From the Editor’s Desk

The theme that garners our attention in this issue of our Newsletter is “Peace”, another of the twelve virtues that revolve around the fourfold Shaktis – Maheshwari, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati in The Mother’s symbol. Of all virtues we ask for, Peace perhaps is the most invoked and invited or called after. It is coupled with every morning mantra, as OM Shanti or a prayer uttered, be it at the sanctums of temples, along the banks of scared rivers of India or in the haven of our own hearts’ altar. There is something within that goes after peace. It appears that everything that is sought after in life has as its hidden aim, peace of mind, heart and being. Nobody wants to sit with a troubled heart or mind, or an agitated being who knows no quietude, silence or stillness, even if momentarily. There is a natural tendency to aspire for or at least desire peace, whatever one’s station in life. Peace has that special attribute, more than any other virtues or qualities. 

For one after spiritualisation of one’s being, the settlement of peace becomes a basic necessity in his or her advancement in consciousness. The Mother succinctly puts it in this way, “The first sign of the divine presence in the being is peace.” The Mother explains that deep in each of us is the Divine Presence. A being devoid of peace is in no condition to discern this presence within. The presence of or the absence of peace serves as an indicator of one’s state of being. A being lacking peace is essentially one dragged from one surface concern to another, one trouble to another, one attraction after another. There is constant movement and noise in the being and in such a state, discerning an inner presence becomes very difficult and challenging, if not impossible. 

One can experience the state of being one is in when one cultivates peace or allows peace to exist within and one who does not have any place for peace within. When we settle down quietly and pull our senses away from the surface movement and noise, when we go deep within and down into ourselves, the state of being somehow becomes strikingly calm and rested. Besides securing the first condition to meet with that Presence within, such a state automatically exerts an effect on the physiological and somatic component of our being. One’s breathing is calmed and becomes regulated and steadily decreases; one’s heart beat simultaneously drops to a calm steady rhythm, one’s mind becomes more open, spacious and a feeling being free settles in; one’s heart space delves in a potent silence, open and still, not demanding or expectant. It is a state of true rest that does one’s health well, contributing to an overall state of wellbeing. 

Here is an assurance from The Mother that everyone can attain peace and that he or she is not alone, and that She herself will help, guiding us towards the descent of peace into our entire being. Here is her assurance, “Together you and I shall try to silence all the external noise on the surface of your being, so that in silence and peace you may unite with this inner glory. Then that day will become the day of your new birth.” The Mother has given us all a mantra to deal with out state of restlessness that impedes the state of peace that is possible to be realised. She offers, “Peace, peace, O my heart!” 

Let us hold this mantra within and may each cell of our being, each nerve and vessel within be suffused with Peace.