Inner peace (Christianity)

So valued as to be implicit in habitual greetings, peace is a spiritual calm as well as a social benefit, a calm which can be maintained under all adverse external circumstances. This is the "shanti" of the Hindu sacred texts (often repeated three times, to indicate inner peace at three levels). The state is of tranquillity, quiet and calmness of mind; there is absence of passion, aversion of pain and indifference to objects of sense which cause pleasure and pain. There is detachment unmoved by the results of activity.

Peacefulness is an essential feature of the Christian character. It arises in the consciousness of Christ's victory over the world and over all that inhibits spiritual wellbeing; and is manifest in an inward wholeness arising on acceptance of the gospel as a law of life and explanation of the universe. Knowledge of the nearness and providence of God, of his care for all and his power, leads to freedom from personal anxiety. The Christian message and the empty tomb underline an ultimate purpose in life and its vicissitudes, and lead to intellectual repose, deliverance from perplexity of mind. There is also joy, love having found its true and enduring object and so overcome all inner unrest; the restfulness is further developed in surrender of the will to God. The peace which "passeth all understanding" of St Paul is synonymous with the Kingdom of Heaven within - by no means marked by absence of disturbance, but strenuous and harmonious action compared with the "concord of melodious sounds". "Giving the peace" is common in present day Church services and peacefulness of temper is important in social interchanges, the spirit of love working for the wellbeing of the community. However, there are occasions when conflict and resistance to evil are inevitable. Thomas Aquinas indicates that the inner peace of this world is relative as opposed to the absolute peace of the next.