Peace amidst Pressures
Modern living puts every one of us under varieties of pressures. The rich ones among us and the poor ones as well are torn apart by the forces of this cruel society and by the ways of this mad world. Even as we the adults have our own hard challenges in the professional and domestic spheres, our children are facing new problems, which are also indirectly affecting us. The ever-increasing competition, the explosion of information, changing lifestyles and the age-old generation gap are causing anxiety to the young ones. We find that our children are likely to adopt false values in this degenerating society and suffer as a result. Our own duty in such circumstances becomes quite unclear. Should we just encourage them in all that they do or should we advise them in a different direction?
The first step towards gaining peace amidst all this chaos is for us to gain clarity of thinking within ourselves. Do we want to live mechanically, just imitating the trends around us? Should we not examine our way of living? Do we want mere outer glitter and glamour? Should we not seek inner substance? Do we want to settle for some partial success in life with gaping wounds in other aspects of life? Should we not go for balance and beauty in the whole of life?
Search for deeper values, respect for human dignity, value for clean environment and love of nature can be some of the facets of right living. Peace and strength can be ours when we are free from the unnecessary conflicts that arise from chasing illusions and subscribing to vain ideologies.
Swami Chidananda
November 8, 2004