Kamlesh Patel, known to many as Daaji, is the Heartfulness Guide. He is bringing the essence of yogic spiritual practices to the modern world in a scientific way, in order to help people regulate their minds, manage their emotions, and elevate their consciousness to the highest possible level. He is a role model for millions of spiritual seekers around the world and is at home with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, giving special attention to the youth of today.
Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is harmony within oneself, between different parts of the universe within. Some unfortunate people have extreme cases of peace lessness like schizophrenics. They may need medical treatment, and the mercy of Nature, or Grace of God, to be cured.
However, the majority of us have this common problem of inner disharmony, and help can be sought to achieve inner contentment, focus, proper attitude, practices of the heart and mind, and cultivation of right attitudes.
Once the individual mind and heart are in harmony, only then world peace is possible. War is not the only threat to peace and survival of humanity, or even the biosphere as a whole. The miraculous combination of favorable factors, which have enabled creation and evolution of life as we know here, can be destroyed thoughtlessly, by various causes. War is only one of them.
We are familiar with the dangers of accelerated destruction of the environment by global warming, electromagnetic pollution, exhaustion of resources, dwindling capacity to produce food. Wars due to racial and religious prejudice are still possible as much as ever, in spite of creating two inter – national organizations (UN and League of Nations) in one century.
More important than all this is the destruction through the nature of the individual mind. Anger, avarice, discontent, greed, prejudice are the foundation on which all the world’s problems are based. A top US advisor on Climate change, Gus Speth, who also helped found the Natural Resources Defense Council and who served as the dean of Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, told a British radio presenter in 2013, “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
How to change this state of mind? How to cultivate virtues of contentment, moderation, love and compassion, and tolerance. These have to be individually cultivated and communally and internationally transmitted. Together, and not separately, the Nations and cultures of the world can do much more to protect humanity from disasters of environment, economy, and religious wars.
How can these dangers to the survival of humanity be averted?
The intensity of inner peace is exposed the moment we drop pride, egoism, avarice, arrogance on one hand, and selfishness, greed and discontent on the other. Meditation leads to a meditative state, inner cleaning of the pollutants of the mind restores purity and rejuvenates us. Prayerful connection to the inner self in heart before sleep maintains a prayerful state throughout the night. The gift of Love from the Source of our heart, makes it all possible.
When we fill our hearts with an ocean of peace, it can help with issues like anger, anxiety, panic, and rage. The reactions which these emotions leave on our mind strips the original state of joy, which our hearts and minds are so familiar with, and always crave. Cleaning of these impressions restores that joyful state. Now, how to fill our hearts with an ocean of peace?
- Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
- Imagine that you are in a gentle ocean of peace. The waves are soothing and blissful.
- Have the firm thought that you are immersed in this ocean of peace, and the waves are removing all your coverings.
- Do this for as long as you can, but no more than 30 minutes.
Let us ease our minds, from these ferocious emotions. Let us put our hearts at peace. Joy is our pure and original state and let us peacefully experience this most fundamental feeling. On World Mental Health Day, this October, let us strive to peacefully create a sound mental health by regulating our minds to be peaceful and hearts to be joyful.