Shanti

means peace. Peace is the mental equilibrium that all spiritual aspirants strive to attain. In spiritual terms it also connotates brahma-nirvana - extinction in the Absolute. This is the highest state often referred to by Sri Swamiji. Peace is a most essential quality in the ancient Upanishads. It is invoked at the beginning and end of each Upanishad chapter. There is a group of special Shanti mantras. At the close of each, the word Shanti is chanted three times. This is to remove the three kinds of suffering - personal, external and atmospheric. Shanti is also the name of the Peace Goddess, the daughter of Shraddha (faith) and friend of Karuna (compassion).

Swamiji says that the body was born out of physical desire and as such it is always searching for satisfaction of its desires. The atma, the true Self, arises from the Divine, whose nature is pure peace, thus the Self always strive to attain its original peaceful state. This is the state of super-consciousness beyond the material, physical and mental worlds. It is that peace which is described as the peace that passes all understanding.