“How to attain purity living this life? Shall we all go to the forest caves? What good would it do? If the mind is not under control, it is no use living in a cave because the same mind will bring all disturbances there. We will find twenty devils in the cave because all the devils are in the mind. If the mind is under control, we can have the cave anywhere, wherever we are.”
- Swami Vivekananda
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The above quote by Swami Vivekananda is more relevant in today’s urban life. Life in metro cities is full of stress, mostly born out of our professional lives, which are full of workloads and deadlines. Hence, the mind is hardly at peace during the day. So, in order to get a change of scene, a lot of people, understandably, take a trip to a hill station or any other quiet place in order to achieve peace. However, as per this quote, this is of hardly any use.
When your core life is full of stress and tension, going to a quiet place won’t serve any purpose because the devils are still present in your mind. So, even if you visit a silent cave, your mind won’t be at peace. Until and unless you fix your mind, it is of no use of even visiting a cave to attain peace. In order to achieve that, one should make efforts of being at peace with oneself, either through any practice or going onto the path of spirituality under the guidance of any guru.
Coming to the last part of the quote, if your mind is under control, you will find peace anywhere and won’t need to visit a quiet place or a cave to feel the same. If you are at harmony with yourself, it won’t matter where you are.
This reminds me of the meaning of the word ‘Yudhishthir’, who was one of the five Pandava brothers. ‘Yudh’ means war and ‘sthir’ means still. Hence, the meaning of the word is someone who can be still and unperturbed even while being in the midst of a war. One must aspire to achieve that state.
On a related note, Swami Vivekananda’s 161st Birth Anniversary will take place after five days on January 12, 2024.
Also read: Swami Vivekananda’s “stray dog” anecdote has a profoundly deep meaning
Road to Divinity... 