Wisdom on a Bench in Mussoorie – Stress Management Mantra

STRESS MANAGEMENT MADE SIMPLE

OUTER SILENCE – THE FIRST STEP TO INNER PEACE

WORDS ON A BENCH IN MUSSOORIE

Meditation

By

VIKRAM KARVE

I am feeling hassled. 

I close my eyes. 

I sit in silence.

I relax. 

And – I remember those insightful and profound words of wisdom engraved on a bench in Mussoorie.

I read those words written on a bench in Hindi long back – but those meaningful words have remained etched in my mind forever.

Agar Aap Shanti Chahte Ho To Pehele Shaant Rehena Seekho 

अगर आप शांति चाहते हो तो पहेले शांत रहेना सीखो 

Long back – in the early 1990’s – I visited Mussoorie.

During one of my long walks – probably on Camel’s Back Road – or maybe near Lal Tibba in Landour – I saw some words inscribed on a bench.

Those words were a truism that has had a profound impact on me ever since.

I will never forget those interesting words written in Hindi on a bench in Mussoorie: 

अगर आप शांति चाहते हो तो पहेले शांत रहेना सीखो 

(Agar Aap Shanti Chahte Ho To Pehle Shaant Rehna Seekho) 

Roughly translated into English this means:

IF YOU DESIRE PEACE THEN FIRST LEARN TO REMAIN SILENT 

Of course – the Hindi word  शांत  (shaant)  also means PEACEFUL 

Yes – SILENCE is the sine qua non for PEACEFULNESS.

Once your mind is calm and peaceful – you will experience a sense of inner peace.

If your inner peace is disturbed – you will be stressed out.

The root cause of stress is lack of inner peace.

The first step to stress management is to restore your inner peace – and you must not allow your inner peace to be disturbed.

But – why does your inner peace get disturbed...?

Your inner peace gets disturbed because there is too much “noise” in your life.

There is Physical Noise, Mental Noise, Information Overload Noise, Emotional Noise, Relationship Noise – all sorts of Noise.

There is internal noise – and – there is external noise.

There is noise around you – and – there is noise within you.

There is all sorts of noise and cacophony – noise bombards all your senses. 

Noise hassles you.

Noise disturbs your tranquility.

Noise is the biggest impediment to attaining peacefulness. 

The first step to inner peace is to get rid of all that noise around you and within you. 

Yes – if you want peace you have to shut out all the noise from your life.

Go to a quiet place where there is minimal external noise – switch off your noise-making gadgets like mobile cellphones etc – shut out the cacophony on TV – shut out the toxic people who create “noise” within you – yes – shut out all the emotional noise which hassles your peace of mind. 

Sit silently in solitude – close your eyes – and see how your inner silence dissolves the noise within you.

Soon – as you sit in silence – you will experience inner peace – and you will be in harmony with yourself.

That is what I try to do every morning – or – whenever I feel stressed out.

I sit in silence in the spacious airy balcony of my ninth floor flat in Wakad – or in any other silent calm place.

I absorb the tranquil scenic view of the placid waters of the Mula River quietly flowing below, the peaceful verdant hills in the distance, the still atmosphere, the pure fresh air – and I feel a halo of soothing serenity permeate within me. 

Then – I close my eyes – and I let my silence dissolve the internal noise in my mind and body.

It is only then that I experience inner peace – and I realize that I am in harmony with myself.

Yes – if you want to be in harmony with yourself – you must have inner peace.

And – outer silence is the first step to inner peace. 

अगर आप शांति चाहते हो तो पहेले शांत रहेना सीखो 

If you want peace then first learn to remain silent 

Remember this simple piece of wisdom.

Try it. 

Experience the power of silence in calming your mind.

It works. 

You can take my word for it.

Remember the Stress Management Mantra: 

Outer Silence is the First Step to Inner Peace

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the story are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

This Self Help Article Written by me in 1994 and First Posted by me Vikram Karve in this blog on 16 Sep 2011 at 9/16/2011 01:36:00 PM at url: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/09/words-on-bench-in-mussoorie.html and revised and reposted online many times later at various urls including at urls:  https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/02/wisdom-from-mussoorie.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/10/noise-silence-and-peace-of-mind.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/08/stress-management-made-simple.html etc