CHAPTER 1
WHY DO WE
NEED PEACE?
PEACE IS THE FOUNDATION OF HAPPINESS
Man is like a Monkey who is not satisfied with just a banana. Like a Monkey, he keeps jumping from branch to branch, from thought to thought. He doesn't realize that if he wants to achieve true happiness, he must make the Monkey that he is, into a Monk. Unless the Monkey within becomes a Monk, man will continue to crave till he goes to his grave. He will keep on yearning and never be satisfied. Even though he has success, wealth, pleasure, he is never happy because he doesn't have Peace.
What is Peace? It is a state of calm and of quiet. It is being in harmony and living a stress-free life. It is serenity and tranquillity. It is also the absence of worry, fear, anger, hate, and revenge. It is a state of non-violence, just as it is a state of love and brotherhood. Peace is the foundation of happiness. It is the very base on which the castle of our joy, our bliss, and happiness is built. Where there is no Peace, there can be no joy. Therefore, while the whole world seeks to be happy, what we seek in essence is Peace. Our original state of Mind is peaceful and blissful, but somehow, we lose this gift of tranquillity. As children, we have no stress and worry. But as we grow up, we create stress. It is just like throwing a rock in a lake of water which is absolutely still. We create ripples as we desire and we crave, and we lose that stillness, that Peace of Mind. We are all taught that if we want to be happy, we must be successful, we must achieve our goals, we need success and achievement. In the pursuit of pleasure that will promise us joy, we destroy our Peace which is the very foundation of happiness.
Stop and look around you. What do you find? People want Peace. They dream of having Peace of Mind. But look at their actions. They are constantly chasing pleasure with the hope that these pleasures will give them their cherished happiness. But pleasures don't make us happy! Happiness doesn't belong to things. It is a state of Mind! We cannot achieve happiness. We have to be happy.
Why is it that people are losing their Peace of Mind trying to amass wealth which doesn't belong to them? Our Peace is our biggest treasure, but we exchange it for worldly things that have no intrinsic value. We get fooled by our own Mind that desires and craves and ultimately we go to our grave with a lot of financial resources, but when it comes to Peace, we are bankrupt.
The 'Paradox of Success' has not been understood by the world. We think that success is happiness, and we imagine that happiness will give us peace. We don't realize that we may be happy on the outside but stressed inside. As we work towards making our dreams come true, at that very moment, we lose our Peace. We consider the process of building our dreams to be very exciting. Little do we realize that all this excitement disintegrates our Peace into pieces. There can be no joy, although we might experience success. Worst of all, everybody cannot succeed and all those who don't, become disappointed and disgruntled. But even the achievers are not satisfied. Such is the paradox of success. Though we may have achieved our goals, there is no peace. We want more. Although we have what we wanted, it is not enough. Our craving for achievement robs us of contentment and fulfilment that create Peace and tranquillity.
How many people are actually living peaceful lives? The whole world is chasing success. The definition of success is wrong. Unless we define it to be a state of Peace, not money in the bank, not name and fame, not gold and diamonds, cars and buildings, stocks and shares, women and wine, we will never be able to quench our thirst and we will burst with stress, worry, and anxiety.
The most successful people in the world may have created a huge amount of wealth but pause for a moment and look at their health. They live with heart disease and all those ailments that are the result of a stressful life. When will we make a U-turn?
Smith was a successful businessman. His story of success started when he was barely out of college. From one peak to another peak, Smith climbed on and on, higher and higher. Not only did the money excite him, but he craved to be in the limelight. He wanted to be in the headlines, on television, in channels that broadcast business news around the world. He became a celebrity and a business icon. His company saw its stock price soar. But what happened to Smith? Before he could realize it, he was 60 years old. He spent 40 years building a business empire and his wealth reached such a level that four future generations could reap the benefit of his fortune, even if they chose not to work. But what was his state of Mind? He lived a life full of stress and nervousness. His passion for success created tremendous agitation and unrest, right from the beginning, which only got worse with time. First, he was anxious to achieve success but once he became successful, he lived with fear. He was afraid of losing his name and fame and he had to fight unwritten battles to maintain his position. To the outside world, he was a wealthy man, with a fleet of BMWs and Mercedes, even a limousine and a private jet. But inside, he was a lonely man. He was fighting a war that had little meaning. None of all this would remain his for long. He was under medication for hypertension, just as he developed a kidney issue. His success made him addicted to drinking the most expensive scotch, a habit he developed when he was showing off his wealth to his friends. Now, he suffered in body and Mind, although on the surface, to the outside world, he was a very rich and very happy man.
Sunder chose to take a different path in his journey of life. He was a musician and he did not let his dreams control his tranquillity. Music gave him deep fulfilment, just as it gave him enough money to live a decent life. He would wake up in the morning and enjoy the sunrise, just as he had enough time for his music. After his day's work, he would sip his favourite tea and watch the sunset as he enjoyed moments of tranquillity and Peace. He didn't want to be like Smith, chasing millions, building more homes, creating more businesses and wealth. He realized that his happiness was far more precious as it was built on a foundation of Peace.
What is it that we ultimately seek? Is life all about being an ace? Should we live at this pace, and continue our chase only to get caught in a maze? Is life all about letting our need become our greed? Is our ultimate goal Peace or Pleasure? Even if we have happiness, but no Peace of Mind, can we enjoy it? On the other hand, if we are peaceful, are we not truly blissful? Peace is the true treasure of Life. Tranquillity is our biggest wealth. A stress-free life is far more valuable than a life that is full of anxiety, though it is wrapped with prosperity. Prosperity may make us happy on the outside, but it steals our smile on the inside. Although the whole world may be chasing happiness, we must not be fooled and join the rat race. More than anything in this world, what we need is Peace.
‘Ashantasya Kutah Sukham’ – In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna gives this prescription for happiness to Arjuna. The meaning of these words is – without Peace of Mind, how can you be happy? All the wealth in the world, pleasure, power, cannot give us happiness if we have no Peace of Mind. Unless there