Updated: August 8, 2024
Dear friends, we are beginning
our journey together to Peace Is The Way for a more just,
sustainable, healthier
and joyful world. Today I am in Malmö,
Sweden, talking about the
nature of reality and the awakened
life. Only the awakened life can ultimately
create a more peaceful
and just, sustainable,
healthier and joyful world. I would like you to periodically log on to the ChopraFoundation.org
and also to www.NeverAlone.love,
as we create our global Sanghas for peace and social, economic justice, sustainability,
health and most
importantly, joy. So let's begin
our journey. We have already
begun. What we call war in the world, what we call terrorism in the world,
is a projection, in many ways, of our collective
consciousness.
I would say
not in many ways. In all ways is a projection of our collective
consciousness. In my book, Peace is the way I argue
that war is a habit we have grown
addicted to. War has grown a groove
in our minds, so that when
we become afraid or very angry,
the response of war comes naturally. We reach for war
collectively, the way
a chain smoker reaches
for a cigarette, muttering
all the while that we have to
quit.
I believe that
this addiction to violence and war is rooted in a number of illusions, including
the myth of us versus them. By the way,
that just reminds me, I'm also going
to start a course on the Bhagvad Gita, which is
the ultimate manual on war. But the war is within ourselves, with our own
shadows. And so I'm going to
do a course on the Bhagvad Gita, and you'll hear about it here
when I start it. But that course will be how to vanquish our
own inner demons. In any case, war is rooted in a
number of illusions and number one of them is us
versus them. There's no… there's no "them". Everything that we
call, "them",
is a projection of our own demons, of our own shadows.
So this myth,
that us versus them is the reality, which it is not,
it's the myth. It's based on the belief
that our country
or our nation is superior
to all others and that we are
justified in using violence to protect
our interests. I will ask you to challenge
the notion that war is necessary
to maintain peace. In fact,
I will argue that violence and stability… violence and instability are
perpetuated by war. The only way to create peace
is to practice peace within yourself,
to become an embodiment of peace yourself. This means
cultivating a mindset
of compassion and understanding
for all people. I believe that
we can overcome our addiction to war only when we see ourselves as part of
a global community rather than as
members of separate competing nations. So I don't think
we can convince our leaders
to look at this way. But if we are the change we want
to see in the world and we have a critical mass
of people in ahimsa, ahimsa means peace,
presence.
It's a yogic
practice. Patanjali says, when we are
perfectly established in peace consciousness,
all beings around us cease
to feel hostility, even animals,
even other species. That's
why we see photos, paintings
of pictures of animals
and lions and tigers and antelopes
and gazelles all sitting quietly
next to a rishi. So as we pursue our practice every day on peace is the way to a more just,
sustainable, healthier
and joyful world, I will share
with you the education we need to understand the true
cost of war. I will share
with you practices of nonviolence in our own lives. I will share
with you how we can support
organizations that are working
to promote peace in social and economic
justice. And I will share
with you meditations on peace,
compassion, equanimity, and joy. I will keep
reminding you that peace
is not just the absence of war. It is the presence
of justice, love and compassion. And I believe, and I will hope, that you will share
this belief that it is possible
to create a more peaceful world, but only if we are willing
to change our ways and embrace a new
way of thinking.
So onward with this. And I will also
share with you, in the course, some practical Vedanta for daily living
is available through the Chopra
Foundation, and it'll be
based on the 18 chapters of
the Bhagavad Gita. In the meanwhile, peace and prosperity
to you. And most
importantly, joy is the only
measure of success. And the only measure
of well-being. Thank you,
my friends. Let me know
your thoughts on this campaign,
a global movement to create
a critical mass for a more peaceful,
just, sustainable, healthier
and joyful world. God bless..
