External events act as a stimulus to invoke thoughts within our minds. Positive thoughts make us feel good whereas negative thoughts make us feel depressed.

The problem is with our thoughts. When you are in a meditative state (Meditative state means when you are fully aware of your thoughts) then the flame of awareness is enough to dispel the darkness of negativity from your mind. You are no longer controlled by your thoughts. Hence external events won't affect you. Peace, bliss, and silence will descend on your life. Mabel Collin was talking about this peace. The peace you shall desire is that sacred peace which nothing can disturb.

If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else. Marvin Gaye

People are generally escaping from their responsibilities. They renounced the materialistic world and went to the Himalayas to attain peace. Initially, they are attached to the materialistic world and now they are attached to the Himalayas. The attachment and their state of mind remain the same. Peace is the gift given to them by the Himalayas. If market place is disturbing their peace then it is not real peace. The peace one attains in the Himalayas is not real peace. The moment they left the Himalayas they found themselves again in turmoil.

Real peace happens when one takes all his energies within himself. When one takes deep dive into the ocean of the soul. When you move deeper and deeper within yourself you will start experiencing the nectar of godliness. The day you become one with your center then the divine starts shining through you from your eyes. You will remain peaceful amidst the chaos. Everything appears sacred to you. You will see the sacred divine in everybody. That day you become truly religious. A pseudo-religious person would always put the blame on others. You are always right and the others are always wrong. A religious man doesn't blame anyone. Others are what they are. He never looks down at anyone.

It is very difficult for the poor man to become religious. He has a begging bowl in his hand and a begging bowl in his heart. He doesn't experience any contrast between his outer world and his inner world. When he prays to God, he prays for materialistic things. His entire being is occupied with hunger. How can he pray for otherworldly things?

A rich person has the potential to become a religious person. He has all the materialistic things yet he is not satisfied with his life. He possessed all the material wealth but has a begging bowl in his heart. Outside he appears as an emperor but inside he becomes a beggar. There exists a contrast between the outer world and his inner world. Anguish arises because his inner and outer world is not in harmony. Now he is in a search of real peace that awakens the spirituality within him. Buddha and Mahavira are kings. They had experienced the poverty in their hearts that is enriched by the experience of having been an emperor. When they started their inner journey then they have attained bliss, silence, and peace in their life.

Nobody can bring you peace but yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Start your inner journey and you are on a way to becoming an enlightened being. An enlightened person is rooted in his being. If he sees a beautiful car a desire to possess it arises in his mind but his flame of awareness is enough to burn that desire into ashes. Now nothing can possess him, make him unhappy. This is true freedom, real power, and real peace.

And in which the soul grows as does the holy flower upon the still lagoon.

When you have attained the inner power and inner peace then your soul will grow on its own. The lotus of your life will begin to bloom and whosoever comes near you will be influenced by your inner light and the fragrance of your rose-like soul.

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Photo by Hasmik Ghazaryan Olson on Unsplash.