Om Shantih...

....Shantih Shantihi

Robbie is back with his pleasant requests and I'm really happy about it. This time the topic is on Peace. Now at midnight, I'm going to churn the great ocean of Consciousness with the ladle of my mind and dive deep down to pick up some pearls that are contained in the three words Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi.

At the end of any excitement, at the end of any disturbance - all have to return to this state called peace. Peace after anger, peace after hatred, peace after war, peace after disturbance -peace is that space that happens between two events, a time to rest and gather oneself with sufficient quietitude, just like the neuter gear in the car to which we have to switch back to, between the four or five gears with fluctuating speeds.

Peace is the fundamental requirement for an individual or society to progress. Peace is the fundamental need for a mind to make its journey towards enlightenment. Peace is a necessity for meditation. It is not the ultimate goal and end result of meditation as people commonly thing. It is a by product, a side effect.

A person with peace of mind will be totally available to the work to be done at the moment. Otherwise he will be in pieces of mind with his thoughts shattered and scattered in the worries of the past and expectations and dreams of the future.Total peace of mind happens to the one who lives in the present moment. Caught in a traffic jam. Be there totally instead of cribbing about the wastage of gas in an idling car. Sick and tired. Be there in that situation rather than worrying about the ones whom we think were the possible causes. Unable to sleep. Be there and watch the inability to sleep. In that silent watching of all situations, there is peace and when peace happens, progress happens as a result.

Moving to the next step is possible only if I am stably available in the previous step, quietly leave one foot to the next, holding the other in the previous step, grounding myself in the next and taking the other foot up. Peace is important for even an act as simple as walking. Just imagine walking with a mind lost in some disturbing event. Even a non-existent pit can make one fall! Peace is balance. Peace is living in Yoga, union with the cosmos.

Sounds have power to bring the mind to a state of peace when there is agitation, just as certain sounds such as abusive words or the bursting of loud fireworks have the power to destroy the mind. Mantras are the essence of powerful sounds. In the event of an agitation, disturbance or calamity when peace is the first casualty - chanting of the most powerful mantra Om Shantih Shanthih Shantihi will help immediate realignment and fine-tuning of the disturbing vibrations. If in doubt, try it out.

Swahilya