Bhagvat-gita 2.71
vihaya kaman yah sarvan, pumans carati nihsprhah
nirmamo nirahankarah, sa santim adhigacchati
"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego - he alone can attain real peace."
This is one of those verses of Gita that is very deep and profound. In fact, every verse of Gita is a storehouse of wisdom. In this verse Lord Krishna mentions three enemies of peace. These are three mentalities that destroy peace.
vihaya kaman yah sarvan, pumans carati nihsprhah
nirmamo nirahankarah, sa santim adhigacchati
"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego - he alone can attain real peace."
This is one of those verses of Gita that is very deep and profound. In fact, every verse of Gita is a storehouse of wisdom. In this verse Lord Krishna mentions three enemies of peace. These are three mentalities that destroy peace.
'Want' mentality
"Wants" is one of the primary reasons for our peace to be destroyed. If our mind is considered to be like pond, desires can be compared to be stones which when thrown into the pond of our mind, agitate it. The problem with desire is there seems to be no end to them. One is fulfilled another arises. In fact the mind has countless unfulfilled desires stored in it. How many can we be fulfilled and till how long? Fulfilling desire is not a solution to peace but it is the very obstacle to it. We need to find a more wholesome solution but for that we need to understand a little more about the workings of desires.
When a desire arises in our mind, the mind becomes agitated, restless. This is the primary reason we try to fulfill our desires, because we feel we will be satisfied, peaceful only if we fulfill them. This is the common error all of us make. But in actuality it is not the fulfillment of desire that makes us peaceful but the fact that as soon as we acquire the object of our desire, we give ourselves permission to release that desire. So, it is not the fulfillment of desire that makes us peaceful but the release of it. This is the shortcut to peace. We just need to surrender desire as it arises, we will be saved from all the unwanted anxiety and struggle it takes to fulfill them.
'Mine' mentality
This is another factor which affects our peace of mind - the 'Mine' mentality. It is a great illusion to think we are proprietors, owners of anything. Nothing of this world belongs to us. We come to this world empty handed and leave the same way, but in between we hold onto things of this world as if it belongs to us and thereby destroy our own peace of mind and those of others. We should always remember that we are only caretakers on behalf of God.
'I' mentality
The 'I' mentality or ego is also one of the crucial factors that affects our overall sense of peace and well-being. It is said that - everyone wants the first seat of the theater, middle seat of the bus, last seat of the classroom and everyone wants to be the center of attraction. As long as we have big egos and think we are very important, there will be great anxiety and stress to protect that image. But as soon as we realise that we are small we are immediately liberated from unnecessary anxiety. The joy of feeling small is much greater than the joy of feeling big.
The mantra for peace is - 'I am satisfied, I am small and nothing belongs to me.' The mantra for anxiety is - 'I still have a lot to enjoy, I am a very important person and I am a proprietor of so much.'
If we closely study the three enemies of peace that Lord Krishna is mentioning in this verse, we will realise that all three of them stem from us only, they are own flawed mindsets. In other words the biggest enemy for our peace is 'we ourselves', our own egos. So if we want peace, the only thing we need to do is 'get out of our own way' and let peace shine through us.
Peace is actually effortless, no struggle is needed to achieve it. In fact, it is our very nature, it never leaves us - not even for a moment. We generally take steps ahead to achieve it and never reach it because it is not ahead but just one step back. We can access it anytime, anywhere, in any situation. We just need to surrender our ego-mind and return to our conciousness - the abode of peace and joy.
The whole thing can be summed up by a small anecdote from the life of Lord Buddha. One man came to Buddha and told him - "I want peace." Lord Buddha coolly told him "Give up 'want', give up 'I' - all you left with is peace".
- Achyut Gopal Das
"Wants" is one of the primary reasons for our peace to be destroyed. If our mind is considered to be like pond, desires can be compared to be stones which when thrown into the pond of our mind, agitate it. The problem with desire is there seems to be no end to them. One is fulfilled another arises. In fact the mind has countless unfulfilled desires stored in it. How many can we be fulfilled and till how long? Fulfilling desire is not a solution to peace but it is the very obstacle to it. We need to find a more wholesome solution but for that we need to understand a little more about the workings of desires.
When a desire arises in our mind, the mind becomes agitated, restless. This is the primary reason we try to fulfill our desires, because we feel we will be satisfied, peaceful only if we fulfill them. This is the common error all of us make. But in actuality it is not the fulfillment of desire that makes us peaceful but the fact that as soon as we acquire the object of our desire, we give ourselves permission to release that desire. So, it is not the fulfillment of desire that makes us peaceful but the release of it. This is the shortcut to peace. We just need to surrender desire as it arises, we will be saved from all the unwanted anxiety and struggle it takes to fulfill them.
'Mine' mentality
This is another factor which affects our peace of mind - the 'Mine' mentality. It is a great illusion to think we are proprietors, owners of anything. Nothing of this world belongs to us. We come to this world empty handed and leave the same way, but in between we hold onto things of this world as if it belongs to us and thereby destroy our own peace of mind and those of others. We should always remember that we are only caretakers on behalf of God.
'I' mentality
The 'I' mentality or ego is also one of the crucial factors that affects our overall sense of peace and well-being. It is said that - everyone wants the first seat of the theater, middle seat of the bus, last seat of the classroom and everyone wants to be the center of attraction. As long as we have big egos and think we are very important, there will be great anxiety and stress to protect that image. But as soon as we realise that we are small we are immediately liberated from unnecessary anxiety. The joy of feeling small is much greater than the joy of feeling big.
The mantra for peace is - 'I am satisfied, I am small and nothing belongs to me.' The mantra for anxiety is - 'I still have a lot to enjoy, I am a very important person and I am a proprietor of so much.'
If we closely study the three enemies of peace that Lord Krishna is mentioning in this verse, we will realise that all three of them stem from us only, they are own flawed mindsets. In other words the biggest enemy for our peace is 'we ourselves', our own egos. So if we want peace, the only thing we need to do is 'get out of our own way' and let peace shine through us.
Peace is actually effortless, no struggle is needed to achieve it. In fact, it is our very nature, it never leaves us - not even for a moment. We generally take steps ahead to achieve it and never reach it because it is not ahead but just one step back. We can access it anytime, anywhere, in any situation. We just need to surrender our ego-mind and return to our conciousness - the abode of peace and joy.
The whole thing can be summed up by a small anecdote from the life of Lord Buddha. One man came to Buddha and told him - "I want peace." Lord Buddha coolly told him "Give up 'want', give up 'I' - all you left with is peace".
- Achyut Gopal Das
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