Saint Mark's Secondary Public High School Meera Bagh, India

THE ART OF LIVING

 

Hi, I am Mansi. I am a 16-year-old girl. Let me tell you an interesting story. 

A man walked on the roof of a forty-story building. He accidentally fell off the roof. As he passed the seventeenth floor, a person inside the building yelled out a question: “How’s it going?” The man answered back: “So far, so good!” We may find this story amusing because we know what is coming—the ground.  One moment, he will be alive, and the next moment, he will be dead.

 

My point in telling this story is we are all falling. The ground is coming for all of us. One moment, we will be alive, and the next moment, we will be dead. This is probably the most sobering fact of conscious existence. The key to happiness in our lives is to learn how to enjoy the trip. To do this, we’d better learn to master the “art of living,” that is, staying in the moment.

 

I love to surf the net and explore. Once, I came upon a few words said by Sri Ravi Shankar-“What is the Art of Living?

“Be in the present moment.
If you live fully now, tomorrow will take care of itself.
If you are happy now, the past will not torment you.
That is the art of Living.”

 

How true! Happy is a person who knows what to remember of the past , what to enjoy in the present and what to plan for the future. One of my friends once messaged me as follows-“When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss the fun of getting there. Life is not a race, so take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over”. I feel that there are five keywords to learn the art of living.

 

Firstly, one needs to acquire peace of mind. Everyone seeks peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives. From time to time we all experience agitation, irritation, dishar­mony. Unhappiness permeates the atmosphere around someone who is miserable, and those who come in contact with such a person also become affected. Certainly this is not a skillful way to live. We ought to live at peace with ourselves, and at peace with others. The technique of self-observation, is what is called Vipassana meditation, helps to develop the peace of mind. In the language of India in the time of the Buddha, passana meant seeing in the ordinary way, with one's eyes open; but vipassana is observing things as they actually are, not just as they appear to be. We become liberated from misery and experience true happiness.

 

Secondly, one must always learn to be happy. We become unhappy when we find someone behaving in a way that we don't like, or when we find something happening which we don't like. Unwanted things happen and we create tension within. Now, one way to solve this problem is to understand that if the pressures in life are crushing you down, think of the crushed grapes that produce the best wine. Let the pressures in life bring the best in you. 

 

Thirdly, one must learn to forgive and keep going on and on. We love ourselves even after doing many mistakes. Then how can we hate others for their one mistake? Seems strange, but true. Think before you hate someone…. The power of a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring has the potential to turn a life around. Next, keep yourself going on. When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you are trudging seems uphill, when stress is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must but never quit. Anyone can give up. It’s the easiest thing to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.

 

Fourthly, one must always keep a positive outlook towards life. Life is a movie you see through your own eyes .It doesn’t matter what is happening out there. It‘s how you take it that counts. Hope yours is a blockbuster. One should never forget that –“If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind?” Remember, smooth roads never make good drivers .A problem free life never makes a person strong. So, never ask life’ Why Me?’ Instead challenge it and say ‘Try Me’. Faith makes all things possible, hope makes all things work and love makes all things beautiful. If you believe you can, you will. If you believe you can’t, you won’t. Belief is an ignition that gets you off the launching pad. Believe in yourself!

 

Last but not the least, set your goal and work hard to achieve it. Use our thoughts about the future to set goals and make plans. Then return to the present to carry through with our plans. Let not your aim be like a garden, for people to walk over it, instead let it be like the sky, which everyone wishes to touch.

LEARN THE ART OF LIVING AND DO YOUR SHARE TODAY!

                                   WAR AND PEACE

PEOPLE FIGHT AGAINST EACH OTHER,

NOT REALIZING ENEMIES

ARE THEIR OWN BROTHERS.

THERE ARE DISPUTES BETWEEN TWO NATIONS

CAUSING A RIFT IN THEIR RELATIONS

TODAY WAR HAS A NEW DEFINITION

IT HAS BECOME A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

BUT DOES THIS PROBLEM HAVE ANY SOLUTION?

IS THIS WHAT WE CALL CIVILIZATION?

OR IS IT UNDER CONSIDERATION?

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PERSUADE MANKIND,

TO DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE IT’S MIND?

IT’S HIGH TIME MAN REALIZES

OR IT WOULD BE TOO LATE

MAN HAS TO ABOLISH WAR

OR WAR WILL ABOLISH HIM

                              BY AAKANKSHA 

 "There is no way to peace; peace is the way." -MAHATMA GANDHI

 

Peace is a term that most commonly refers to an absence of aggression, violence or hostility. Peace such a beautiful word. A word that makes us feel relaxed thinking about those beautiful white doves. When we come to imagine it we see the best of both worlds. A place close to nature and a place where happiness is the environment. But that world seems to remain a dream now!

 

We talk about global peace and hold terrorism as the culprit. But think. When we cannot even keep peace with our ourselves , how can we talk about peace at such huge levels? We fight with people , our loved ones for reasons completely unnecessary. It takes less than a second to burst out in anger, doesn't it? There the irony lies.

 

What we must learn as the first step towards peace is SELF PEACE. Inner peace refers to a state of mind, body and mostly soul, a peace within ourselves. People that experience inner peace say that the feeling is not dependent on time, people, place, or any external object or situation. When we learn to remain at peace with ourselves we will be at peace with the rest of the world.

 

Now talking about peace at international levels.. We all know how terrorism threatens the very roots of peace. but that does not seem to be the only culprit. since the time nuclear weapons have arrived thw world has not seen peace and never will unless we make a conscious effort to stop threatening the world with our nuclear power.

 

The most important thing to remember when we talk about peace is love.  Love and peace are inseparable.  We cannot have one without the other.  With love achieving peace becomes a cakewalk. Whether it is inner peace or peace anywhere across the globe, love is the basis. love yourself and you shall attain inner peace. love others and you shall be at peace with all.

 

To achieve peace at the global level, we also give NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.  The prize has often met with controversy, as it is occasionally awarded to people who have formerly sponsored war and violence but who have, through exceptional concessions, helped achieve peace.

 

With the basic ideas of peace in mind and conscious efforts towards achieving it in our daily life ,I hope we achieve our aim of global peace one day.

 

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power , the world will know peace."

I am Siddharth,

“There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."

The preamble to the United Nations Charter sums up the existential dilemma of today: "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that defences of peace must be constructed".

The challenge today is in creating peace, and not in appreciating peace as a concept. And this cannot be done if we keep concentrating on destruction.

It is time now to literally construct peace. But Peace is not just a feeling or a state of being. It is not just something that one would achieve only during long hours of prayers or meditation. And it is certainly not end-of-war alone. Peace is life itself. It is our original religion. Peace, therefore, is a natural instinct and if we wish to construct a peaceful world, then all we’ve got to do, is to let it manifest in our lives.

Paradise is called so not just because it is believed to be a place of scenic beauty it is also where the divine virtues of love and peace prevail.

To achieve peace, three things have to be borne in mind: that peace is our natural religion; that all that we do affects those around us; and that to recharge our pure energies, we need to connect to the Supreme Source.

A life operating on these three laws of peace will tangibly transform everything to a peaceful state and recreate the one culture that we all wish to re-establish in the world - that is, the culture of peace.

 

War and terrorism have cast their shadow on the world.

Most world leaders, international organisations and so-called peace summits tend to define peace in the shadow of war, as 'a situation where there is no war “between nations.

By defining light as the 'absence of darkness “or, life as the 'absence of death", we assign greater importance to the powers of darkness and death, or in the case of peace, to war, rather than peace.

Peace is desirable, as is striving for peace. We agree that peace-marches and war protests have a place in this world, and unfortunately so does war.　One man’s war is another man’s peace.

To achieve peace, three things have to be borne in mind: that peace is our natural religion; that all that we do affects those who surround us; and that to recharge our pure energies, we need to connect to the Supreme Source.

A life operating on these three laws of peace will tangibly transform everything to a peaceful state and recreate the one culture that we all wish to re-establish in the world - that is, the culture of peace.

This is the way of peace: Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.

The way of peace is the way of love. Love is the greatest power on earth. It conquers all things

Peace

 

Peace is something which is vastly misinterpreted and misrepresented in today’s world. Everyone has their own perceptions about it...out of which only a small portion actually come near in addressing 'peace’. In my personal opinion peace isn’t just a cleaver way of showcasing your imposed superficial friendliness while brewing up violent tendencies from within! As is highlighted by India’s relations with Pakistan………in formal terms we are at peace since the kargil war of 1999....but reality rests in a completely different sphere.

 

 I believe peace is not just stopping wars...its something more....it’s the victory of reality over virtual superiority, the realization that everyone in the world is nothing but equal. It means to give the due share of respect to everyone's opinion and thinking before putting your ideas into action.

 It means forgetting all what happened in the past... hoping and believing that a better day, a better future is possible.

 

This world has seen so many of the traumatizing atrocities in its lifetime ,as we become aware of our mistakes in the past it becomes the duty  of each of us as individuals and  as youth to change all this and create a better place for our succeeding generations ...and yes we can do it!

 

Kshitij

The Meaning of Peace

I would begin this article with a story of an ancient Indian King who was obsessed with the desire to find the meaning of peace. What is peace and how can we get it and when we find it what should we do with it were some of the issues that bothered him. Intellectuals in his kingdom were invited to answer the King's questions for a handsome reward. Many tried but none could explain how to find peace and what to do with it. At last someone said the King ought to consult the sage who lived just outside the borders of his Kingdom:

"He is an old man and very wise," the King was told. "If anyone can answer your questions he can."

The King went to the sage and posed the eternal question. Without a word the sage went into the kitchen and brought a grain of wheat to the King.

"In this you will find the answer to your question," the Sage said as he placed the grain of wheat in the King's outstretched palm.

Puzzled but unwilling to admit his ignorance the King clutched the grain of wheat and returned to his palace. He locked the precious grain in a tiny gold box and placed the box in his safe. Each morning, upon waking, the King would open the box and look at the grain to seek an answer but could find nothing.

Weeks later another sage, passing through, stopped to meet the King who eagerly invited him to resolve his dilemma. The King explained how he had asked the eternal question and this sage gave him a grain of wheat instead. "I have been looking for an answer every morning but I find nothing."

The Sage said: "It is quite simple, your honor. Just as this grain represents nourishment for the body, peace represents nourishment for the soul. Now, if you keep this grain locked up in a gold box it will eventually perish without providing nourishment or multiplying. However, if it is allowed to interact with the elements - light, water, air, soil - it will flourish, multiply and soon you would have a whole field of wheat which will nourish not only you but so many others. This is the meaning of peace. It must nourish your soul and the souls of others, it must multiply by interacting with the elements."

 

Peace-a small word with a deeper meaning attached to it......different interpretations, different perspectives and different understandings yet the meaning is one but for one's own self. Setting a yardstick about what peace means to you is your own way of looking at it. When I hear this pure, magical word the first thing I see is a satisfied soul and not just a quiet that has prevailed. But when quiet prevails, it maybe for mourning a death or even remembering someone great or just a quiet night sleep. And as Oscar Romero says-

 

 

 

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.

 

 So peace implies as something quiet yet good-from within and for something outside…..

Stillness is one of the most important attribute of peace and not just it leads to a quiet environment around but makes us quiet from inside. To obtain this peace is not easy.

 

There is a constant fight going on inside you….. White versus Black, Good versus Evil and when we obtain control over our ourselves we can win this war. Consequently, when good prevails over evil within us, can we spread peace to our external elements. Peace comes from living in the moment and looking for the good in others. Peacefulness comes from facing our fears and letting them - trust that things will turn out all right.

 

While it is true that the world has become so complex and so technologically oriented that individuals no longer believe that they count or that they can do anything to affect world events, it is precisely the opposite. For only when individuals take total responsibility for their own lives, find within themselves calm and power of ‘good’ and live in peace with their neighbors and environment, only then will forces be set in motion that will eventually bring about world peace.

 

Nations go to war, often quoting peace as the reason. We must realize peace is a journey, not an end. Yet, in our efforts to obtain peace, we often do the most unpeaceful things. Instead of seeking inner peace, we seek to enforce peace on others. And that just doesn't work. Peace is a gift you can give to others and to yourself. If you seek peace with a sincere heart, you can find it.

 

Peace has the power to move mountains. Mahatma Gandhi had spread peace to the world and this was his power or else how could a frail man like him get India its freedom and Indians their rights.

 

The quality of life depends not upon external development or material progress, but upon the inner development of peace and happiness. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. We can send so-called ‘peacekeeping forces’ into areas of conflict, but peace cannot be imposed from the outside with guns. Only by creating peace within our own mind and helping others do the same can we hope to achieve peace in this world.

 

We can see from this that if we want true, lasting happiness we need to develop and maintain a special experience of inner peace. The only way to do this is by gradually reducing and eliminating our negative, disturbed states of mind and replacing them with positive, peaceful states. Eventually, through continuing to improve our inner peace we will experience permanent inner peace, or ‘nirvana’. Once we have attained nirvana we will be happy throughout our life, and in life after life.

 

When a baby is born, he is innocent and believed to be the purest form of god in this materialistic world and when he dies he ‘Rests in Peace’. The unpeacefulness is in between these two stages of human life as he gets trapped in the materialistic trap of this world………

So, look for peace in you and not when no two nations are at war, or when you are relaxed because you are your biggest challenge and once you win over the evil inside you, no matter whatever happens outside you, you will surely be peaceful…….

Another Holocaust

 

As Martin Luther King has said “I have a dream,” so do I, a dream that one day peace prevails on Earth. No person cuts a brother’s or a sister’s head, no violence, no one feels unsafe to walk around, no bombs, no terrorist and there is a sense of understanding and love all around. "lokah samasta sukhino bhavantu"
(May all beings everywhere attain happiness & freedom.)

Observe all around. What is the best thing that this creation has ever produced? Mountains, trees, animals, birds no, it’s the human beings. We are the once in the world who have a sense of discrimination or in Hindi “Vivek” and what use are we making of that wonderful mind which the nature has bestowed upon us. Making a master plan to attack Mumbai or World trade Centre would certainly not the best use of mind.

 

Come on think of it. What is it that these people want? Are they fighting for religion? Then I would say that these people have not understood the true meanings of the holy books which they pretend to have read.

 

If  someone throws a stone at a temple, a mosque or a church, we run after that man like dogs with swords in our hands to kill him. But are these temples, mosques, churches real? Why would God want to reside in places created by human beings for Him. He will live in the best designed creation of all. He lives in us!

 

And we do not think even for a moment to cut another person’s throat just because he insulted a religion. No religion teaches to fight. It’s us who have interpreted these religions as per our convenience that we believe that we are the saviours.

 

That insecurity, which is a result of all these attacks and bombs blast have started to creep in. My mother says, “Do not go to a crowded place on Saturdays or Sundays”.

 

At every moment there is a sense of fear that some where or may be at our place, there will be a nuclear attack and nothing will be left. Just even thinking that what are these morons upto, create a feeling of disgust, horror, anger and at the same time ‘pity.’

Yes ‘pity’ is the right word. I pity these people and look down upon them as they do not even know the real purpose of this creation. They have their own concepts of religion, place and living life which are far from the actual meaning. They are no more than a unwanted group of parasites which have their own world and want to conquer our world. An insecticide must be created for these people because in my opinion, they won’t change with talks. Their minds are corrupted till the roots that even sitting in a world summit where we invite all the terrorist leaders to talk and discuss ‘what the hell is there problem ?’ and making settlements won’t do any good.

‘An ostrich dugs its head inside the earth’s surface and thinks that the danger is off because it is not visible.’ We cannot afford all this. 

I feel sad when I say that all these terrorists must be given a taste of the fear which they have caused on the society, but what else can we do?....give in to their demands and create a world full of  people who do not have any moral or civil sense.

When a disease is inflicted upon ,one needs to take a bitter medicine or the disease won’t go.

And after all this I pray in future that I sall never see a war on earth.

“OM dhyauH shaantiH

Antariksha shaantiH aapaH shaantiH
AushadhayaH shaantiH vanaspatayaH shaantiH
visvedevaaH shaantiH shaantireva shaantiH saa maa shaantiredhi
OM shaantiH shaantiH shaantiH”

(May there be peace in heaven, may there be peace in sky, -
may there be peace on the earth, may there be peace in waters -
may there be peace in herbs, may there be peace in vegetations -
may there be peace in all the Gods, may there be peace in entire Bramha (creation) -
may there peace everywhere, may there be peace and only peace, may that peace embrace me.
OM !! Peace Peace Peace)))

 What peace means to me…

 

In a country, Peace is a term that most commonly refers to an absence of aggression, violence or hostility. Peace isn’t the absence of violence but rather the presence of justice. In a society, peace happens when different desires are in one agreement. Peace is based on many things, culture, education, family values, experience, & history (to name a few) but the basis is the same----to co-exist without war, killing, & overpowering a fellow being.

 

According to me, Peace is the feeling that all's right with the world. When everyone around me in my family, my friend circle and my neighbourhood is happy, eager to love, accept and relate… I feel at peace. Also, to me it means following what my heart says and sharing mutual trust and respect for people around me.

 

However, in today’s world, peace and harmony face various threats. Terrorism, regional imbalance, economic disparity, and social inequality are some of the factors which threaten peace today. We all are so engrossed in our busy lifestyles and yet want our lives to be peaceful. We expect that peace to be omnipresent but what we need to realize is the fact that if we want peace- we have to live peacefully, love everyone, forgive, forget, etc.

 

.

It’s not enough to stand around asking if world peace will ever happen because that won’t do anything. Actions speak louder than any words. If everyone starts living the peaceful, loving way, things will change. But someone has to start and lead by example. Mahatma Gandhi once said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

We can’t rely on anyone else to do this. We have to do these ourselves.

 

Acceptance, compassion, and tolerance are the foundation of peace.

Mahatma Gandhi showed that peace ends suffering and oppression, not by warring against an enemy but by bearing witness to wrongs and allowing sympathy and common humanity to do their patient work. Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa lived different aspects of peace, which was proven to be a viable way to achieve great things.

 

In the end, I would like to conclude by presenting this touching poem I found on net, which describes that peace takes the form we give it.

 

I took a walk the other day
and I asked Peace to come with me.
We walked in silence most of the way
but then
Peace whispered that she
had something to say.
She sang a song about Peace on Earth
and held my hand in friendship
She looked into my eyes
in a compassionate way
 She danced like the wind
on a calm summer’s eve,
and then breathed a sigh
which calmed my nerves.
She made a wish that,
by her hand,
wars would end
oppression would end
And Justice would reign.
Peace took me in her arms
and rocked me to sleep
And while I dreamed,
Peace became me.