Inner peace is valuable, but…

Peace of mind means a state in which your brain is calm, at ease, and untroubled by unwanted thoughts and worries. This expression describes a feeling of tranquility or a condition of carefree contentment that all of us wish to achieve but few succeed. The essential feature of true peace of mind is that it is internal to oneself. The whole of humanity is endeavoring to attain lasting peace of mind. However, it is not that we must have or get peace of mind at any cost.  We need not value peace of mind excessively, more than its value.   Often, we have to be prepared to forego peace of mind to achieve our cherished goals. The satisfaction of achieving our goal, sometimes, is  worth sacrificing our peace of mind, albeit temporarily.   Take the example of getting a coveted job after a struggle and turmoil over days and months. The midnight oil burnt was worth the peace of mind lost. 

Even the epic Bhagavad Gita advocates abandoning peace of mind to gain its cherished goal of victory over the wicked. Look at the sacrifice of lakhs of soldiers martyred and the grief and agony of their relatives and well wishers - the cost of postwar peace and tranquility that followed.  

Peace that comes out of achievement is most valuable, especially the one that is a result of conflict resolution or personal public recognition. Other situations when you feel complete and feel peace of mind in abundance are when your wishes and ambitions are fulfilled, or when everything is right for you, when the situation around you is comfortable for your ego and your body.    

However,  this peace is not peace.    Real peace means nothingness; absence of everything, both sukha and dukha. Peace is not something that you create; peace is not something that happens. Peace is something that always is. What happens on the surface is actually a disturbance.

Peace is not something that you create or discover; peace is not something that happens. Peace is something that always is with you.  It is your natural state of mind and remains so until you disturb it!

In the ultimate analysis, real peace is found only in prayer and meditation which assures the presence of the grace and love of God; that is true Ananda; all else is a semblance
of peace.