We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible.

THE KEY TO PEACEFUL LIVING

EVERYONE likes a house surrounded by green trees. Verdant foliage beautifies our world. It is this idea that has brought farmhouses—houses in gardens—into being.

However, it is difficult to find anyone who can listen to the silent message of the trees or who tries to adopt the culture of the tree in their own lives. The culture of planting trees is widespread but adopting the culture of the tree is seldom in evidence. Trees beautify our homes but they do not beautify the person living in that house.

A tree lives in the same world as the one in which we live. Nonetheless, there is a difference. People’s lives are marred by tension, malice, hate and violence, whereas all these negative features are missing from the tree culture. Man is like a walking tree, but he fails to follow the culture of the tree in his own life. Trees share our world. For man, this world has become a source of complaint, hate and stress; this same world has a different meaning for a tree. The beauty we see in the tree has come from this very world. It has not been imported by it from outer space. How was this possible for the tree? The reason is that the tree, by nature, has adopted the art of conversion: converting things to one’s advantage.

What does the tree do? It takes minerals and water from the soil and converts them into food for itself. The tree, through the process of photosynthesis, takes light energy from the sun and converts it into chemical energy, which is then used to fuel its activities.

This is the result of the art of conversion. In doing so, every tree gives a silent message to man: Learn the art of conversion and the whole world will become a means of spiritual food for you. Make the whole world a global source of your personality development. You will be able to live in this world as a complaint-free person.

For example, if a person says something that goes against what you think, then turn it into a point for discussion. If somebody speaks ill of you, then make that a source of self-discovery. If you are discriminated against, then draw the lesson from this instance that you need to develop in yourself that missing quality on the basis of which you have been discriminated against. If someone provokes you, you should defuse the issue through unilateral avoidance. If someone makes you angry, you should calm yourself down by forgiving him. If a person differs from your point of view, then enter into a discussion with him and thus increase your intellectual development.

There is a story that tells us that once someone hit Rama with a stone. In return, Rama embraced the person and in this way, he made the throwing of a stone a means to inculcate in him a positive quality, that is, love for humanity.

This story teaches us a lesson on how to adopt the culture of the tree in one’s own life. If you throw a stone at a tree, it will give you fruit in return. This is the highest kind of positive behaviour. By adopting this positive behaviour, you can make the whole world turn in your favour, just as the tree does.

Everyone is free to act. This culture of freedom has filled the world with differences. It is these differences that lead to negative thoughts about others. Then what is the art of living in such a situation? It is in some way or the other to convert every difference into something positive which will be in your favour.

Spirituality is not a mysterious term. It is only another name for positive thinking. Positive thinking means living in positivity despite all kinds of negative experiences. This is the key to spirituality. Any man or woman who wants to live as a spiritual person must adopt this formula, that is, the art of conversion: converting negativity into positivity. Spirituality is not a natural gift: it is an acquired attribute.

Spirituality makes you tension-free and gives you a peaceful mind. Spirituality in itself is a non-material quality, yet it is the basis of all kinds of success, including material success. If you want to live as a successful person and die as a successful person, then you have to learn the art of spiritual living. Spirituality makes one a super person, i.e. a superior version of themselves. Spirituality enables you to unfold the hidden treasures of your nature. Spirituality is the secret of super-achievement in this world. It is the only key to peaceful living. A peaceful individual will be a peaceful global citizen in every way. Peace at the individual level will result in global peace.