Do we need peace externally to find peace internally?
Hare Krishna question do we need peas externally to find peas internally answer yes and no actually in this external world we can never have peas in a lasting sense and if we want peas if we want shelter, we have to find it internally so if we make external peas as a prerequisite for internal peas then we will never find internal peas that's why whether there is externally a peaceful situation or not, we cannot postpone our spiritual practices our inner growth our quest for inner peas and happiness by harmonizing with the innermost spiritual reality God Krishna so now to the extent we are harmonized internally with Krishna, to the extent we are devoted to him, to that extent we will find happiness in any and every situation whether externally will be peaceful or it not be peaceful in fact the Bhagavad Gita uses the word Shanti repeatedly and uses it in the context of Ayodhya Arjuna also thinks that having peas means that he should not fight a war but Krishna explains to Arjuna especially in the second chapter when Krishna talks about Shanti repeatedly in 2.70-71 Arjuna takes that Shanti to mean to mean that he should not fight the war and that's why he is surprised why Krishna is asking him to fight but Krishna's answer is that actually there is, there are different kinds of peas there is external peas which is basically cessation of hostilities cessation of conflicts or disturbances but that external peas can go away at any moment and external agitation can erupt at any moment but internally if we find peas that peas will stay with us constantly and that is what we should pursue so Arjuna because he was fixed, he was peaceful internally there was no war within him internally he had surrendered to Krishna and harmonised with him so he could be peaceful and focused even in the midst of a war and that is the lasting peace, that's why Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita when he talks about peace, he says that understanding him bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-maheshwaram surudham sarva-bhutanam jnatvamam shanti-mrikshati shanti-mrikshati, how will we get peace by understanding that Krishna is the enjoyer, Krishna is the master Krishna is our benefactor when we understand this then we understand that I don't have to do anything other than serve him and we strive to serve him to the best of our capacity then we move onwards in our journey towards Krishna and we attain him so this is the way to peace that is becoming devoted to Krishna and becoming fixed in our determination to serve him in all situations having said that it is not that as devotees we unnecessarily or deliberately create agitating situations in our life in order to in order to experience or demonstrate the transcendence of bhakti we try as much for example when we want to meditate when we want to chant the holy names, when we want to study scripture, these are all means by which we can go closer to Krishna and experience deeper peace within so as much as is possible if we are doing it on a daily basis we should strive to have a peaceful setting for our spiritual practices so we can chant even on a crowded street, we can even read scripture in a noisy crowded local or on the congested streets of a metropolis but that should not be the only time when we do all these things and we can experience the shelter of Krishna even in these situations but we can focus most on Krishna and we can show our seriousness to Krishna about our desire to connect with him by striving to create externally an externally peaceful environment for our focused spiritual practices that's why as devotees we usually do our spiritual practices early in the mornings, at that time the setting is much more calm, it is much more conducive for the practice of bhakti and thus we can move closer to Krishna by such practices now moving onwards so that means we don't as much as possible within our daily schedules whatever is the most peaceful situation that we can have during that time we can create that peaceful situation and we try to practice our spiritual activities in that situation but this does not mean that we make our spiritual practices dependent on that peaceful situation alone, suppose we are travelling on an international flight and are constantly there is we are changing flights and going here going there suppose we have 24 hours we are travelling we may not have any peaceful situation then we should meditate or we should study even in whatever situation we can have so yes an externally peaceful situation is conducive for those practices which can direct our consciousness inwards towards Krishna and help us to experience ultimate peace internally but the external peaceful situation is not a prerequisite, it is conducive but it is not it is not a prerequisite in fact Shila Prabhupada's spiritual master Bhaktiswami Sri Thakur refuted a similar argument that Shila Prabhupada offered Shila Prabhupada said first India should get liberated from British rule then we can think about sharing India's spiritual message but Prabhupada's spiritual master Bhaktiswami Sri Thakur said no he says who is ruling is external reality sharing Krishna consciousness is the foremost urgency and that's what we should do right now so the principle is within our limited situations whatever is the most peaceful situation we can have we can try to have that so that we can direct our consciousness inwards without too much distraction and in our inner connection with Krishna lies the ultimate peace and that connectedness will enable us to feel peaceful even amidst agitating circumstances but we shouldn't make establishing that connectedness necessarily dependent on externally peaceful situations. Thank you.