What is Peace?
An agitated mind is Non-Peace. Frustration, Worry, Tension, Stress: all these are various forms
of mental agitation. In Tamil, the word for a peaceless mind is called as Mental Labour. The opposite which is Mental rest is known as Peace. Why does stillness of mind give Peace? Peace is behind the mind, when the mind is still, Peace makes its presence felt in the still mind. In other words, Mind reflects the Peace which is behind it.
What is mind?
Ramana says mind is a bundle of thoughts. Your bundle of thoughts is different from my bundle of thoughts, Why is it so? The I thought which contains Vasanas or mental tendencies in it by identifying with the body becomes body conscious. Once the body consciousness comes, the Vasanas become the reflecting medium and reflects the thoughts of the world mind / race mind. This reflection of the world mind by our Vasanas is known as our mind, the I thought now sits in the center of the mind and gets lost in these thoughts. Your thoughts are different from my thoughts because my Vasanas are different from your Vasanas and hence my reflection is different from your reflection. The world mind contains all the reflections or all that is reflected.
Putting them in order.
Body Identification
Vasanas
Multitudes of thoughts
All the 3 can be called as the Mind with I thought as the coordinator. Behind these 3 thought based entities is Peace.
How does one go behind these 3 thought based entities and experience peace?
One method is to make the mind still, by using any breathing exercises or Yogic exercises or focusing on a single thought etc. This will stop the mental agitation and peace gets reflected through the still mind.
Second method is using Yogic or Spiritual or mental strength , the I thought can drop body identification using this acquired strength and experience Peace. Body identification is the culprit , most humans know this instinctively. To forget worries and stress, they resort to Alcohol or drugs , these loosen the hold of mind over the body and there is loss of body identification, so the churning of thoughts stop and peace is reflected from within. The desire for this peace is so high that one gets addicted to this artificial means of dropping body identity.
The third method is slaying body identification when body identification goes permanently, vasanas and the army of thoughts that Vasanas are reflecting from the world mind also goes and then one gets Permanent Peace.
One must aim for the third method.
Sita (Peace) is held captive in a walled garden. Surrounded by demons (thoughts). These demons are appointed by the demon Commanders (Vasanas). These Vasanas report to Ravana (demon king) with ten heads ( 5 sense organs and 5 action organs); This is the body identity. Hanuman (The I thought which uses Yogic/Spiritual/ mental strength ) can go inside and see Sita (experience peace ) but it is a temporary one. Only Rama (self enquiry) has the power to slay Ravana (body identification) and get back permanent Peace (Sita). Ramana stated breath control, idol worship, mind control are but aids in self enquiry, they are Hanuman and Lakshman, Strength and Discriminatory power. Jesus Christ said "I give you my peace, this peace is not the peace found in world (thought based peace), but I give you the peace that passeth all understanding."
When Body identity goes and mind goes and when this Peace comes. This Peace cannot be understood and put into words, this is beyond all explanation and understanding.
