Video 2 Saint Francis: Becoming an Instrument of Peace

How to Use This Course These videos are part of an ongoing monthly series in the teachings of . The talks on this video, like all of Easwaran’s talks, are rich and deep in content. They shed light on many aspects of life, but their true value emerges as we try to apply their teachings in our daily lives.

The Guide is meant to be used in conjunction with a daily practice of Easwaran’s eight-point program, based on passage . We do not recommend following the practical exercises if you are not practicing this program according to the instructions given in Easwaran’s book .

The practical exercises are suggestions for you to explore as they seem appropriate in your life. If you are already familiar with Easwaran’s books, you will have seen some of these exercises before. But we suggest that you take this opportunity to really put them into practice, and discover their great power to deepen your spiritual life. Try them in moderation, exercising your common sense and not taking them to extreme lengths. Easwaran, like Mahatma Gandhi and many other mystics, always emphasized the importance of the middle path.

Before or after watching each talk, we suggest that you read through the notes (especially the Outline of the Talk, which will help you assimilate the overall structure), and the practical exercise. Then, after watching the talk, try to put the exercise into action in your life. A week or so later, you may find it interesting to watch the talk again, with the experience of the exercise fresh in your mind. You may want to note the results in a journal.

Practical Exercises Linked to Videos

Instrument of Peace In the two talks on this video, Easwaran presents the Prayer of Saint Francis as a road map, with directions towards a life of peace – as individuals, as families, as communities, and as nations. “Instrument of Peace,” the first talk, concentrates on the first stanza of the prayer, which Easwaran treats as a guide to a total way of life, and an entire course in how to love.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.

As he reflects on the prayer’s power to transform consciousness, he focuses on three practical tools to discover and express a comprehensive peace in our lives: meditation, the use of a mantram, and slowing down. To be an instrument of peace means to base your life on the foundations of peace: a living faith, unconditional forgiveness, and unconditional love. These qualities can begin only with the individual, but gradually they come to have a healing effect on a much wider scale, and can help resolve such overwhelming issues as threats to the environment and world peace.

Outline of the Talk Easwaran introduces the Prayer of Saint Francis as a road map for the journey to God – not “out there” but in the depths of our consciousness. • “An instrument of thy peace” – Easwaran points out that being an instrument of peace means living at peace with other people, with the environment, and with ourselves, and stresses the importance of meditation in attaining this goal. • “Where there is injury, pardon” – Easwaran emphasizes the importance of forgiveness; he recommends repeating the mantram when angry and praying for one’s enemies; and he quotes a relevant passage from G.K. Chesterton. In passing, he also tells an anecdote about Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw. • “Where there is doubt, faith” – He remarks that faith is not much encouraged in our modern society, but that we can ask God to grant us faith. • “Where there is sadness, joy” – If we live out the values contained in this prayer, they will lead us to a tremendous inner fulfillment and transform us, ultimately, into instruments of peace, “for making the world a better place for our children and our children’s children.”

Practical Exercise In this talk, Easwaran recommends the mantram as a tool for cultivating forgiveness, by gaining freedom from hostile thoughts and old resentments.

In this approach, Easwaran is not counseling us to pretend that past injuries did not happen. He is encouraging us to develop a calmer, more peaceful, more forgiving outlook which will help us see old injuries more as opportunities for forgiveness than as causes for resentful brooding.

Every day for a week, spend at least five extra minutes repeating your mantram silently with great intensity, either while you walk, or while writing the mantram. To write the mantram, simply write your mantram over and over on a blank sheet of paper, or in a blank book dedicated to that purpose. Do not try to summon up resentments or hostilities (that is rarely necessary!), but if they arise during this week, use the extra mantram time to try to erase mental impressions made by resentful thoughts. It takes a great deal of practice and effort to free oneself from a ­habitual negative thought, but after even a few days of ­intense effort you may find that you have gained a moment or two in which you can let go of the thought. With practice you can extend that period and gradually free yourself of that resentful thought once and for all.

At the end of the week, reflect on your experiences with this exercise. If it has been useful to you, consider how you might incorporate these extra minutes of mantram time into every day.

Conclude with 30 minutes of meditation. Further Reading “Saint Francis” in .

Suggested Passages for Meditation The Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis Epistle on Love, Saint Paul Finding Unity, Lao Tzu

In Giving We Receive In this talk, given October 20, 1992, Easwaran refers to a few of the serious problems facing the world at that time, such as ethnic conflict in the former state of Yugoslavia and the inability of Russia’s leaders to work together. In the second stanza of the Saint Francis prayer, he offers a simple, commonsense response to spiritual problems – underlying these issues – problems which continue to burden the world in different forms today: O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

Forgiveness, learning to love in the fullest sense, and the joy of giving form the basis of a complete reversal of modern human behavior, which has to begin with us. Key to this transformation is the ability to turn our attention away from our own petty concerns and consider the needs and fulfillment of others. We discover that the more we give, the more we receive, and find that these revolutionary guidelines lead to life at its best.

Outline of the Talk • “To be consoled as to console” – Easwaran encourages us to turn our attention toward the needs of others rather than to demand attention and consolation for ourselves, and reminds us to use the mantram as a means of asking for help and guidance from within. • “To be understood as to understand” – He encourages us to focus on understanding the other person’s point of view, and reminds us that this will also make it more ­likely that they will listen to us. • “To be loved as to love” – Love means putting the other person’s welfare first. Easwaran encourages us to give other people our full attention as a means of expressing our love, as well as to forgive them when they have hurt us. • “For it is in giving that we receive” – The more we give to others, the more energy, understanding, and love we will have, to enable us to give even more. • “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned” – He talks about the urgent need for forgiveness between peoples with centuries-old histories of hostility. • “It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life” – Referring to his grandmother’s warning about “elephantiasis of the ego,” Easwaran reminds us to work day by day on reducing our self-will by putting other people’s needs first. • He concludes with a reminder about the tremendous benefits of meditating on this prayer.

Practical Exercise The theme of training attention runs through all the topics in this talk. By learning to redirect our attention, we can become more understanding, more patient, more aware of the needs of those around us.

Easwaran singles out mealtime as an ideal opportu­nity for training our attention. First, he suggests that we not divide our attention by reading, listening to music or the radio, or watching TV while we eat. In this everyday occasion, which can be very enjoyable, we have the chance to reduce the hurry in our lives, unify our attention, understand our family and friends better, and start cultivating a more peaceful mind.

At least once this week, set aside enough time for a leisurely meal with family or friends. The food and the setting needn’t be elaborate or expensive. Follow Easwaran’s ideal: simple, tasty, healthy food, served in a loving atmosphere. During the meal, listen and respond in a relaxed, one-pointed way to what others are saying. Try to make the meal a nourishing experience for everyone – not just in body but in spirit too. If you find yourself getting speeded-up or if your attention starts to get divided, repeat the mantram to yourself and concentrate on enjoying the meal and the company.

Afterwards, reflect on the experience. If you found it satisfying, make a plan to make time for such meals regularly.

Conclude with 30 minutes of meditation.

Further Reading “Saint Francis” in Love Never Faileth.

Suggested Passages for Meditation The Whole World Is Your Own, Sri Sarada Devi Discourse on Good Will, The Sutta Nipatta

Terms & References Ansari of Herat Abdullah al-Ansari, often referred to as Ansari of Herat, was a Persian poet and mystic in the Sufi tradition of Islam, who died in 1088. His famous Invocations are an ideal passage for meditation, and can be found in God Makes the Rivers to Flow.

Ashoka King Ashoka’s rule of India began in 268 b.c. He is famous and beloved for his devotion to the Buddha, and for his historic decision to renounce war.

Atman “Self”; the innermost soul in every creature, which is divine.

Bhagavad Gita [Bhagavat ‘Lord’, gita ‘song’] The best known of the Hindu scriptures, preserved as part of the Mahabharata epic. It is a spiritual dialogue between Arjuna, representing the human soul, and Sri Krishna, the supreme Self.

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith (1874–1936) English Catholic writer.

Dhammapada “The path of dharma” – of truth, of righteousness, of the central law that all of life is one; the name of a collection of teachings of the Buddha. See Eknath Easwaran’s translation, published by Nilgiri Press.

Elephantiasis A disease that results in swollen arms and legs.

Gorbachev, Mikhail Former leader of the Soviet Union.

Physicians for Social Responsibility An organization of medical professionals devoted to nuclear disarmament, violence prevention, and environmental health.

Ramakrishna A Bengali saint of the 19th century.

Russell, Bertrand (1872–1970) British philosopher.

Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950) English playwright.

Shiva “Auspicious,” one of the most important forms of God in the Vedic (ancient Indian) pantheon, later widely worshiped throughout Hinduism as the supreme expression of the Godhead.

Shraddha Faith.

Tagore, Rabindranath (1861–1941) Indian poet.

Tat “That” – a term used in the Upanishads for the supreme reality.

Yeltsin, Boris Former president of Russia.