Peace in cacophony

Restlessness was Rajan’s second name, though he often attributed that to his immense success as a corporate honcho. After all, even before he turned forty, he had spread his business empire far and wide, with a turnover running into billions. However, while that restlessness was the reason for his material success, it also gnawed deep within.

And the spiritual centres he approached to understand this enigma was filled with mere words, ‘nirvana’ and ‘moksha’ being the recurrent ones. He wanted to ‘achieve’ that, as he had done everything else in life. But peace continued to elude him. That’s when he heard of a meditation centre in a town among the mountains. Something told him this was the place he had been searching for all these years. He had no idea what lay in store.

The first of the shocks awaited him when he arrived to find the centre, not on idyllic mountaintop but right in the middle of a madness that’s a modern-day town. Worse, it was the town’s underbelly, with prostitutes, pimps, drug peddlers, corrupt, conniving cops and thieves infesting the place. It was repulsive and disenchanting. The guru understood Rajan’s predicament and told him to stay for a few days, even if he’d decided not to remain long. Reluctantly, he agreed.

However, as the days passed, something shifted deep within. Compared to the first day, where the cacophony all around drove him mad, the second day was a bit unnerving, though not so troublesome. By the third day, Rajan realised that he could sit quietly even with hullabaloo around the place. He decided to extend his stay as he could feel the change inside him. The guru teased him by asking, ‘Haven’t you booked your return ticket yet?’

Surprised by the transformation, Rajan wondered what the magic could be. The guru responded, ‘There’s no magic. You simply turned inward, had a glimpse of what’s inside, found out there’s a method to this madness, and worked on it. What constantly buzzes inside your mind is what causes the cacophony, not the sound from outside. And there’s no running away from it, even in pristine surroundings. If one can’t stay calm in the marketplace, there’s no way one can find peace anywhere. Louder than the market outside is the one inside your mind.’