Peace of Mind: Value Systems for Total Competence

By ALOK CHOPRA

Despite the stupendous achievements in various fields today, peace and happiness continue to elude humankind. Although peace and happiness have to be generated from within, we have started relying more and more on external factors to solve our internal problems. The progress we see today is mainly of the external world. But, this is no measure of individual evolution. If the individual wants to be peaceful and happy, he must uplift himself.

Individual uplift comes with the right value systems that he incorporates within himself, enabling him to relate positively with the rest of the world.

To remain active is one of the basic values a person must inculcate within himself. Activity generates energy within us. It is the insignia of life. Those who give in to inertia vegetate and ultimately lead themselves to destruction. Having initiated action one must give it a proper direction. Activity without purpose is unproductive. One must set an ideal in life and the higher the ideal, the greater the energy generated. Action dedicated to higher ideals are satisfying, entertaining and rewarding. But actions undertaken with selfish motives become monotonous and cause fatigue. Swami Parthasarathy, when asked what he taught people, replied that he taught them to look forward to Monday mornings instead of Friday evenings. Human dignity is hinged on pursuing noble ideals in life. Such a life becomes purposeful and meaningful.

Objectivity is an important quality that must go along with activity. It is the capacity to remain impersonal and detached in whatever one does and not allowing oneself to be mixed up with the results of action. True happiness does not lie in results achieved or not achieved but in performance of actions that ought to be done. ''Why have motives?'' asked Swami Rama Tirtha, when action itself is most enriching, rewarding and ennobling. Swami Parthasarathy in Vedanta Treatise echoes this: ''Your life is enriched by the accomplishment of right action rather than the outward success or failure''. Having set a pattern of life one ought to perform actions surrendering to the plan of nature. One ought not to impose one's will upon Providence. Action burdened by the craving of fruits loses its effectiveness. A batsman obsessed with achieving a century is likely to make a series of mistakes that prevent him from realising his goal. The right approach is to concentrate on the action and dismiss the thought of the fruit from the mind. Then actions lead to success and ensure peace of mind.

Objectivity is maintained by the supervision of the intellect over the mind. Actions can emanate from the intellect or the mind or a combination of both. The mind functions on mere emotions, likes and dislikes; such impulsive action can spell disaster for the individual. When our intellect chooses action, it is based on reason and judgment, even as emotions support it. Such actions help us in achieving our ideals in life.

Self-control is another important value. Our senses all the time gravitate towards the sense objects for fulfilment. Unregulated, the senses overtake and destroy our discrimination, taking us away from our set objectives. Sense pleasures are fleeting and temporary. Indiscriminate contact leads to diminishing value in terms of happiness while making us dependent upon the external objects. Self-control is neither denial nor unintelligent contact with the world. It is being a master rather than a slave to the senses.

Gratitude stands out as the foremost of individual qualities. From the moment one is born one is indebted to the world. We are given food and drink, air and light, temperature and right pressure. A sense of gratitude must be cultivated. The more we develop the attitude of giving the more we gain in life both in terms of happiness and prosperity. The way to gain something is to lose it, said Swami Rama Tirtha. This is evident in nature as well. Light consists of seven colours. When an object is bathed in light it absorbs certain colours and reflects back the others. The object actually gains the colour of that which it gives away.

A blue object appears so because it absorbs all colours, giving back the blue. So also in life, we are parted from that which we cling to and gain that towards which we maintain a spirit of dispassion. A value-conscious person maintains an inner cheer. His actions are dynamic and beneficial to all. Of such a person says Coleridge: ''For him in vain the envious seasons roll, who bears eternal summer in his soul''.

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See also: Peace of Mind, Peace on Earth, Life and Beyond, Love and Happiness, Body Mind and Soul)