Prasanthi Vahini

The ocean is one and indivisible, but it is called by many names based on cardinal directions. So too, the Lord, the Ocean of Grace, is one; but He is assigned various names and forms according to the Age or Era of Time. The holy rivers seeking to reach the Ocean flow from all directions (the eight directions of North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest); but, at the end, they all reach one Ocean. So too, humanity seeks and worships the Lord through various sadhanas (spiritual disciplines) and finally merges themselves, all of them, in Lord Krishna.

Mankind can win happiness only by observing unity and not through differences. If thoughts and feelings run along the routes of distinction and division, happiness is beyond reach, and as a result, shanti cannot be experienced. Without shanti, man has no chance to be joyful. Consider the One Indivisible Ocean as the goal; then, what does the direction of the flow matter? What does the name matter? They merge in the self-same sea, is it not? So too, sadhakas and bhaktas, adopting the path of jnana or yoga or karma or bhakti, or the path of shanti, dharma, satya, and prema, when they reach the Ocean of Grace at last through these eight paths or directions, Names and Forms fade away, distinctions in sadhana paths disappear. They are blessed with the merger by one powerful Ocean of Grace. So, unity must ever be kept before the eye. Never nourish ideas of difference, of distinct names and forms of the Lord, of paths which are divergent. Such ideas of differences are obstacles for the attainment of ananda. Avoid these obstacles by developing the attitude of samadrishti (equal vision). Remember, shanti is the royal road to strengthen that vision and reach the Ocean of Bliss.

To enjoy shanti, mankind must be controlled and directed by ideals of dharma. This depends on mutual toleration in the family. That again is based on individual conduct which is satvika and saundarya (beauty or charm in character, i.e., conduct that pleases everyone). Beauty or charm in character is to avoid all traces of the desire to pain others, to insult others or to cause loss or misery to others in one’s behaviour, actions and speech; and also desisting from injury to oneself and one’s own dharma too; and to walk always in the path of Truth.

For man to have such charm in conduct, the heart must be filled with saujanya (kindness or goodness). One can acquire it only if he has (1) janmantara-sukritam (good inborn impulses or samskaras as a result of past births’ meritorious deeds), and (2) bhakti (devotion) in every act. Through bhakti or devotion to the Lord, one gets humility, fear of sin, and faith in scriptures. Through these qualities, the littleness of mind is wiped out, and the heart of man is filled with saujanya. Therefore, O ye Seekers! First direct your efforts towards acquiring faith in God and fear of sin. These two will strengthen humility; and, that itself is shanti.

Some vedantins (Vedanta Scholars) who have no experience and who have not put their words into practice, go about declaring that the way to shanti is to keep samsara (family life or worldly life) at a distance. That is no shanti. It is just the opposite. If the seed is taken far away from the tree, will it not grow into a tree again? If you do not want it to, you will have to fry it over a fire to destroy germination. So too, man cannot attain shanti by merely keeping samsara at a distance. The impulses and vasanas (desires, tendencies) that can germinate in antah-karana (inner faculties or instruments) have to be fried over the fire of vichara (enquiry) and then, real shanti can be experienced by him and he can become a true jnani (the one with experiential wisdom). Instead, if one escapes only from the responsibilities of samsara or life in society, it is not called shanti; it will never come. So, those who want to attain real shanti, there is no need at all to run away from samsara. Content with what one has, refusing to be worried by the absence of things which one has not got, trying as far as possible to reduce and eliminate vasanas and passions and hatreds, one should strive to associate with bhakti, jnana, satya, dharma, prema and sahana (fortitude) which are the upakaranas (means or instruments) to attain shanti. Associate with them, and at the same time, practice them systematically.

This is the real duty of man, the real purpose of human birth. If the above-mentioned four upakaranas of satya, dharma, prema and sahana are cultivated and practiced by each for himself, there will be no hatred and envy between man and man; selfish grabbing will cease; the interests of others will be respected, and world peace can be stabilized. Instead, if you yourself have not experienced shanti, how can you ensure world peace? Those enthusiastic about world peace must first learn how to experience and enjoy that peace themselves; later, they can spread that shanti to the world outside them through those paths and help to promote it.

Everywhere now, one can hear the cry, “World Peace," “World Peace," but the number of persons who can tell how it can be attained is very small! There is no one who can even picture correctly what exactly is meant by shanti. For, if one has acquired true shanti and experienced it, the turmoil and confusions of the world will not be cognised at all. Shanti means, the giving up of the pursuits or desires of the senses. Such shanti cannot be spread and ‘promoted’. It can only be experienced by self-practice, but, it is incapable of being exchanged from person to person by mere proclamation. The best that can be done is to show the way to others, to inform others of its sweetness. How can another’s hunger be appeased by eating your fill? The diner alone derives satisfaction from the dinner. Shanti too is of such a nature. If you want world peace, you have to earn and experience shanti for yourself. Prema and sahana are enough to confer shanti. But, you should not concentrate on mere outward show; let these virtues saturate your thought, word and deed. Only then can world peace be experienced.

Certain others declare that prayer can bring about world peace and they ask people to pray. Of course, it is good to pray; but shanti can never be gained by that alone. Prayer must be united with your conduct and practices. You should not pray for one thing and behave or practice in a contradictory manner. Such prayer is of no use, and it is only a means of deception. The words you utter, the deeds you do, the prayers you make, must all be directed along the same path. While repeating prayers for World Peace or Loka-shanti, if you cannot patiently put up with others, if you slander others and look down upon them, you yourself will have no shanti. You will experience kranti (declination, downfall or moral deterioration) instead of shanti. Experiencing kanti (spiritual illumination) is beneficial, but experiencing kranti will definitely result in sorrow only.

Through world peace, Atmanandam (Bliss of the Self) too can be cultivated. Those who aspire for world peace will be able to have individual peace too. When food is taken by the hand to the mouth and from the mouth to the belly, the essence spreads from the belly to every part of the body. So also, if the hands are engaged in acts promoting world peace, and the mouth engaged in prayers for world peace, by these two means, the essence of shanti will spread into all parts of the World, which is but the body of the Lord. That is said to be the real shanti. The shanti of the World is the basis for real shanti.

Many do not know the real meaning of the statement, “Deho Devalayam”, “The Body is the Temple.” For what reason did the temple arise? It is for the Lord who dwells within. If there is no such Lord, no one would build a temple; even if built, it cannot be considered as a temple. Now all sadhana is being done to the temple. Forgetting that the temple is not God, all decorations and worship are being done to the temple. All these should be performed for the sake of God therein and not for the sake of the temple. It is only a dwelling place of the Lord, but it is not the Lord. The temple is to be preserved and cleaned for the sake of worship of God. It should be made a good means to have the vision of God and to attain Him. Similarly, the body is only the temple of the Lord, the Atma-swarupa (Pure Consciousness). Forgetting the need for faith in the Atma, for the bliss derived from the Atma, for the worship of the Atma, for dedication to the Atma, people are now immersed only in the upkeep of the body, comforts of the body, decorations of the body and pleasures for the body, which is merely a temple. No matter what you do to the body or desire for the body, you must have firm faith that it is for the sake of the Atma within. Through this temple of body, you must have the vision of God, Atma within. That is the main task of man. Conscious of this, try always to keep watch over the body and protect it. Do not neglect the Lord within. Do not hold fast to the unreal, temporary, outer building, temple. Of course, you should not ruin the temple, either. Its well-being is also essential. Only, you should never forget that what gives value and purpose to it is the Atma within.

Similarly, for Atma-shanti, Loka-shanti is also essential. The temple is Loka-shanti, the Lord within is Atma-shanti. World peace is a means to subserve the shanti of the individual. So, by your conduct and efforts, aspire for world peace. The World is the Lord’s Mansion. Know it as such. He is moving about in that mansion, in its many rooms. God’s worship can be done well only if the temple is clean and pure. The temple is built for the sake of God. So, engage yourselves in winning both (God and temple). Of these two, first comes God and then the temple. Conscious of this, the welfare of both must be observed. Do not ignore the Lord whose mansion is the world! Without Him, it is lifeless, not a temple, shavam (lifeless or dispirited) not shivam (spirited). Have your attention and vision always on Him, that is sarva-mangala (auspiciousness and blessing to all).

Loka-shanti is the life-breath of all beings; so, strive ever for that. The Lord can be won only when the sacred dashamatha (motherland) is immersed in shanti. When prakriti merges in paramatma, it is called moksha. So, seekers of moksha must yearn for the shanti and prema of prakriti as much as they yearn for the prema and Grace of paramatma. Without the Grace of both prakriti and paramatma, the strong and subtle evil of the senses that troubles the heart cannot be conquered; that is, the destruction of the mind, the stilling of the agitations of the mind cannot be done. Therefore, everyone has to achieve shanti, as his chief duty.

There are many who argue that Atma-gauravam (Self-respect) is shanti. But, they confuse Self-respect with the respect given to the inferior vehicle, the body, or to one’s status. That is, vyakti-gauravam – respect to the person, not respect to the Self or Atma. Such vyakti-gauravam should be treated as vyartha-gauravam (futile-respect). The respect given to the Lord within, the Truth within, that is real and worthy Atma-gauravam (Self-respect), not anything else. Truth is Atma. Pure prema is Atma. The Lord is Atma. Selfless service is Atma. Respect for these is Atma-gauravam. Atma-gauravam of this type is, of course, shanti; not the other types that are insignificant. Keeping the All-merciful Lord, the Personification of Truth, the Lord whose very nature is prema, always in the memory, that is real Atma-gauravam. To earn this, one has to cast aside as worthless, the respect that the world accords to wealth and status, to ignore praise and blame, derision and flattery, and engage in sadhana with firm determination and full faith in satya (Truth) and the Lord and attain fulfillment. That is real shanti, pure shanti and eternal shanti.

There is no status higher than that of the Lord; no form, higher than satya (Truth); no Bliss higher than shanti, no, not even in all the fourteen lokas and in the entire Creation, now, in the past and forever and ever. This is the truth, and truth alone! Truth enveloped in the darkest maya (illusion) will still shine brilliantly; however strongly you may imprison it in darkness, its effulgence cannot be suppressed, and it cannot be contained.

Satya (Truth) can never be lifeless; untruth can never live. You must all get firmly established in this belief.