Have you ever noticed, when you are peaceful and equanimous within yourself, Just about every simple act in your life turns beautiful and When you are angry or stressful, Most wonderful things mean nothing to you? I believe every one of you at some point in time in your life must have experienced it. The reason for this is very clear, When your mind is peaceful, Life cannot be any other way but beautiful. However, one nasty thought crawling in your head can ruin the whole experience. That’s why right from the ancient times, Stability of Mind has been given the utmost importance in India. The whole science of Yoga takes you to a place where your Body, Mind, Emotions & Life Energies are in perfect balance and are in tune with the rhythms of nature.

Why Peaceful & Equanimous Mind:

There are numerous scientific studies which clearly states beyond doubt that when you are equanimous within yourself, Your body and your mind works at its best. Let’s understand this with the help of a very simple example. Let’s say there are two ponds of water. In the first pond, the water is muddy & is in continuous movement and in the second pond the water is clear & steady. If I drop a coin in both the ponds, where do you think you can easily find the coin out. The clear answer is the Second pond where the water is clear and steady.

Let’s take another e.g keeping the same two ponds as the reference point. If you try to see your reflection in the first pond, You will see a very hazy reflection, However, If I ask you to see your reflection in the pond number 2, beyond doubt you will see the exact replica of yourself. The reason is very simple. Where the water is clear, you have clarity of vision and that’s how you are able to find the coin easily or see the clear picture of yours on the water. Where the water is muddy and in constant motion the results are exactly the opposite.

Let’s apply the same analogy to Mind. When your mind is peaceful and equanimous, In whichever situation you exist, you will have a clear picture of what you can do and what you can not do. Which means a steady mind empowers you to take right kind of decisions even if you are stuck in the worst situation and that’s how you will be able to overcome that problem. Contrary to this, if your mind is disturbed, the clarity of vision will be lost and whatever decision you will take in that condition will inevitably lead to disaster.

How to keep your mind peaceful:

It happened once, Buddha was walking from one village to another with his disciples spreading the message of love, peace, harmony, equanimity, and compassion. The Sun was burning hot and all of them were very tired. Buddha decided to take rest under the shade of a tree. Buddha was very thirsty and asked Ananda (Ananda was Buddha’s favorite disciple) to bring water to him from the nearby water stream. Ananda took the water vessel in excitement and went to the stream to collect water. Just when he was about to fill the vessel with water, A bullock cart crossed over that water stream and due to this, the water became muddy and was no longer fit for drinking. Ananda came back and told Gautama that the water is very muddy and is not suitable for drinking. Gautama, The Buddha asked Ananda to go after 10 minutes and then bring it. As per the instructions, Ananda went again after 10 minutes. The water was much clearer than before but still not fit for drinking. Ananda again came back disappointed. Buddha calmed him and this time he asked him to go back after half an hour. Ananda somehow kept patience and went back to collect water after half an hour. To his joy, the water was crystal clear this time and he filled the vessel, came back and gave it to Gautama happily.

After drinking the water, This is what Buddha told his disciples. See, whenever your mind is like that muddy water where you are carrying a lot of unnecessary thoughts within, Its very very important that you allow some time to your mind to settle down. Do not try to desperately get rid of all that which is there in your mind. It’s not gonna happen like that. If you try to get rid of it desperately, you will end up having more thoughts than ever before. So whenever you are in a difficult situation, the best thing is not to react, Just sit down and be aware of the present situation. Allow the mind to figure out a solution calmly. You will see the moment you become conscious, your mind starts to become more composed and balanced, and there will come a time wherein you will be perfectly capable of handling just about any situation. So the mantra is ‘Let it be’. The moment you let go of the situation, Your mind immediately shifts from a resistance mode to acceptance mode and eventually you are bound to find out solutions to the problems which you may face in your life.

 

Peace and Love

🙂