Definitions According to the Dictionary, Peace has the following meanings: 1. Freedom from or the cessation of war. 2.

Freedom from civil disorder 3. Quiet, tranquility (=calm, serene unruffled) 4. Mental calm, serenity (as in peace of mind) In spiritual terms, Peace has the following meanings: 1. Peace is the stage in which the senses are mastered and held in balance. Peace is a virtue that requires us to hold our senses in check. Peace is a state of quiet. It is freedom from disturbance, anxiety, riot and violence. It is harmony, silence, calm, repose, rest. Specifically, it is the absence or cessation of war It is also freedom from agitation. This agitation usually results from unfulfilled desires within, not from external condition. Peace is a divine attribute or quality. It is the nature of the soul or atma. Self-awareness is peace. The awareness that you are not the body, you are not the mind, you are not the intellect, but you are the Self that is peace. Peace is the happy natural state of man. It is his birthright. Contentment is a form of peace: being content with the present, not dwelling on the past and expecting too muck from the future. Peace in the World? Is the world free from wars and other hostilities? We are bombarded every day in the newspapers, radios and TV and Internet with negative news wars, conflicts and violence. Conflicts between countries and states: Israel and Palestine; India and Pakistan; U.S. and Afghanistan; U.S. and Iraq Conflicts within countries based on various differences: race, religion, political beliefs: Cyprus between

Greeks and Turks; Darfur in Sudan between Arabs and Africans; Ireland between Catholics and Protestants; Assam/Nepal fighting Maoist rebels; Russia and Chechnya. Peace in Society? Other places where Peace seems to be lacking: Domestic violence in household: Children witnessing parental violence Violence in schools: Shooting and stabbing in schools Violence in various organizations, etc When we look at the first two definitions of Peace, it is clear that the world cannot be said to be peaceful. There is a lack of peace also in households, and in schools, etc. Organizations Promoting Peace While we have countries are at war, civil disorder within countries,and various types of conflicts based on differences among human beings, such as religion, race, culture, etc., human generally aspire for Peace, because is Peace in inherent in man. Many national and international organizations try to promote and foster peace as part of the effort to improve the condition of mankind and the environment: The United Nations intervenes in conflicts between countries to maintain peace, e.g., Peace keeping force in Cyprus. The Nobel Committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize annually to someone who makes a difference for Peace. The U.S. Institute of Peace is an organization set up to promote peaceful resolution to international conflicts. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden (SIPRI) conducts research on Peace for peaceful solutions to international conflicts. Several Universities have institutes and department set up specifically to research and teach Peace as a subject. The Maharishi University of Management in the U.S. has the Institute of World Peace; The University of Notre Dame in the U.S. has the Institute of Peace Studies;

 In the U.K., the University of Bradford has a Department of Peace Studies Observation on Peace and Peace in Salutation and Affirmation Many religious and spiritual organizations alert their followers about the absence of peace and the need to regain peace for the benefit of man. The spiritual head of the Brahma Kumaris in a recent visit to Toronto, observed the following in a talk entitled, Living Peace in Extraordinary Times, There is great darkness in the world and people dont know what to do Many relationships are full of anger, greed and selfishness. People are in bondage to the external world and to material desires. This is not only unsatisfying, but it also influences physical health the peace they seek is available to them through looking inside, connecting with the true self, and listening to ones inner voice. Various religions exhort their adherents to follow and live a moral and ethical way of life, to attain mastery over the mind and to cultivate purity of heart. Thus, the followers of the Muslim faith greet their brethren with Salaam walekum meaning May peace be with you; The followers of Sanatana Dharma affirm in their prayers, Sarve Bhavantu Sukinak meaning May all beings be happy, and also they close their prayers with Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi, seeking peace for the body, mind and soul. The Christian traditions tells us to love thy neighbour. Jesus Christ declared to His apostles after the Last Supper, peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. The Kalyuga Era We are living in the Kaliyuga Era the age characterized by darkness. In this age, unity, purity, virtue and goodness are wanting Turmoil, violence, crimes and corruption are prevalent everywhere. ( we recently heard of Tyco, ViaCom, Martha Stewart, Conrad Black, etc.) Countries have set up armed and police forces and judicial systems to maintain law and order and peace in society, and despite spending vast amount of money and resources, they are not succeeding. Advent of the Kaliyuga Avatar

We have seen that no part of society is spared by the darkness of this era. The scriptures tell us that when the world descends into darkness, God reincarnates to restore goodness. In this era, God has come in the person of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. In a monumental address to His devotees on His 43rd birth day on November, 1968, Sri Sathya Sai Baba announced His mission and the reason for His reincarnation: For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evil-doers and for establishing righteousness on a firm footing, I incarnate from age to age. Whenever, asanthi or disharmony overwhelms the world, the Lord will incarnate in human form to establish the modes to earn prasanthi, or peace, and to reeducate the human community in the paths of peace. At the present time, strife and discord have robbed peace and unity from the family, the school, the society, the religions, the cities and the state the task for which I have come is to inculcate faith in the path of prasanthi (the highest spiritual peace). Peace as a Human Value Sri Sathya Sai Baba has exhorted that man should follow the five human values of Truth, Dharma, Peace, Love and Non-violence. Man is born with these human values and has has to go inwards to realise the human values. Love is the undercurrent pf the human values, as this quotation from Sri Sathya Sai Baba shows, Love + Thought = Truth Love + Action = Right Conduct Love + Feeling = Peace Love + Understanding = Non-violence When Love is contemplated upon, the mind attains supreme peace Human Values are as old as man, and the Avatar of the previous ages or yugas have fostered these values. In the Tretha Yuga, Lord Rama fostered the Human Values of Sathya and Dharma (or Truth and Righteousness) In the Dwapar Yuga, Lord Krishna fostered the Human Values of Shanthi and Prema (or Peace and Love). In this Kali Yuga, Sri Sathya Sai Baba commands us to uphold the above values and also the Human Value of Non-Violence. Baba says, Man need not wait for God to foster these values. He is endowed with strength to do the same. These five human values are your properties. It is responsibility to protect them. Do not expect others to safeguard your property.

All the Human Values are interrelated and they culminated into the Human Value of Non-violence. Let us look at this analogy. .. a burning electric lamp can be compared to Prema or Love. For the lamp of love to burn, there should be a bulb. That bulb is Santhi or Peace. The bulb has to be connected to an electric wire. That wire is Dharma or Right Conduct. And then the current has to flow in the wire. The current is Sathya or Truth. With the current of Sathya or Truth flowing in the wire of Dharma or Right Conduct, connected to the bulb of Santhi or Peace, the lamp of Prema or Love burns and sheds its light Peace is a Human Value and it is our birthright; it is within us and it had to be experienced in order to realise it Sub-Values of Peace Attention Calm Concentration Contentment Dignity Discipline Equality Equanimity Faithfulness Focus Gratitude Happiness Harmony Humility Inner Silence Optimism Patience Reflection Satisfaction Self-acceptance Self-confidence Self-control Self-discipline Self-esteem Self-respect Sense control Surrender Understanding Virtue Conclusion Peace has several meanings, but the meaning of peace that is important for us is the inner peace, inner calm, tranquility, the sereneness that we experience, or the peace of mind. We have peace within us. We were born with peace, but we have lost it by allowing the body/senses and external things to take control of the mind and create attachments to worldly things. We cannot get rid of desires altogether, but we need to limit our desires, to put a ceiling on desires and seek control of our minds by letting the ATMA and intellect influence the mind. This same ATMA that is within all of us through the control of the mind will bring out the human values of love and peace. Peace is not simply the absence of turmoil or noise around us. Nor it is only the serene display of natures beauty. Peace reaches the inner being, the ATMA in silence. From the inner peace grows a family of values that brings contentment and happiness to our life. When peace expands from an individual state of being to a collective experience, it becomes a village of peace and a new step toward

world peace. Peace can be seen and expressed in many ways. While Peace is a major human value, it is also expressed in a number of sub-values. Here is a list of the 29 sub-values of Peace. Some of these are also sub-values are also sub-values of the other Human Values since all the Values are interrelated.