I want peace

Everyone wants peace and says: "I want peace." Three words are contained here — I want peace. So, if you want peace, forget the other two words — I and want — and only peace will remain.

The underlying principle is very simple to understand: it is the "I," our ego, that does not allow us peace. We are so conscious of our own position and prestige that we will not listen to others. We want our own word to always prevail. But for that, we must first learn to be a good listener. Until we learn to understand the point of view of others, we cannot know the truth. And until we know the truth, we cannot truly win. Metaphorically too, the letter "I" stands vertical, not horizontal or slanted. If you walk straight into it, you will collide with it and fall. Now, if you turn the "I" ninety degrees, it becomes horizontal, like a bridge, and people can walk across it.

So give your personality a ninety-degree turn, learn to bend, to bend your ego, and you will find that you have the power to become a bridge in all your relationships, because the "I" has disappeared. You will feel as though some miracle has taken place.

Likewise, the second word — want, which is really desire — is the cause of our worries. When our whims are not satisfied, or our desires go unfulfilled, we become unhappy. This sets off a chain reaction in our body, which eventually brings things to a standstill. We become frustrated, then angry, we may even become aggressive, and so on.

So, whims or desires are the cause of all our worries, which today we commonly call stressors. The greater the worries, the higher the levels of stress. So worries come hand in hand with desires, and how can worry and peace coexist? Let go of desire, then, and peace will appear.

Source: Lectures by YOGGURU C.M. BHANDARI, translated by Piyush Mittal