EXPERIENCING PEACE

If I am somewhere between Delhi and Mumbai and I want to go to India's capital city, will I reach there if I drive towards Mumbai? Consider another situation: I am preparing a dessert at home, and I throw generous amounts of chili pepper and salt into it. Will I get to savor a sweet dish?

- B.K. GEETA

What these two examples aim to illustrate is that we may desire one thing, but if we act in ways that yield the opposite results, we will not get what we want. This is similar to what happens when it comes to experiencing peace. People complain that there is no peace in their life; they yearn for a few moments of peace in a day, yet it eludes them. Why?

The first lesson of spirituality is that we are souls, not bodies. The soul is the sentient being which functions through the physical medium of the body. The soul creates thoughts, sees with the eyes, hears with the ears, expresses itself and performs various bodily functions as needed or desired. Peace is an innate quality of the soul, as are purity, love, and truth. That is why we all want peace. We may seek different kinds of distractions and excitement for momentary thrills, but in the end, it is in peace that the soul finds repose. Even the most boisterous child, or an avid fan of ear-splitting music, cannot do without sleep—it is not just the body, but the soul too needs silence and rest.