We live in the era of modern technology and have made many impossible things possible. We reached the moon; climbed the highest mountain peak and measured the depth of the ocean; invented aircraft and many more machines to make our life happier and more comfortable. But are we content with what we have achieved? What is the Greatest Achievement of Humanity?
Prem Rawat says “It is contentment; it is to be in peace. Peace is not a luxury which can be purchased. It is not a thing that can be found on a mountain peak or deep inside the ocean. It’s a feeling within us. Contentment is a feeling that emanates from within you. If someone asks you, “Are you satisfied?” You can say, “Yes, I have a good family, good job, good car, great friends, even my pets listen to me, hence I am satisfied.” But are you content? Have you sown the seed of contentment?”
There is a story. Once, there was a remote village. The people in this village were very simple. One day a tourist arrived and stayed for a night. The next morning, he took out his mirror and put it up on a wall so he could shave. He cleaned up and shaved, but forgot to take the mirror off the wall before he travelled on. An elderly villager with grey hair, bright eyes and shiny face saw the mirror on the wall and looked into it. He had never seen a reflection of himself, so when he saw his face in the mirror, he was mesmerized, and said to himself, “Today, I have seen the face of God.” He left – completely happy, saying “I have seen God”. Then along came a young girl. When she saw herself in the mirror, she was taken aback and exclaimed “I have seen the most beautiful woman! Since I grew up, this is how I wanted to look like. And then came along a man who had lost his father not too long before. He looked into the mirror and said, “Oh, my god! I have seen my father again.” Now, each of these three people wanted to keep this mirror with them because they had their own reasons to it. The older man wanted the mirror because he had seen the face of God. The young girl wanted the mirror, because into it she has seen, how she wanted to look like. And the third man wanted the mirror because into it he had seen his father again. They started arguing and long fights were breaking out all over the village, because whoever looked into the mirror and whatever they saw - they liked and they all wanted the mirror for themselves.
Finally, a wise man happened to come there. When he saw the fights, he asked, “Why are you all fighting? Different people answered, “I want this thing because this is my God,” or “this is who I want to be,” or “this is my father” or “this is my this; this is my that.” He asked for the mirror to be brought to him. He looked at it and said, “Don’t you know what this is? This is a mirror. He called the old man, the young girl and the third man and told them that they have seen themselves into the mirror. It reflects the image of anything that is in front of it.”
How does this story relate to peace and contentment? You see, peace begins with each one of us; but we have forgotten our own self, our own need. What is the face of peace? Some people will tell you that the face of peace is the absence of war, but that doesn’t mean the presence of peace! The face of peace is none other than your own face when you are in contentment when you are in peace – when peace dances upon your face. Look at how much money governments spend on trying to make society amiable; but when we are content, that happens automatically. We have spent so much money, time and energy; however we need to also realize this simple and basic human quality that when you are content, you are nice and when you are not content, whew! Forget it. If somebody is in your lane and just looks at you implying, “Can I come in front?” you will drive your car a little further ahead, “Don’t even think about it!” because you are no longer stable. You become different. This is the importance of contentment; this is the importance of peace. Without contentment, we are unrecognizable. With contentment and peace, everything begins to dance in the sweetest and the most beautiful way.”
