Peace on earth cannot be brought about through treaties, social systems, or mere reforms. It must, and cannot but, be discovered in the heart of every individual. To bring peace on earth, we must first have peace in our own heart.
And how can we be peaceful, if our heart is full of worldly desires? There is a saying, "One moon gives more light than all the stars." The influence of one truly shining human being can change a whole society. So were the lives of
Buddha, of Jesus Christ, of Krishna, of Ramakrishna, of Paramhansa Yogananda. So, if we really want a better world, instead of trying to uplift society, we have to uplift ourselves first.
And how can we accomplish this feat? Not by lifting ourselves by the hair. True inner change can be accomplished only with God's grace. Kripa is the word, in Sanskrit. Our job, if we truly want to change ourselves, is to cooperate with divine grace.
ACCEPT GOD'S GRACE
We cannot change ourselves overnight and become a perfect human being. But we can open ourselves to the rays of God's bliss and love. God is bliss. Love may be described as "bliss in action," or, "bliss in motion." The sunlight of God's grace shines on the building of our lives; our job is to draw open the curtains of our mental windows so that we can receive this grace.
SHED NEGATIVITIES
And how do we open ourselves to that grace? By eliminating our negative qualities (like the curtain, which blocks the sun) which make us unreceptive to God's love. This means, first of all, to respect others; listen to them and be open to their point of view. It also means that we learn to relate to realities other than our own. Finally, it means to see others from their point of view.
I had a dream, not long ago, in Florence, Italy. In this dream, I saw many people, some of them greedy businessmen, some of them were criminals. And I realised that all of them wanted just one thing: the bliss of their own being! Some of them were capable only of understanding that concept on a lower octave: happiness, or pleasure, or even revenge. But everyone on earth really wanted, no matter how mistakenly, the same bliss.
LOVE THEM ALL
I awoke from that dream with the realisation: "That is why I must love everyone!" Since then, as I walk the crowded city streets, I simply cannot help thinking that everyone I see is my brother or sister. I love them all. I smile at them, and more often than not, they smile back. I try, as my guru Paramhansa Yogananda had said, to "shoot people with the buckshot of my smiles, my bliss, and to share with them my bliss.
Once an old woman, a total stranger, came up to me and asked if I remembered her. I had to admit I did not. "But I was in the audience at the concert tonight!" she said. We had been among 700 others. How could she have the idea that I'd recognise her? Because she felt my friendship.
That, I truly believe, is the only way we'll ever be able to create true peace on earth: by becoming truly peaceful ourselves.
http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-articles/faith-and-rituals/peace-in-your-heart-75357?track=1
