O my dear aspirants! I send you the thought-currents of Peace from the peaceful atmosphere of the sacred Himalayas, the Abode of Rishis.
Peace is absolute serenity and tranquility, wherein all the mental modifications, Sankalpas, thoughts, imaginations, whims, fancies, moods, impulses, emotions, instincts, etc., cease entirely and the individual soul rests in his own native, pristine glory in an unruffled state.
Peace is Turiya state or the fourth condition of superconsciousness. Peace is realm of infinite bliss, eternal life and eternal sun-shine. Cares, worries and anxieties and fear which torment the soul here, dare not enter, where all distinctions of caste, creed and colour vanish altogether in the one embrace of Divine Life and where desires, cravings find their full satiety. Peace is eternal life, in the pure spiritual consciousness, Atman, Brahman or Highest Self.
Peace is within. Search Peace within the chambers of your heart through one-pointed concentration and meditation. If you do not find Peace there, you will not find it anywhere else. Remember, dear friends, that the goal of life, the summum bonum of existence is the attainment of Peace and not the achievement of power, name, fame and wealth. God is Santi-Svarupa (embodiment of Peace). Srutis emphatically declare: “Ayam Atma Santo – This Atman (Self) is Silence.” Desire is the greatest enemy of peace. Desire causes distraction of various sorts. There is no peace for him who has no concentration. There can be no happiness for the unpeaceful. In that Supreme Peace all pains, sorrows, miseries and tribulations vanish forever.
Give up all desires, cravings, longings, egoism and “mine-ness.” You will get Peace. The Peace of the Eternal lies near those who know themselves, who are disjoined from desire and passion, subdued in nature, of subdued thoughts. The man who is endowed with supreme faith and has mastery over his senses, gets Supreme Peace quickly.
Dear brothers! Children of Immortality! Plod on. Push on. Do not look backward. Forget the past. Forget the body and the world. But forget not the centre. Forget not the source. A glorious, brilliant future is awaiting you. Purify. Serve. Love. Give. Live in Om. Feel always and everywhere the Indwelling, all-pervading Presence. Realise the Self. Rest in the magnanimous ocean of Peace, in the stupendous sea of stillness. Drink the nectar of Immortality. May the Indwelling Presence be your Centre, Ideal and Goal. May Joy, Bliss, Immortality, Peace, Glory and Splendour abide with you forever.
Stand up now like an undaunted spiritual solider in the Adhyatmic battlefield. Become a spiritual hero of great intrepidity and unique chivalry. Get over the obstacles fearlessly one by one and manifest divine glory, splendour, purity and sanctity. Wait patiently with a calm and serene mind for results. Do not be hasty, rash and impetuous. Allow proper time for regeneration and renovation. Nil desperandum – never despair. Wear the Vairagya-coat of arms. Wield the shield of Viveka. Hold the banner of faith. March boldly and cheerfully. Stop not till you drink the elixir of immortality to your heart’s content. Stop not, dear Sadhakas, till you enter the immortal realms of eternal sunshine, undecaying beauty, unfading ecstasy, supreme bliss, infinite joy, unalloyed felicity and unbroken peace. This is your final destination. You can take eternal rest now. This is your goal. This is your highest aim and purpose of life. Rest now in everlasting peace, friends! This noble and stupendous selfless work is awaiting you now in the Grand Plan. Fulfill the Divine Will and become Buddha of undying fame. Salutations unto you all!
Santi Mantra
Om Poornamadah Poornamidam
Poornat Poornamudachyate ;
Poornasya poornamaadaya
Poornamevaavashishyate
Om Santih! Santih! Santih!
The whole (Brahman) is all that is invisible. The
whole (Brahman) is all that is visible. The whole
(Hiranyagarbha) was born out of the whole (Brahman).
When the whole (the Universe) is absorbed into the whole
(Brahman) the whole alone (Brahman) remains.
Om Peace! Peace! Peace!
Excerpts from “Practice of Bhakti Yoga” by Swami Sivananda