What is humanity? What is a man? – a thirst, a call, a yearning. Life itself is a call; life is a yearning; life is an aspiration. But aspirations can be for hell as well as for heaven; the call can be for darkness as well as for light; the yearning can be for the false as well as for the truth. Whether we know it or not, if we have asked for darkness, we will continue to be troubled. If we have chosen the false, we will go on being disturbed. If we have chosen wrongly, it is impossible to be at peace. Peace comes like a shadow, born from a longing for that which is right. Peace is born out of right longing.

A seed wishes to flower. If it flowers, it is filled with bliss, but if it cannot, it will experience anguish and pain. The river wishes to become the ocean. If it can reach the sea, if it can merge with the infinite, it will find rest. If not, if it meanders into the desert, it will be in turmoil, troubled, in pain.

A sage has chanted, “O God, lead me from darkness to light; from unconsciousness to consciousness; from the false to the truth.” That indeed has been the hope, the call, of all humanity. If on the journey of life we find ourselves becoming more peaceful, know that we are moving toward the hidden core of life. But if we are becoming more disturbed, then we are moving in the wrong direction, the opposite direction.

Turmoil and peace are not an end in themselves. They are only signs, indicators. A calm mind indicates that the direction we are moving in is the direction toward life. A troubled mind indicates that the path we are moving on is not the path to take, that the direction we are moving in does not lead to our destination – where we are heading is not where we are born to go. Turmoil and peace are signs of whether our life has developed in the right direction or the wrong direction. Peace is not the goal. Those who make peace their goal can never attain peace. Turmoil can also not be eliminated directly. The man who attempts to stop the agitation becomes even more agitated. Turmoil is an indicator that life is moving in a direction it was not meant to go; peace tells us that we are on a path toward the temple that is the ultimate aim of life.