Humans, as we all know, have the incredible human trait to better themselves. They have thus evolved from the tree-dwelling primate to cave-man to what we are now – a tribe of empowered and sophisticated individuals. We keep evolving and improving the world we live in, both individually and through institutional activities. Our great advancements in science and technology have indeed made our lives more comfortable, but we are confronted with a steady attendant decline in social and personal ethics. Not only we have become self-centered in our generation but the genext displays a growing lack of fellow-feeling which is alarming even from a social point of view.
We, as a society, lead a frenetic life. It hardly gives us any time for introspection. Our endless pursuit for prosperity leaves us too exhausted to even think of what real peace, bliss and fulfillment are. We need to realize that real peace, bliss and fulfillment are as real and relevant to our spiritual, mental and social well-being as everything else is. In fact, these are issues of great importance for each and every individual. But we are so caught up in the self-serving indulgence and the hustle and bustle of our life-style that the very objective of this life is pushed into background and is forgotten.
Agreeably all human beings wish to live in peace and harmony and remain happy. Who would not want a state of happiness to be perpetual i.e. never-ending? On the other hand, if we land in a painful situation we all would want it to end as soon as possible. That is how we all are. That is what our true nature is - to be in state of perpetual peace and joy. No wonder our search for peace and joy is eternal, but has truly been never-ending as we search for it outside. Thus the entire life time is wasted.
Peace is the very fundamental need of each human being, irrespective of the part of the planet earth he inhabits. It resides in their hearts, waiting to be discovered and felt. We need to dwell in this peace in good as well as bad times, independent of the elements on the outside. From this very profound feeling of the inner peace flows the human compassion in our hearts to guide our actions for peace as harmony and peace as justice. The practitioners of inner peace are the real protector of dignity of the have-nots and thus make them feel human – not oppressed, not manipulated.
Just as many lit lamps are needed to illuminate a city, many enlightened individuals (practitioners of inner peace) can make a peaceful society, a nation, and so on, to a peaceful world. We have had periods of prosperity which have been short-lived. However, we find from history that prosperity ruled during the reigns of rulers who practiced peace for justice and harmony. It unmistakably follows that prosperity resulting from peace lasts long.
On the issues of personal peace and happiness also we need to rethink. Pertinent questions such as what it means to be alive – what we exist for, also merit our sincere attention. Existential sufferings are part of our lives. So must we do something to secure our joy, to secure that happiness for ourselves. Great thinkers, mystics have, time and again, given us the clue to God-realization and connecting with the divine within us through self-knowledge. In this context the solemn call of Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, ‘Know Thyself’, engraved on the entrance to the Oracle of Delphi in Greece is a crying reminder. The knowledge of self enables the practitioners of connect with his inner-self where there is an ocean of boundless peace, joy, tranquility, serenity - whatever we may like to call it. This profound feeling is the perfume of God.
We are conditioned to measure our success in terms of accomplishments, even though we are always aware that these are transient. The real success, therefore, lies in attaining fulfillment and satisfaction and in being able to feel alive every moment in our life. Not just carrying the back-pack of responsibilities but also savoring the freedom, the peace, the bliss and understanding this life every single day. Alas, we remain alien to our very existence because we have suppressed and superseded our true nature, ignoring its innate demand, getting lost in the demands of the life outside which we are conditioned to treat as more important.
We in the journey of our lives are like passengers of a train heading towards a destination unknown to them. We remain unmindful of the impending end of this journey with our ostrich-like attitude. So the end, when it comes, is a great shock for us and is most feared by many. However, those who have tasted the real peace, bliss and are fulfilled are well prepared to face the same with smile.
The irony is that though all of the above is known to one and all, especially the elite of the society, very few actually pause to ponder and proceed to achieve life’s true goal.