Amma: To attain peace and tranquility, our false way of thinking must first be changed. At present, we think that peace comes from the outside. This false conception makes us search for peace outside, in the objects of the world. But, in fact, real peace comes from within. The eternal fountain of peace is inside you. This truth should be understood first; then you can begin to work towards it.

To attain that peace, we should give solitude to the mind. Solitude does not mean to sit in an isolated, lovely place filled with natural scenery. Such a surrounding is only a small factor in helping us to gain real solitude. Real solitude is solitude of the mind; it means one-pointedness of the mind. Even a beautiful place will not give you peace of mind if the mind is agitated. Therefore, we should try to make the mind quiet by slowly controlling, gradually restraining it from running after anything and everything. In the beginning you should make a deliberate attempt to subdue the mind. Then, in due course, it will become effortless.

Do not mingle too much with people. Human being have a tendancy to follishly develop attachment to another person, especially if they are around him for some length of time and it is someone they like. You meet a stranger in a bus stop or railway station. He comes near you and tells you, "I don't know why, but I feel a spontanious love for you. You are really something special!", or some such flattery like this. Not only does our ego get puffed up, but we also quickly develop an attachment to the person. You "love" him. Why? Because he praised you. Then one day he criticizes you for something. The moment he does that, you turn against him, you hate him, you get angry with him, and sometimes you may even want to kill him. Your love is gone and hatred takes over in its place. Any peace you had is now gone, and tranquility has long since flown the coop. Why does this all happen? Because of agitation of the mind.

The same is the case with a pleasure-giving object. You see an object. You develop an attachment to it. You wan to somehow aquire it; therefore, you work hard and earn enough money to get it. But at the last moment, your hard-earned money is stolen by a thief. Disappointment and anger come because you could not fill your desire. Your desire is obstructed. You could not get the thing which you had become attached to. You get angry with your wife, your children, and whomever you happen to meet. Again, your peace is gone. Thus this peace comes and goes. It never remains with you. Why? Because of your likes and dislikes. Therefore, try to be detached by keeping your mind away from the things that want to gush into it.

Whatever sorrow comes, take refuge in God. Tell Him, "O Lord, one person scolded me unnecessarily. I am very sad." Do not tell another person about it. Tell God instead, "O Lord, is it because I did something wrong? Or Lord, is it You who made him do that? If so, then I have no problem because only if I have attachment would I become upset, wouldn't I? No, I don't have that. I don't have any attachment to the words or thoughts which other people utter. You are the one real nature of my Self. When I have to deal with others, I should depend solely on You and not on others, shouldn't I?"

Would we turn around and bark at a dog which barks at us as it stands by the side of the road? No, we wouldn't. If we did, then we would also be like a dog, wouldn't we? We have a world of our own with a cultureand behavior befitting human beings. In the same way, each object or person has its or his own nature. We will state a very high opinion about a certain object or person without having observed properly. Afterwards we will remark, "Alas, I am ruined. I should not have bought that thing," or "Oh, what the heck! He acted in such an obnoxious way." It was we who had first given the object or person a "big certificate" or a high opinion, and afterwards we regretfully realize the real nature of the person or object. As a result, we hate or condemn what we first admired. We should persue our path, accepting and considering other persons and objects as having their own nature and not expect them to be otherwise. Do not pause to question or criticize their behavior. We are much more like a dog than a dog itself if we turn around to question without understanding the proper nature of things.