In Mauritius, our Spiritual Park—along with the country's many temples, large and small—fulfills the inner purpose of inspiring visitors to uplift themselves and experience some of the peace, shanti, that is within each of us, that is our soul nature, that is our very essence. Individuals who experience peace at a temple carry it back into their home and make their home a more harmonious place. They also carry it out into the community and help the community be more tolerant of one another, and more united.
My Guru was very direct in many of his statements. Of peace, he declared: "For peace in the world, stop the war in the home." This was his message to 1,200 delegates at the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations in August of 2000. Certainly the most effective way to make the home more peaceful is for husband and wife to each take the time to regularly visit Hindu temples and shrines.
Many people think that world peace will come about when the United Nations or the leaders of the developed nations somehow change the world and make it a peaceful place. While Gurudeva recognized the importance of governmental peacemaking, he placed even greater emphasis on the role of the individual. He stressed, at the United Nations and elsewhere, that each individual who becomes more peaceful inside himself or herself creates a more peaceful planet and moves us a tiny step closer to world peace—one person, one home, one community at a time.
Even though we may manage to find peace, shanti, when we go to a temple, it can be difficult to maintain that sense of peace and contentment when facing the duties and challenges of our daily life. Perhaps we hold on to it for a day or two, but then it is gone.
Fortunately, Gurudeva gives some specific suggestions in this regard: "Maintaining joy and serenity in life means being content with your surroundings, be they meager or lavish. Be content with your money, be it a small amount or a large amount. Be content with your health.... Be content with your friends. Be loyal to those who are your long-time, trusted companions. Basically, contentment, santosha, is freedom from desire gained by redirecting the forces of desire and making a beautiful life within what one already has in life."
Here are some examples to illustrate maintaining peace and contentment. First example: A man is passed over at work for a promotion that he thought was a certainty. His first reaction is to feel discouraged and sad, but after a few days he pulls himself out of his mood by the decision to accept his current employment circumstances and be happy within them, but also to continue to strive for the desired promotion.
Second example: A wife feels the apartment they live in is too small and complains to her husband about this and expresses her discontent. Later in the day when playing with her young daughter, her mood changes into one of gratitude for the child and husband she has, and the feeling of discontent for the size of their apartment leaves.
Third example: An attorney has spent his day doing difficult research on a technical legal issue. He finds his intellect over-stimulated as a result, and he feels somewhat agitated. On the way home he stops at a park and takes a walk, relaxing and observing the natural beauty of the place. This quiets his intellect, and he is at peace with himself again.
Fourth example: A teenage boy tells a lie to his mother about where he went one afternoon. Afterwards, he finds that his mind is agitated as a result. Disturbed by his guilt, he tells his mother the truth and soon finds himself peaceful again on the inside.
Let's look now at some specific suggestions on what we can do to experience the peaceful state of mind called contentment. Certainly the most basic requirement for experiencing contentment is avoiding adharmic or unvirtuous actions, such as dishonesty and lying, which will keep our mind and emotions stirred up and prevent us from being peaceful on the inside. Not allowing ourselves to let disagreements turn into arguments is an essential practice in nurturing contentment. Disagreements are natural, but they need to be handled in an intelligent and harmonious way. By always being willing to compromise, we can keep difficult discussions from turning into arguments.
One of the major causes of arguments in the home is holding the attitude that the home is the right place to let off steam. The husband is frustrated with his boss, but he can't, of course, talk to his boss about it. The daughter is upset with her teacher, who unfairly picks on her, embarrassing her in front of her classmates. Each brings these frustrations home and takes them out on family members. This generates discord, frequent arguments and keeps everyone in the family inwardly disturbed. The home loses its function as a protective refuge.
Gurudeva has an interesting insight into the home. He says that we need to consider the home a sanctuary for the entire family and never look at it as a place where we can let off steam or vent our frustrations. He stresses that the home must have an even higher standard of professional behavior than school or the workplace. In such a home, parents interrelate in a cultured, religious way, without disharmony or argument. Children are respectful, parents are loving, and all are inwardly at peace.
If we cannot let off steam at home, where, then, can we? Leaving work or school in an emotional state, we can stop at a temple before going home or take a walk through a beautiful place, such as a park or botanical garden, or walk along the beach and let the beauty of nature quiet our mind. Another place to let off steam is an exercise facility where you can swim, run and bicycle away your stress. When you reach home, you will be calm and ready to enjoy the family and not disturb it.
Those who are at home all day, such as a housewife raising a young child, can also become stressed. The same remedies apply. Leave the home for a while and visit a temple, a beautiful place or an exercise facility. Getting out of the house on a regular basis for stress-reducing activities is important.
Gurudeva also suggests that certain kinds of stress can best be released at the temple. The temple is the special place where can let our emotions pour out to the Deity. Whatever we feel, we can express it to God and the Gods and relieve ourselves of that burden without burdening others with it. This may result in our crying a lot, but that is acceptable behavior at a temple.
Another way to lose contentment is through getting caught up in cycles of desire. In our modern world we constantly encounter advertisements promising that we will be happier if we spend money and acquire some new product. Fancy new cars, faster computers, high-tech cellular phones, attractive clothes—all promise the elusive state of mind called happiness. Of course, new possessions do make us happy, but that happiness is short-lived and we eventually end up in the same discontented state of mind we were in before we acquired the new possession.
The key is to rise above this cycle of unhappiness, desire, acquisition, happiness and unhappiness again. To overcome desire's powerful impulses, hold the perspective: "I am grateful for and content with what I currently have. I am acquiring this product not because it will make me happier but because my family will benefit in a meaningful way by having it."
Being content with what you have, however, does not mean you should not seek to progress in life. It doesn't mean you should not use your willpower to fulfill your plans. Rather, it means you should not become upset while you are striving toward your goals, nor frustrated if you do not get everything that you want.
Gurudeva proclaimed, "Life is meant to be lived joyously." Holding this buoyant attitude helps us avoid falling into the misconception that if we are serious about making spiritual progress and being regular in our sadhanas we must hold tightly to a somber attitude toward life. We can be strict with ourselves but joyous at the same time. Of course, if we are struggling with major difficulties, this perspective may temporarily be lost. However, Gurudeva's affirmation reminds us of the need to work with ourselves to regain a joyful perspective as quickly as possible.
Gratitude is an important aspect of santosha. Gratitude is cultivated by finding happiness with what we have, rather than focusing on what we lack and anticipating happiness-yet-to-be through acquiring something more. We are grateful for our family and friends, grateful for the job or school we have, the home we live in, grateful for the wisdom and practices of our religion. We are content with our surroundings, meager or lavish, content with our income, small or large. We are striving to make a beautiful life with what we already have.
A central metaphysical tool that Gurudeva gives to us in Merging with Siva that is helpful in experiencing contentment is living in the eternity of the moment. It produces the feeling that one has nothing to do, no future to worry about and no past to regret. Worrying about the future is a frequent cause of discontent. Gurudeva teaches us to live in the now.
He discovered a useful technique when he was just seven years old and describes the experience in detail in Merging with Siva. He was in the family's 1934 motor sled on the way home to Fallen Leaf Lake in a snowstorm and found himself worried that he would be late and miss his favorite radio program, "Captain Midnight." He saw his awareness go off in the future and brought it back by telling himself, "I'm all right, right now." At that moment all his worries about what might or might not happen disappeared.
Gurudeva suggests we practice being in the eternal now by asking ourselves the question "Am I not all right, right now, right this instant?" and answering, "I'm all right, right now." You can perform this simple exercise whenever you find your awareness wandering into the future and worrying about what might happen. Keep asking and answering until you strongly feel positive, self-assured and content.
