Swami Tejomayananda

Conflicts between communities and religions result in various questions that arise in one’s mind. Despite the awareness that all religions teach the same thing, we are painfully aware of the differences and divisions. But let us think of the simple truth — of the underlying oneness and harmony.
All our experiences of life show that we want to live happily, collectively and together. And upon reflection we will figure that the only thing required for this is common sense. Speaking about this, Swami Vivekananda said, “Common sense is the most uncommon thing in this world”. In order to clarify our thoughts on this we need to elaborate on some simple matters.

Mind your own business: We must understand that each one of us is born in this world and has to live his/her own individual life. It is not possible to live the life of another person. So first and foremost, we must take responsibility for our life, and learn to mind our own business. Generally, we do not hold ourselves accountable for all the sorrows of our life. We shift the blame onto something else since it is much easier to pin the cause of our unhappiness on something other than ourselves. We spend our time wanting to and trying to change people we encounter in life, sometimes even the world itself. However, our best intentions and efforts go in vain because we are unable to change anyone.
Once we understand this simple point, we can concentrate on changing our own lives because the only life we can actually change is our own. The greatest service anyone can do in this world is to mind his/her own business and change him/herself.
If we want to be happy, then we must take responsibility and begin to change ourselves. Remember, if we do what we have to do, then one day we will be able to do what we want to do. We want to do many things which we are unable to do because we are unable to perform properly and on time even those duties about which there is no confusion. So when difficulties come our way, we are confused and do not understand what to do. This is the simple, straightforward truth.

No man is an island: We have to change ourselves at the individual level and learn to live harmoniously with everybody in the outer world. We are familiar with the expression, “No man is an island”. It is not possible for anyone to live in isolation.
We speak of the universe as a whole and know that our existence depends on so many factors. Even for breathing, which we take for granted, we are dependent on the air around us. We have to live with nature, the material objects of the world and all other living beings, including plants, insects, birds, animals and other human beings.
It is common sense that since we have to live with everyone, it is better to live in harmony, peace and with love. Otherwise, our existence will undoubtedly be miserable. Superficially we know and accept this but at a deeper level we still expect the other person to make the changes. We place the responsibility of harmony in a relationship on the other person.

Look at everything, everyone as your Self but not like yourself: People sometimes ask, “What are the values of life?” Very simply, values of life are what you expect from your friends, family, everyone.
Like us, the other person also wants happiness in life. So to maintain the balance, we should look at others in the same way as we view ourselves.
The one great lesson I have learnt from my experiences is to “look at everyone as yourself but not to consider everyone to be like yourself”.
Each person has his or her own views, opinions and philosophies and it is not necessary for them to be alike. There should be no restriction or pressure on anyone to follow a particular path or adhere to somebody else’s opinion. It is always better to agree to disagree, accept the differences of opinion and eliminate, or at least minimise, the chances of division, destruction or breakdowns.
People often ask why there is so much destruction and violence in the world. For all such questions the only answer is — lack of common sense. Vedanta sums it up by saying, “All our bondage and suffering is caused by lack of right thinking”. Life is very simple. Let us all learn not to complicate it unnecessarily.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com.
© Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.