How To Handle The Difficulties Of A War?

One of the things that is essential when we sit down for a session like this is to be open,

Is to be relaxed in our body,

Soft in our hearts and open in our minds.

A sign of a civilized society lies in being able to sit down calmly and listen to what others have to say while we want them to listen what we have to say.

And listening has a very deceiving characteristic.

Sometimes when we listen with our minds instead of listening with our hearts,

When we listen with our minds,

We unknowingly are interested in chopping things up and in replying to what is being said,

To refute,

To challenge,

To dismiss,

To defend whatever is being heard.

But when we listen with our hearts,

The goal is to understand as a society we are losing this capacity to tolerate,

To tolerate this discomfort of sitting with an opposing idea and holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously without dismissing,

Judging,

Categorically refuting the other idea.

And that's when intolerance starts building up.

We are polarized more than ever.

It's either right or wrong.

And of course,

I am always right and the other is always wrong.

I'm not saying everyone has this attitude,

But this is where the society is headed if it already isn't there.

All of us,

All of us are looking for peace in our lives.

Some of us are looking for it consciously while others are looking for it without them knowing that they are looking for peace.

But peace has many flavors.

This peace that we are experiencing right now is a privilege because all our basic and not so basic needs are already met.

That's why we can carve out time to sit and contemplate the bigger purpose in life.

But for some others,

Hustle and survival is a form of peace for governments,

For military,

Protecting the nation,

Which involves all kinds of actions,

Is peace or a vehicle of peace.

For those who are oppressed in societies,

In economies,

As nations,

For them,

Fighting for their freedom is a sign of peace.

I remember this,

One of the greatest monks of all time,

Of our time,

Thich Nhat Hanh,

How his life story is based on fighting for freedom.

He's written so many books about peace,

How to rebel in peace.

Not all monks sit and meditate.

Some monks are warriors.

So in this society,

Which comprises of billions of people,

Hundreds of nations,

If ill-informed,

There's bound to be conflicts.

Ill-informed about the purpose of life,

Conflict is inevitable.

And the conflict that we see out in the world today is a loud,

Loud echo of the conflict that we have in our own lives at a micro level,

At an individual level.

So the society is reflecting our own predicament.

It's not only reflecting,

It's amplifying.

The human mind is such a powerful tool that can be used for creativity,

For art,

For beauty,

For intelligence,

For math,

Physics,

And so many other inventions.

But if not studied,

If not understood,

It can also be a vehicle for destruction,

Destruction of peace and happiness at an individual level,

And amplifying this unhappiness and peace and conflict to inflict pain on weaker parts of the society.

And those of us who are sensitive,

Those of us who have tasted this peace that I'm talking about,

We have become sensitive,

Sensitive to our own pain,

Psychological,

Physical pain,

And sensitive to other people's pain,

Other people,

Animals,

Nature,

Rivers.

And based on what we bring to this world as our unique combination of experiences,

Experiences,

Each of us is moved in a different way because of what is happening around us.

Some of us would be inspired to clean the rivers,

To fight for justice for the immigrants,

To help revolutionize immigration reforms,

To fight corruption,

To provoke the nations about sensitive topics more urgent and important than killing each other.

We cannot talk about peace to people who are starving.

We cannot talk about peace to people who are oppressed.

We cannot talk about peace to people who are marginalized all their generations.

That's why I said it's a privilege to be doing this,

And the way this internal peace echoes out in the world is important.

It can be about,

It can be writing about peace,

Talking about peace,

Talking about inclusion,

Fairness,

Justice,

Intelligence,

Renaissance,

Freedom,

Generosity.

It could be talking about these,

Writing about these,

Creating communities about these,

Amplifying this understanding in whatever way that resonates with us without losing our own peace.

Otherwise,

We are just amplifying,

We are just spreading the conflict and the unhappiness that we have within.

Yes,

I know there is an amplified war going out in the world,

But at our level,

We are still considering or we still believe that we are at war in our own little life.

We are fighting with life,

And if we want to be a part of the solution,

We have to stop being a part of the problem.

If we are unhappy,

If we are fighting inside,

Then we are taking this unhappiness and conflict outside,

Which eventually gets amplified.

I'm sure nobody wants to hear this.

We never want to be told that we are a part of the problem,

While our heart is crying out to help others.

But how can we help someone while expecting us to be helped by others?

Eventually,

It is a fight for happiness,

Misguided although,

But yet a fight for happiness.

For some,

Being recognized will give them happiness.

For others,

Power will give them happiness and so many plethora of reasons where people find happiness,

But most happinesses,

Most fights for happiness are misguided.

And if we are so sensitive about other people's pain,

We ought to stop our own suffering,

Give up our own suffering and share our own peace.

Otherwise,

Our help will be useless.

So this pain that is crying out in some of us because of what is happening in different parts of the society is our own heart crying out for its own suffering.

Because we are so deeply connected,

We can feel each other's pain.

But what do we do with that pain is the real question.

Because that pain that is crying out in us is an echo of our own pain.

So no matter where we are in our aging cycle,

In our responsibility cycle,

It is imperative for us to find our own haven of peace inside,

A refuge of happiness inside that we can rely on when we share it with others.

And if we take a peek into our own life,

What will we find?

Will we find conflict,

Discontent,

Grudges,

Anxiety,

Anger?

And what do you think is all this that is going on in the world?

Isn't it a drastically amplified version of the same thing when India was fighting for its independence in the 1940s?

There was a group of revolutionaries that decided to go and do a pseudo explosion in the parliament,

In the British parliament that was ruling us,

Ruling India.

And their aim was to be heard.

So they decided to make these explosions that would not harm anyone,

But make them heard.

So all of us are looking to be heard.

But we are waiting for these loud things to happen.

Otherwise,

We won't pay attention.

We are okay being unhappy,

Being in conflict.

Only when we see where this conflict is leading the entire society,

We are shaken up.

Because at some deeper level,

We think it is happening to us.

And it is true,

It is happening to us.

We are a part of the society.

So the best way to help those in need is to first help ourselves.

The ongoing war could be a rude awakening for all of us to start living,

To start living as a society,

Not just for our personal problems.

To take care of ourselves,

If we have to fight.

And some of us might have to fight based on our own dispositions,

Fight peacefully,

Fight intelligently,

Maybe create art,

Maybe speak,

Maybe write,

All of which requires courage,

Intelligence,

Skills,

And a dedication to live a happy life.

And then to go out in the world,

Find kindred spirits,

Join forces,

Amplify peace,

Amplify intelligence,

Amplify community,

Generosity,

Tolerance.

Every loud event in our life is a call to action,

Is an immediate call to action.

But you'll be amazed how forgetful our minds are.

You give it two weeks,

And you'll be busy with your own life again,

Your own problems again.

Until next time.

I'm not saying this in a patronizing way.

I'm saying this in an obvious way.

This is how all of our minds operate.

Every time your heart is affected,

It's crying out to do something about it.

Every time your mind is outraged at injustice,

Unfairness,

Stupidity,

Bureaucracy,

It is crying out for intelligence.

Every time you see oppressed societies,

Lack of resources to feed ourselves,

It's crying out for fairness,

Compassion,

Empathy.

And for us to do any of those things,

Whether it's intelligence,

Compassion,

Courage,

We need to have abundance of it.

We need to be able to tap into our own reserves for it.

That's why it's an immediate call to action.

Yes,

We can post about it on social media.

We can talk about it with our friends.

But what we really ought to do is take responsibility of our own life,

Our own happiness,

Our own peace and our own calling to spread,

To share what we have.

And before our minds forget this,

We need to create hooks for us to follow through on what came through us,

Came through our hearts,

Came through our minds in this traumatic period.

Maybe it is to love harder.

Maybe it is to celebrate more.

Maybe it is to stop worrying unnecessarily.

Whatever is coming through you,

Make a note of it,

Create a hook for yourself so that you have respected,

You have honored this call to action that resonated in your heart.

But as I said,

We can only give what we have and we can always start from wherever we are.

I think now it's quite clear that we don't live in isolation.

All of us are so connected.

COVID has proved that and our heart is confirming that.

COVID has proved it in a physical way and our hearts are proving it in a very deep way that we are all connected.

We are all in this together.

And the fact that all of us are gathered here from so many different countries is a testimonial that deep down we are all one and we are all looking for the same thing.

And the more we have,

The more we can share.

Even if what we do is as simple as making sure whoever interacts with us throughout the day leaves happier than what they met you,

That's a great win.

They leave more uplifted than before they met you.

It first starts with our spouses,

With our partners,

With our kids.

There's no point in helping someone on the other side of the planet if we cannot even love harder in our own house.

Desperate times call for desperate actions and the desperate action is to jettison,

To throw away all hurt,

All grudges and to hug it out.

Our immediate family,

Our loved ones,

Our relationship with them,

Our harmony with them.

Our relationship with them,

Our harmony with them is the potential of what our contribution to the world can be.

It can reflect,

It can be amplified.

It's a cliche that charity begins at home,

Peace begins at home,

Harmony begins at home.

This home first,

Inside,

And then our immediate family.

And then we go out and conquer the world,

So to speak.

Thank you.