Inner Harmony – the Key to a Successful Life
When we think of something being in harmony, we think of something being whole and integrated. The first thing people try to do is find harmony within themselves, this is why there is such a thirst for peace and contentment. It is not enough though, to have harmony in the self and for the self – there must be harmony in relationships. This means having respect for love and tolerance. When we look at the world, we see crises, pain, and yes, this is a reality, but is it a fundamental feature of human existence? It is believed that all these negative conditions are a result of a lack of understanding. We see in our inside world thousands of feelings and emotions which are sometimes confused and not positive. Within the self, there is a deep, instinctive understanding of what is right or wrong, and some people have called this conscience, yet it lies buried beneath the traumas we have encountered through many births. It is this inner consciousness that is the key to successful living: the understanding of myself.
There was an Ancient Greek philosopher, Democritus, who noted that everywhere man blames nature and many other things, but in reality this is an echo of his character and mistakes he has made. Another Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said “What is destiny? Destiny is your character. Your character brings you to yourdestiny.” If we look into the world of psychology, philosophy, and religion, we see the
importance of understanding how we are inside.
Psychology is a very important, relatively new science, and its purpose is to try to understand how conscience determines understanding and behaviour. The word psychology comes from the word ‘psichi’, the psyche, dealing with diseases of the spirit – the spirit which has lost orientation. In crises, people experience no purpose in life.
The word philosophy originates from the Greek words ‘philos’, meaning ‘love’, and ‘sophia’, meaning ‘wisdom’. Therefore, ‘philosophy’; literally translates to ‘love of wisdom; the wisdom of knowing, knowing how to live in the best way. The work of philosophy throughout the ages has been to re-examine and redefine. Philosophers tried to suppress the superficiality of their societies and tried to go deeper into what people believed and thought to be true.
Religion is based on the basic belief of the existence of the divine within the human. The word religion comes from the Latin, meaning to link. Every religion shares the basic belief of the divine within the human; that happiness and peace come in life when I am able to realise my personal identity. The main duty of a person is to be true to his own essence: if you are true to yourself, you cannot be false to others.
This brings us to spirituality, because again the spirit is something that everyone possesses, no matter the culture or ideology. It depends on whether or not they develop it. Spiritual means that which is living, personal and true. The fact that each one exists, means that each soul has value. Maybe it is difficult to see sometimes, but the attempt has to be made, especially with my own self. In terms of communication with my own self, it becomes spiritual if it is natural and can bring a positive change in behaviour. As human beings, we want to feel balance, peace, being loved, and being human. We know that this is not so easy to accept or to do; it takes patience, determination, and an open mind. Together with humility, one is able to be open and to gain new insights. It is this which helps me to step up the ladder of existence.
In many different philosophies and religions, everything depends on the level of how much people can concentrate and go deeply into higher truths, because it is through concentration and deep understanding that one is able to get to another level of consciousness. One can call this meditation – to stop and think. Where am I going? Who am I? What is it all about? These are simple questions, but truth lies in simplicity.
The exercises in consciousness, or what we call silence exercises, take two forms: one of these is purification, and the other is the formation of peaceful ideals so that I can understand myself. We start to understand that real spirituality comes from peace and harmony inside; when I start to integrate my thinking with my speaking, and my speaking with my doing. This process of integration only works when there is a strong sense of the self. Peace is that calm and contentment which is within the inner heart of my being. However, I have to think about that because hopes and dreams and thoughts only come alive for me when I think about them myself: love, peace, truth. I cannot find these simply by listening to a lecture or by reading or just by listening; it is my own personal commitment that will give me experience of these things.
The other aspect is re-energising myself. I re-energise myself by concentrating on a thought. A thought is a seed and is very powerful if one is absorbed in it. A person who has a thought of peace, of love, and you see some people like that, with a very full heart, and that thought of love grows and grows and expresses itself in love, forgiveness, and respect. When we concentrate, we gain the power of silence; but always understand that this thought of silence is never empty or passive. It is very creative. People who are always speaking, never get to the essence of anything. Silence is golden and speech is silver. There must be a reason for such a value on silence.
The late Anthony Strano was an author and Rajyoga teacher with the Brahma Kumaris.
