PATH TO TRANQUILITY
It was just yesterday that I happened to lay my hands on the book “The Path To Tranquillity”. It is a collection of the daily meditations
of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. This book
was first published by Penguin Books in1998.
The first meditation is dated 1st
January and the last one 31st
December. The back cover page of the book carries two comments. According to the first comment,
the book “is a collection of sayings, prayers
and stories drawn from the life and
teachings of one of the world’s
greatest spiritual teachers. It remains perhaps the best distillation of the
Dalai Lama’s philosophy of compassion and non-violence. The second comment is a
part of the review published in The Hindu and reads as follows: “This
book is a rich storehouse of eternally valid wisdom and philosophic guidance and
counsel…One emerges from a close reading of the book, calmed, ennobled and sustained.”
The word ‘tranquillity’ means peace, repose, calmness, serenity,
composure and un-excitability. It is sought
by everybody but attained by a few. It can be attained through meditation but
not so easily. To quote the Indian
philosopher J. Krishnamurti (11th May 1895 --17th
February 1986): “ The beginning of meditation is self-knowledge, which means
being aware of every movement of thought and feeling, knowing all the layers of
consciousness, not only the superficial layers but the hidden, the deeply
concealed activities….The superficial, conscious mind is occupied with Its
daily activities, earning a livelihood, deceiving others, exploiting others,
running away from problems ---to know the deeply concealed activities, the hidden
motives , responses, thoughts and feelings, there must be tranquillity in the conscious
mind. “
In his foreword to the
book His Holiness The Dalai Lama observes: All human beings want to be happy
and to avoid suffering. In my limited experience, if we are to achieve this ,
it is immensely valuable to be able to cultivate and maintain a positive state of mind…one of the most
effective means of doing so is to engage
in meditation…which can sometimes mean sitting in a particular formal posture
and stilling the mind, it can also include continuously familiarizing ourselves
with positive thoughts.”
I have
found The Path To Tranquillity a
most readable book. Each day’s meditation shows a new way to get
rid of restlessness and march towards the goal of eternal tranquillity.
To conclude,
here are two specimens of the daily meditations dated 30th May and 31st May.
1. Encountering
sufferings will definitely contribute to the elevation of your spiritual practice,
provided you are able to transform the calamity and misfortune into the path. (May 30).
2. Discipline is
a supreme ornament and, whether worn by
the old, young or middle-aged, it gives birth only to happiness. It is
perfume ‘par excellence’ and, unlike ordinary perfumes which travel only with the
wind, its refreshing aroma travels spontaneously in all directions. A peerless
ointment, it brings relief from the hot pains
of delusion. (31st May).
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30TH May 2021 G.R.Kanwal
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