Everything we do is driven by a conscious or subconscious desire to experience happiness. It is part of the soul’s DNA – to be happy. Happiness has at its heart, a peaceful mind. In fact, what each one should be able to experience in life, is peace of mind and happiness, and the wherewithal to naturally share love, good wishes and kindness with others because a life of too much thinking is not a life. So why, when we look around is there stress, anxiety and unhappiness – what has gone wrong?
It starts when we are very young. Most newborn children have the blessings of good wishes upon them from their parents and relatives. We wish them happiness, love, peace of mind, security and contentment. Then we tell them that in order to get that they must aim to have a good education, the right, well-paid job, accumulate money, travel and buy a big house and car and then all the things that were wished for will come true. So, all the energy goes into the pursuit of the means, rather than the aim. If after all of that, there is some happiness or peace it is merely a bonus. The very common reality though, is that all of this acquisition comes at a cost of some of the very things we aim for. In the quest for the material supports people find they are stressed, have problems in relationships, live in unhappy marriages and have the disquieting sense of having in fact achieved nothing.
What has gone wrong is that all the energy has gone on the outer world rather than the inner world. This does not mean that we have to fail exams, or get a job where we are underachieving or in any way, hide our abilities and natural talents. I can express the best of myself and reach my full potential while, at the same time, being the owner of my peace of mind and happiness. It is all a question of making my mind my friend.
All I have to do is care for my mind, and then nothing in life will cause me any stress. When I understand that there is no single person or life event that I can, in fact, control, and that the people I find difficult are actually teaching me great lessons, then I can take control of my own mind.
It is a challenge because we have a deeply ingrained habit of trying to control life. We do not have to learn how to manage people or events, we have to learn how to make the mind stronger by the cultivation of greater tolerance, patience and understanding. If I am concerned more with how I would like to be and develop my inner strength, then life is unable to cause me stress.
Life is a mind game – conquer the mind and you can conquer your world. When we spend time in daily meditation and strengthen our natural and intrinsic spiritual strength, we are respecting and taking care of our mind for this journey we call life.
Yogesh Sharda is the National Coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris’ services in Turkey.