There is nothing wrong with the world or with the environment you live in. The only defects are in the mind which is looking at the world. If you change the outlook of the mind, the world automatically changes.

Annamalai Swami

 (from "Living by the Words of Bhagavan"):

Question: Swami kept mauna [silence] for at least a year in the those days it must have been very peaceful and quiet here.

Nowadays the area is filled with the noise of loudspeakers, buses, trucks, radios, etc. I feel that I would also like to keep mauna for some time. But is there any point in keeping silent when there is much noise around?

Annamalai Swami: Mauna means inner silence, not outer silence. If there are a lot of noises and disturbances outside, we should take them as manifestations of God. If we take the attitude that they are disturbances, we are resisting what IS. This will only create anxiety within us. If we see all that is as divine, nothing will ever disturb us.

You should not make judgements about the world. You are thinking, 'A quiet environment is good; a noisy one is bad'. If you have thoughts like these you will inevitably get caught up in the workings of the mind.

There is nothing wrong with the world or with the environment you live in. The only defects are in the mind which is looking at the world. If you change the outlook of the mind, the world automatically changes. Alternatively, you can give your whole mind to God.

The saint Jnana Sambandhar said: 'There is a way that we can live happily in this miserable world. That way is to give our minds to God.'

Bhagavan said: Surrender your mind to God and see all forms as God. Have impartial love towards all beings. One who lives like this, he alone can be happy.'