If all do yoga, then mind will be at peace, there will be shanti all around, no war, only peace and love…
|| Om dyau shantih antariksham shantih prithvi shantir aapah shantir aushadhayah shantih vanaspatayah shantih vishvedevaah shantih brahma shantih sama shantih shantir ivam dehi shantiredhi shanti sarvagyam shanti sarvagyam shanti sarvagyam om dehi shanti shanti shantih om ||
The concept of shanti (peace for all) and santulan (balance) has been at the basis of yogic and Vedic civilisation since time immemorial. The yogis and rishis of Vedic India had mastered the concept of shanti at a time when world was believed to be inhabited by barbarians and hunters / gatherers.
If you notice the sloka above, it starts with peace for the skies and space, for earth, herbs and trees, for gods and the creator and for all beings, it does not talk about 'me' or self. This thought process is the secret behind the advancement of Vedic civilisation, the super-beings who taught the world everything from physics, to astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, medicine, surgery, warfare, arts, crafts and more. The Vedic masters perceived diseases which did not exist in their times and gave their description and cures for they knew what was in store for creation.
The Vedic seers were one with creation and its forces, they did not bind themselves to a community or geography or even a planet or specie. Soham (I am that), Tat Tvam Asi (that is you), Aham brahmasmi (I am Brahma) all point in the same direction. It is a concept that evades majority even in this day and age when men consider themselves to be at the pinnacle of development and civilisation.
Vasudhaiva katumbakam, world is a family, as our ancients told us. And this is a fact of nature. We have heard the story of Noah's Ark from the Bible, how Noah collected various forms of life in pairs on his boat before the Great Deluge to repopulate the earth. The Vedic texts narrate the story of Manu who built a boat to save life before the Great Flood. Whether we call him Noah or Manu or as Sumerians would remember Utnapishtim and Greeks, Deucalion, all agree that there was a flood and only one boat which became the cradle of life. Therefore, no matter whether we are from far east or west or south or the Atlantic, there is no denying that our ancestry is common. The remnants of this universal ancestry, the common origins, can be found all across the globe.
The only thing that divides the human race is the choice between civilised and uncivilised existence. The basis of civilised culture is rooted in 'shanti' or peace for all. A civilised nation will strive for shanti or peace. A barbaric civilisation will never even think of shanti, they will think of war all the time.
Nothing in creation is in isolation and the whole creation is influenced by waves of energy, which interpenetrate all its aspects. Waves, which a being radiates at all times directly affect his immediate environment and the state of the being is dependent in a major way on its immediate environment. A disturbed being would radiate disturbed waves which would affect the complete creation generally and the immediate environment of the source, specifically. Thus, it can be assumed that a person who is in a disturbed state of mind would radiate disturbances in the environment which would further disturb the person, a vicious cycle, which would have a chaotic and cumulative effect on the whole environment. This should explain the present state of the world.
A point of view or an event or a situation can be clearly seen and understood if there is no disturbance around. Even a slight disturbance blurs out the reality. For example, if there is a coin at the bottom of a riverbed it can only be seen if the water is clear and still. Slight ripples and waves affect the clear view. Similarly, if a person is disturbed, he or she will not be able to take any concrete decision and will remain in a state of conflict and turmoil, thereby creating more disturbances within and all around. This person would be unhappy himself/herself and would keep everyone around unhappy also.
It is said that the entire physical body is controlled by the brain, and the brain in turn has a simple function, to make the physical respond to the stimuli; the stimuli being even that of a thought. This function goes on 24 hours a day from birth to death. Even during sleep when we think we are at absolute rest, our brain is active keeping the vital functions on in the physical. Every action, we know gives an opposite reaction though not necessarily in the same proportion and these series of actions of the brain are constantly creating ripples.
Our ancestors not only discovered the power of shanti but also the way to achieve complete peace. The key to shanti is stilling the brain, taking the brain to a state of point zero, when even the movement of eyeballs ceases to exist. As Sage Patanjali described, “Yogah chitta vritti nirodhah,” that is, cessation of the modifications or ripples of mind which can be achieved through Yoga. Just imagine the power of the person who is able to sit still in a thoughtless state. Anything is possible for such a being. This state of being absolutely still reveals such dimensions as are beyond logical explanation. Even one thought or movement or a slightest of twitch will distort the vision.
Yogic practices like Sanatan Kriya bring about the various layers of body into a state of balance effecting the being from core to periphery. Once the body is in balance, the same is instilled around the practitioner, the radius of effect being directly proportional to ones state of evolution.
