Satyanarayana Das Babaji Maharaja: The importance of Cultivating a Peaceful Mind

In his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton wrote:

“The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, and a hell of heaven.”

Yet millennia earlier, the same profound truth is revealed in the Bhagavad-Gītā, where Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa explains that everyone seeks happiness, yet true happiness is impossible without a peaceful mind. If you truly desire happiness, the first step is to cultivate a peaceful mind. No amount of external comforts or pleasures can bring genuine joy if the mind remains disturbed, because happiness and distress are experienced not in the body, but in the mind itself.

Just as we experience form with our eyes, smell with our nose, and taste with our tongue. Similarly, we experience happiness and distress with our mind. But if our mind is not peaceful, then we cannot be happy

Imagine trying to read text on a screen or admire a beautiful painting while constantly shaking your head—you simply cannot see or appreciate it clearly. In the same way, when the mind is endlessly restless and “shaking,” it becomes impossible to truly experience happiness.

This is precisely why this verse from the Garuḍa Purāṇa states: cintāturāṇāṁ na sukhaṁ na nidrā—"those overwhelmed by anxiety find neither happiness nor sleep". Good, restful sleep requires freedom from tension.

In today’s world, we pride ourselves on being so advanced, yet many people cannot fall asleep naturally and must rely on sleeping tablets!

We should honestly reflect: is this real advancement, or is it actually a form of degradation? When even the most fundamental human need—sound sleep—cannot be met without taking tablets, then what sort of advancement have we actually made?

Paraphrased from Śrī Satyanārāyaṇa Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s discourse here:
   • 05 Satyanarayana Das Babaji ⎹ Bhagavad-Gīt...