The Omnipresence of Peace
By Vedam Clementi
Peace is available to every person, every minute of the day, but how much peace do you experience? Is peace a prominent part of your existence, or is there something obstructing it? Is there a clog in your peace channel, or are you obstructing it?
Peace is similar to love; you either have it or you don’t. You are either in it or not. Peace and love are two qualities that are part of the Absolute; ultimately, there are no opposites for either of them. Some people believe there are opposites of these two qualities, but I ask you to look deeper than the surface. The absence of something is totally different from the opposite of something. Let’s use light as an example to illustrate my point. Some people believe that the opposite of light is dark; however, darkness is the absence of light, not its opposite. Even the dictionary explains this. The dictionary defines peace as “the freedom from disturbance.” Is not freedom from disturbance the same as the absence of disturbance? So where does the disturbance originate. Have you given that any thought or consideration?
I want to share a parable. Its origination is a bit vague; some sources say Buddha said it, some say Sai Baba said it, and some say a man asked God. Its source is irrelevant, simply because it describes a timeless truth, and timeless truths trickle down and touch the heart of whoever is truly listening.
Someone said to their teacher, “I want peace.” The teacher replied, “Remove the I, that is ego. Remove the want, that is desire, and peace is what you have left; peace will automatically be yours!”
What does this parable teach us? Without a shadow of doubt, it is the mind, and the qualities of the mind, such as ego and desire, that obstruct us from experiencing peace. Peace is available to all of us, every minute, every hour, every day; it is always there, but you are going to have to move beyond the mind to access it.
