Finding Peace in a Turbulent World

Recently, Guruji Rishiputra Balayogi Dr Anandaji and Shailaja Menon of Malaysia had a discussion about a topic that seems to be on everyone’s mind: Peace. 

We look around at the world today—the friction, the wars, the digital noise—and we feel the ground beneath us becoming shaky. Naturally, we start craving peace.

But usually, we define peace pathologically. We say peace is "the absence of war," just as we say health is "the absence of disease."

But in the Gitananda Yoga tradition, we look at it differently. We search inwards for Shantam.

Peace is not a void; it is our essential nature. It is like the sun. You do not "create" the sun by destroying the darkness; the sun simply rises, and the darkness dispels. Instead of fighting violence with more violence, which is just a recipe for more misery, we must grow into our own luminosity.

Why do we lose this state of Shantam?

It begins with a misidentity. Maharishi Patanjali tells us about Avidya—the root ignorance of who we truly are. From this ignorance springs the ego (Asmita) and the desperate survival instinct (Abhinivesha).

The moment you feel separate (Dwitiyam) from the universe, your neighbor, or the person across the border, fear (Bhayam) kicks in. Your primitive brain stem takes over, screaming, "I must survive at any cost!" 

This is the "Me-Me" perspective. It is the "kill or be killed" mode of the animal kingdom.

But as human beings, we are meant to evolve beyond the brain stem and move into the Prefrontal Cortex—the seat of empathy, compassion, and Buddhi (higher discernment).

I often joke that people think Yoga is just standing on your head. Well, I love a good Shirshasana, but the real "headstand" happens in your consciousness. If you take the letter "M" for "Me" and turn it upside down, it becomes a "W" for "We."

"When the 'I' becomes the 'We,' even illness becomes wellness."

This shift in perspective is the heart of Yoga. When you realize that the same "star dust" and the same divine matrix of Prana flows through every one of us, the concept of "the other" vanishes.

As the great Ramana Maharishi so wisely said, "There are no others." When there are no others, whom is there to fight?

To achieve this shift, we must look at the breath. Most people are "mindless" breathers, driven by their primitive instincts. But Pranayama is not just "breath work"—I refuse that term! It is the expansion of Prana through the tool of the breath.

When you regulate your breath mindfully, you are training your prefrontal cortex to take back control from your old Samskaras (conditioned habits). By calming the breath, you calm the "monkey mind."

Remember, Hanumanji, the son of the wind (Vayuputra), is an embodiment of stability and quietude. He is the Prana Nayaka, the master of the flow of life-force. Hence, he is stability incarnate.

Through the breath, we tame the monkey mind and find the stillness within.

Peace is not something you go out and find in a mountain cave; it is a radiance you manifest from within. As you cultivate Ahimsa (nonviolent-ness) in your own heart, you will find that the world around you begins to mirror that harmony.

Be at ease with yourself, and you will be at peace with the world.