No Title

When man thinks, speaks, and acts along virtuous lines, his conscience will be clean and he will have inner peace. Knowledge is power, it is said; but virtue is peace.

Sathya Sai Speaks 10, p.267

To experience peace, we must master our unreasonable expectations. Agitation usually results from unfulfilled desires, not from external conditions. The mind creates wrong desire when it loses control over the senses. Virtue requires us to hold the senses in check. If we hold to material values, we lose our inner peace. If we live virtuously, we grow into unbounded joy.

What exactly is peace? It is the stage in which the senses are mastered and held in balance.

Sanathana Sarathi, Jan.1985, p.11

A controlled mind enables us to rest, content with the present, not dwelling on the past or expecting too much from the future. When the endless progression of thoughts is controlled, the divine purity of consciousness shines forth. The mind should be a tool of the atma, the inner divinity. The mind should not become our master, roaming unchecked among the objects of desire. The mind creates desire, so it must be taught to remain quiet when it is not required for a specific task. Like a small child, it must be taught to limit its reach and to rest occasionally.

There is some small confusion of terms, for there is no mind as such. The mind is a web of desires. Peace of mind is no desires, and in that state there is no mind. Mind is destroyed, so to speak. Peace of mind really means purity, complete purity of consciousness.

Conversations, p.44

2. Our Real Nature

A tiger cub was once separated from its mother and lost in the forest. It happened to come upon a gathering of goats and joined them for companionship. After some time, the cub began to eat grass and behave like the goats with which it lived. It bleated and pranced just like the others. This went on for months, until the herd was spied by the mother tigress. She pounced upon the group, scattering them in all directions. The young tiger cub bleated and dashed for cover in panic. However, the tigress noticed the incongruous “goat” and chased it down.

Dragging the terrified cub to water hole, she instructed it to look into the water. The cub was amazed to find that he looked just like the fearsome tigress, not the goats with which he had associated. He was, after all, a master of the forest himself.

We tend to be grass-eating tigers. We have come to believe that we are something less than divinity. If we look into the pool of spiritual truth, we find that we are the very source of wisdom, love, and peace. When we still the mind, it will cease to delude us into believing that we are less than what we are – the atma.

Atmic peace is our true nature; it is acquired when we look within. If we are concerned only with outer circumstances, the jumble of daily events, we will be unable to experience peace. Ignorance of our divine origin causes us to be elated or dejected at the changing course of events. Our true nature is selfless love and joyful peace, unbounded by time or circumstance. It manifests when it is allowed to shine through the clouds of illusion.

Once you enter the depths of the sea, it is all calm, it is all peace. Agitation, noise, confusion – all are only on the outer layers. So also in the innermost recesses of the heart, there is a reservoir of santhi (peace) where you must take refuge.

Sathya Sai Speaks 1, p.172

The possibility of acquiring inner peace is not so distant as we may think. In fact, all people possess it already. Peace is our essential nature, but it is hidden by the clouds of attachment. Peace is like the sun, always shining, but temporarily covered by the darkness of anger or selfishness. The divine self, the atma, radiates peace and joy. We need only to look within for the source of our joy.

Peace and joy can be secured only by realizing that they are one’s own real nature.

Sathya Sai Speaks 6, p.58

3. Inner Peace, Outer Peace

Faith results in a peaceful outlook. As rose-colored glasses turn everything that color, inner peace sets our own “world” at peace. When we discern the divine basis for creation, we cease to be upset by changing circumstances. Faith in God and faith in oneself set one’s world at rest.

So real santhi (peace) is to be had only in the depths of the spirit, in the discipline of the mind, in faith in the one base of all this seeming multiplicity. When that is secured, it is like having gold: you can have any variety of ornaments made from it.

Sathya Sai Speaks 1, p.124

When we wear comfortable shoes, even the bumpiest roads seem smooth. Although the track may be covered with small stones or glass, we can walk without fear. Wherever we travel, on highway or trail, we are assured of a smooth journey. Peace within protects us in the same way. Inner peace reflects outwardly as peace in our own immediate world. What we perceive in our surroundings is a reflection of our inner state. If we realize the joy and beauty within ourselves, we also perceive it in the realm around us. Peace is a cloak which affords us comfort even on the coldest days.

So, too, the man who is at peace with himself will discern peace all around him. Nature is beauty, truth, peace. Man sees it ugly, false, and violent – that is all.

Sathya Sai Speaks 9, p.147

Peace in the world depends on peace in each individual. No laws or treaties can bring about peace without righteousness in individuals. Righteousness results when individuals master their unreasonable desires. With proper understanding, they leave the results of action to God and act in accordance with their spiritual duty.

If there is righteousness in the heart
There will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character
There will be harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home,
There will be order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.

Sathya Sai Speaks 7, pp.189-190

Righteousness in the heart results from the vision of Oneness. People of all lands share the same divine status as embodiments of God. When all recognize that the same God-nature moves in each, they will respect one another. All are waves on the ocean of God, not separate from each other or from God.

Now all things have gone up in value; man alone has become cheap…He has become cheaper than animals; he is slaughtered in millions without any qualm because of the terrific growth in anger, hate, and greed; he has forgotten his unity with all men, all beings, and all worlds. The contemplation of that unity alone can establish world peace, social peace, and peace in the individual.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.287

4. How Do We Cultivate Peace?

To gain a true perspective on an object, we need to move away from it. If we are too close, we are confused by its motion or the details of its appearance. When we stand on the shore, the ocean may appear angry and restless, but from space it is a calm blue pond. Our closeness – or our attachment – to objects robs us of our peace. When objects are near, mentally, emotionally, or physically, we are more likely to relate to them on an ego level. We are apt to interpret them in terms of our own personality. To cultivate peace we must move back and detach from objects.

When we calm our emotions and center ourselves within, we gain control of our minds. Peace grants us perspective for intelligent action. In fact, peace encourages many virtues. It grants divine vision, which encourages wisdom and love.

Santhi (peace) is essential for sharpness of intellect. Santhi develops all the beneficial characteristics of man. Even farsightedness grows through santhi. Through that, obstacles and dangers can be anticipated and averted.

Prasanthi Vahini, p.12

The vision of unity is won by intense spiritual practice. Practice helps us to see God in everything and in everyone. That vision results from clearly analyzing the results of thoughts and actions. When we see the painful consequences of desires for fleeting pleasures and material acquisitions, we learn to search for more lasting values. Then we experience the joy and peace derived from knowing God.

Only thoughts of God and intense love for him bring peace. As worldly thoughts diminish, thoughts of God increase. Normally, the mind desires these worldly things all the time. As the desires are cut one by one, the peace becomes stronger…When there are Godly thoughts, there is peace of mind. Swami cannot give peace of mind; one has to work for it.

Conversations, p.22

Until the mind is stilled and peace is experienced, we must engage the mind in pure thoughts. We must have faith that God will give us our due. The Lord dispenses results in accordance with what we have earned. If we leave the results to God, we can experience peace. Centered on God, we are content with whatever may happen.

But you cannot easily detach yourself from activity; the mind clings to some thing or other. Make it cling to God, let it do all things for God and leave the success or failure of the thing done to God, the loss and profit, the elation and dejection. Then you have the secret of santhi and contentment.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.318

Questions for Study Circle:

What is peace?
Is peace possible with any kind of external conditions?
Does peace come from within or from without?
How is peace cultivated in daily life?
Is peace a state of mind, emotion, or circumstance?
Does God grant peace?
How can peace in the world be achieved?
What are the obstacles to inner peace?
How do we act without attachment?
Does peace mean lack of effort?
Is peace natural to human beings?
Can we make spiritual progress if we have too much peace?

References for Further Study:

Prasanthi Vahini, p.10 (Peace is won by recalling the travails of the saints and sages).
Prasanthi Vahini, p.11 (Peace is the nature of man. Anger and greed suppress it).
Sathya Sai Speaks 6, p.231 (First learn inner peace, then you can deal with the world).
Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p.407 (Action without attachment to the fruits brings peace).
Sathya Sai Speaks 8.p.32 (Peace can only come from within).
Summer Showers 1977, p.24 (True peace is in the heart).