We can look for an example in the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. As a child, Gandhi lived trapped by a shyness so great he would run home from school, so as to avoid carrying on conversations with his classmates. As a husband, he sought to dominate his wife. Her refusal to submit to his will was his great teacher of non-violence to this future man of peace. As a father to his children, Gandhi left feelings of bitterness and resentment. In many ways, Gandhi lived in the midst of his own anger.
Gandhi's gift to the world
Satyagraha is Gandhi's gift to the world. When used against oppressive, colonial, and violent governments, the use of non-violence, passive and active resistance, and a willingness to suffer through the oppressor's attacks, has proven effective for equality and freedom movements throughout the world. Satyagraha relies on the purification of the oppressor through the oppressor; through suffering endured without hatred. It has been successfully employed in Jim Crow America, Nazi Germany, and apartheid South Africa. Its efficacy is real and clear.
Discernment and Discrimination
Swami Vivekananda's master, Sri Ramakrishna, reminded his disciples over and over:
"Discernment, or discrimination, is the knowledge of what is real and what is unreal.
"Discrimination is the reasoning by which one knows that God alone is real and all else is unreal, and unreal means impermanent.
"One who has acquired discrimination knows that God is the only Substance and all else is non-existent.
"Discrimination is the reasoning by which one knows that God alone is real and all else is unreal. Real means eternal, and unreal means impermanent. He who has acquired discrimination knows that God is the only Substance and all else is non-existent. With the awakening of this spirit of discrimination a man wants to know God."
Swami Vivekananda (born Narendranath Datta) received his name before traveling to the United States. Vivekananda means viveka = discern, and ananda = bliss. Throughout his life, Swami Vivekananda's teachings connected with the source of his power, awareness of what is real, what is of God.
Unity being real, division is unreal.
Acceptance being real, segregation is unreal.
Fearlessness being real, fear is unreal.
Finally, once more from Sri Ramakrishna:
"By turning the mind within oneself one acquires discrimination and through discrimination one thinks of Truth."
In this way, training the mind for discrimination leads one to truth, the next step on the Path of Peace. In the next blog post, we'll explore Gandhi's understanding and commitment to Truth, it's reliance on the principle of ahisma, and how it leads one to action in the political realm.
Do you have experiences of DISCERNMENT or DISCRIMINATION that allowed you to experience truth? Please share in the comments!
Transmission and Transformation
Divine transmission causes a process of human transformation to occur. Transmission can occur between from the spiritual world, across time, and between people. The receiver gains Self-Realization to take part in the mission of working in this world, in service to brother and sister, for the cause of peace.
Search for Peace
I have searched for peace; searched long enough to know that peace is not attained by seeking.
And still I seek.
Peace is available, peace is here. Now. Peace is found in the silence and stillness. Peace is in the buzz of activity of the morning forest. Peace is in the light reflecting off and through the spiderwebs loosely hanging between leaves and branches. Peace is in the movement of the pen as I write these words.
What, then, when peace is absent? Or, rather, when I have separated myself from what is already present, how do I return? What disturbances of the mind arise to bring distrust and turmoil?
My search for peace deepened. I meditated in sangha and went on retreats in beautiful mountain locations.
I resisted pleasurable desires in a vain attempt of self-purification. I denied myself friendships and relationships, creating separation and isolation.
I wandered from city to city. I walked for hours on end.
I read the words of great masters: Vivekananda, Sivananda, Krishnanda. I wrote.
I woke early. I slept late. I slept early and woke late. I worked sixty plus hours a week, and I quit my job. I traveled to foreign lands and all over the United States, all in search of what remained elusive, seemingly unattainable.
My pursuit of peace has been a desire to understand enlightenment, to connect with my purpose, to be of service.
A buddha, one who is awakened from the world of suffering, lives in peace. And a buddha remains in this world in service to humanity and the world.
This is attainable in this lifetime, according to the teachings of those who have attained. If it is not attained, it is certainly worth striving for. But as soon as you are striving, peace is lost. Peace cannot be caught, or trapped. It is something to be received, like my swaddled baby in my arms.
As soon as you are striving, peace is lost
A buddha, one who is awakened from the world of suffering, lives in peace. And a buddha remains in this world in service to humanity and the world. This is attainable in this lifetime, according to the teachings of those who have attained. If it is not attained, it is certainly worth striving for. But as soon as you are striving, peace is lost. Peace cannot be caught, or trapped. It is something to be received, like a swaddled baby in your arms.