In a wonderful book called The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta, the Indian monk Swami Prabhavananda tells a story about his own teacher, Swami Brahmananda – a story about the quiet transforming power of inner peace. (1)
How inner peace quietly transforms the world
In a wonderful book called The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta, the Indian monk Swami Prabhavananda tells a story about his own teacher, Swami Brahmananda – a story about the quiet transforming power of inner peace. (1)
‘In one of our monasteries,’ writes Prabhavananda, ‘there were a number of young postulants, not yet trained, fresh from school. When they had been together a short time, their old tendencies began to assert themselves, and the boys formed cliques and quarrelled.
‘A senior teacher of our order went to investigate. He questioned everybody and soon discovered the ringleaders. Then he wrote to Swami Brahmananda, who was the head of our order, that these boys were unfitted for monastic life and should be expelled.
‘My master answered: “Don’t do anything about it. I am coming myself.” When he arrived at the monastery, he did not question anyone. He simply began living there. He insisted on only one thing, that all the boys should meditate in his presence regularly every day. The boys soon forgot their quarrels. The whole atmosphere of the place became uplifted.
‘By the time Swami Brahmananda left, two or three months later, perfect harmony had been established in the monastery. No one had to be expelled. The minds and hearts of the postulants were transformed.’
A peaceful presence influences others
It is a simple story. No one was reprimanded. Nothing harsh was imposed. What transformed the community was simply the presence of a person who lived in peace, who’s peaceful presence invited others into that same peace. With the aid of daily meditation, the atmosphere began to change. Gradually the agitation that had divided the young men gave way to harmony.
This same insight and experience is to be found in all the great contemplative traditions of the world. Listening to the story recounted by Swami Prabhavananda, I am reminded of the great nineteenth-century Orthodox monk St. Seraphim of Sarov, who taught that the most powerful way to help the world is to allow peace to take root deeply within ourselves. He said:
‘When the Spirit of God descends upon a person and overshadows them with the fullness of his outpouring, then their soul overflows with a joy not to be described… The kingdom of heaven is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Acquire the Spirit of peace, and thousands around you will be saved.’
“You walk lighter in the world…”
This is a universal wisdom. We don’t have to become a monk or nun in order to become a place of peace for others. Last weekend I received an email from someone in our practice community who said: ‘Although I feel I am in the eye of a storm that I’m struggling to see a way out of, since doing my meditation practice, I have begun to feel less anxious, calmer, more grounded and clear-headed. I have even had a couple of close friends comment recently: “I feel a change in you… you are lighter, not as heavy, no longer consumed by your situation… you walk lighter in the world… shining more… you are inspiring me.”’
Peace naturally radiates from a transformed heart. Swami Prabhavananda quotes a passage from Hindu scripture that expresses this truth simply and directly: ‘The one in whose heart God has become manifest brings peace, and cheer, and delight everywhere they go.’ (2)
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Such a person becomes the peacemaker that Jesus speaks of in the Beatitudes. Their presence brings reconciliation and quiet healing wherever they are. Calmness can soften tension. Peaceful attention can ease another person’s suffering. A mind grounded in stillness can open a space for clarity where there has been confusion. In such ways the fruits of meditation spread far beyond our own inner life. We can enjoy and benefit from the peace we cultivate in meditation, but this peace never belongs only to us. It radiates outward.
When I was living at the Benedictine monastery of Prinknash Abbey, there were a few passages of scripture that I looked at most days. One of these is perhaps the most beautiful description I know of what a true peacemaker (and true spiritual teacher) is like. It comes from the book of Deuteronomy:
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew;
as the small rain upon the tender herb,
and as the showers upon the grass. (3)
The small rain upon the tender herb
The words of a peacemaker do not fall like thunder or command. They do not overwhelm or dominate. Their presence is like life-giving water.
In the same way, the peace we cultivate in meditation offers out its gift quietly, gently. Like dew. Like the small rain upon the tender herb. Like the showers upon the grass. Its presence can transform everything it touches.
This blog is based on one of the teachings given in a recent online meditation group gathering. You are warmly welcome to join one of our future gatherings.
1) Swami Prabhavananda, The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta (Vedanta Press, 1992), page 27.
2) Ibid
3) Deuteronomy 32:2, KJV.