 |
|
|
|
Monday 12th November 2001
Pause for Thought -
The real goal of life
Krishna
Dharma
"These days it can seem that peace is a distant hope. Conflicts
are everywhere. But a peaceful world is made up of peaceful people. Each
of us can therefore contribute to world peace by becoming peaceful ourselves.
The ancient Sanskrit text, the Bhagavad-Gita explains that three things
are required to achieve peace.
Firstly we should always be conscious of the Supreme Lord, recognising
that all our endeavours should aim to please him. Secondly, we
should see that he is the true proprietor of everything. And finally
that he is our dearest friend. A person in this frame of mind is always
peaceful.
The Gita says that becoming conscious of the Lord in this way is life's
goal. It is a great challenge, 'fighting the good fight', defeating the
enemy of our own ignorance, rather than the often-imagined enemies who
belong to other races, religions and countries. One who wins this spiritual
fight finds true happiness in serving God rather than material desires.
Surely it is our desires to possess land or wealth or control over others
that cause all our conflicts. These desires are our real enemies. They
can never be satisfied. Pushed by these urges we are always looking for
something more, some new pleasure.
I've seen it with my children many times, Terry. For example, disputes
often arise over ownership - of toys, games, the TV remote control, and
so on. We're trying to teach them how to negotiate win-win agreements,
but sometimes the negotiations collapse and it degenerates into serious
win-lose, complete with name-calling and physical tussling. But when the
fight is over and one of them emerges victorious, clutching the prize,
before long the disputed item is cast aside and forgotten, as some other
new pleasure is pursued - along with a possible new fight, of course.
In the same way we may fight over so many things in this world, but until
we win our inner fight and find happiness within, even if we defeat our
other perceived enemies we will not be peaceful. And that inner happiness
is with us all the time, Terry. We only need to turn to the Lord to find
it." |
|
|
