Positive thinking, Peaceful living

Wars are conceived in the mind. hatred is nourished by negative thoughts. hatred breeds intolerance. a daily dose of anger ripens the hatred and intolerance until one day a volcano of violence erupts. a good thought conceived in the privacy of the heart will take its shape and form even after centuries. the noble thoughts of vivekananda, ramakrishna paramhansa, adi shankaracharya, jesus christ and guru nanak did not die with them. they penetrate through mountains and travel throughout the world. they enter the hearts and brains of people and inspire men and women of action. similarly the thoughts of tyrants manifest sooner or later, destroying innocents and terrorising humanity. despite knowing fully well the ills of negative thoughts some people find themselves drawn to them, resulting in regrettable acts of violence. in the mahabharata, this was what disturbed arjuna as he approached the battlefield at kurukshetra. ‘‘what impels man to commit sin even against his own wishes, as though driven by a force, o krishna?’’ (3-36). all of us have had the urge to compromise our intellect and commit sins. we do not hesitate in doing a wrong act. guilt comes too late. to this eternal question lord krishna in the bhagvad gita answered, ‘‘it is desire-lust: it is anger born of rajas: it is insatiable and grossly wicked. know this to be the enemy here in this world’’. (3-37). when desire for possessing anything grows out of proportion, it becomes lust. when lust remains unfulfilled, the outcome is anger at the obstacle. at such a time, virtues like justice, honesty, and truthfulness cannot express themselves and one vehemently justifies one’s unjust actions with several hollow arguments. lust and anger arise from rajoguna or mental agitation. a sense of inner emptiness and incompleteness compels us to possess, acquire, own and enjoy the objects of the world, by any means. but these desires are insatiable — the more one tries to satisfy them the more they grow. desire, lust or anger forces individuals, communities and nations to commit crimes against each other. since ages this desire-lust has left behind a sorrowful trail of destruction and blood. hindus call it the rakshas within us, muslims call it the shaitan, and the christians know it as satan, it is actually the negative urge within us, manifested differently in each of us depending on the degree of our passions and our vasanas (deep-rooted impressions of previous births). swamini purnanandaji acharya of chinmaya mission says, ‘‘no religion has ever advocated fanaticism. how can anyone claim that god with a particular name is superior to a god by another name? how can wars be fought in the name of religion? wars took place to resolve conflicts between dharma and adharma. do the wars of today fulfil this condition?’’ sant shri aasaramji bapu says, ‘‘do not be afraid of losing your pride or lust or desires. what will remain will be utter bliss. throw out the poison of jealousy within as soon as it raises its head, kill the demon of anger the moment it comes in your heart, and push out greed as soon as it comes to stay in the mind. once a house is burnt nothing can be retrieved from it similarly once the heart is burnt with anger no amount of honour, respect, peace or happiness can be retrieved from it. he is strong who conquers others but he is mighty who conquers himself’’. reminds swamini purnanandaji, ‘‘the blame rests with each one of us. have we ever condemned violence in our homes? in our daily contact with the outside world we fight battles of ego, power, anger, money and opportunities. everyone wishes that others acknowledge them as powerful. there can be active resistance to evil if the intellectual, compassionate and understanding brains of the world can be brought together to act in unison’’. violence has become a part of our personalities. some are violent with their very eyes, or their walk or their way of laughing, talking, eating, driving. ahimsa has to be practised at all levels. a bad thought needs to be banished as soon as it appears. otherwise, it will grow big and dominate us. we need to emphasise positive thinking. a child is angry if deprived of a chocolate, an adult gets angry if a child is disobedient. in both cases it is the ego, which gets hurt because of unfulfilled desires. simply get rid of selfish desires and there will be no ground for anger to stand on.