Thus Spake the Divine - Where does happiness lie?

Thus Spake the Divine

Where does happiness lie?

Desire is the mother of all sorrows. In this chapter, Poojyasri Maha Periyava advocates renunciation of desire to reach the state of absolute blissfulness.

We have innumerable wishes and desires. But it is quite certain that at some point in time, those things desired by us will move away from us or we will have to part away from things to which we are attached. However, before death becomes the trigger for this separation, if we can relinquish these desires voluntarily, then we can remain happy. We are binding ourselves to many roots of sorrows with lots of desires that we have. Once we start reducing our desires, sorrows will simultaneously reduce. If we can relinquish all our desires before this birth comes to an end, then we will not need to suffer at all by taking another birth. We can just submerge into the Paramatma and transform into Blissful Happiness.

We are proud that man is equipped with unique wisdom as against other animals. But what is it that he is doing, which is unique in him as against other animals? Even a dog, wolf and cockroach eat. They engage in reproductive processes. They die. Generally, man also does not seem to be doing anything other than these. Then, where is the question of being proud about man’s unique wisdom? The superior wisdom is one that should pave way for identifying the ultimate happiness. Is the man moving towards this ultimate happiness?

If we think deep, what we see clearly is that “Wisdom”, “Happiness” and “We” are all just one and the same. If we possess the wisdom to realise who we really are, we will comprehend that “we” ourselves are the “wisdom-filled happiness”.

Happiness is not generated from external factors; happiness is generated from within our own selves. Happiness occurs when we connect ourselves with something that is “ours”. If that connection is lost, happiness is also lost. Let me give you an example. Assume that someone owns some piece of land. Also imagine that initially the produce from that land increased year after year, and made the owner’s heart cheerful and happy. Then, for some reasons, the produce starts diminishing. He sells the land to someone else. The next year, the produce in that land increases enormously. By seeing that, is he going to be happy? He only feels jealous about it! So long as there was connection with “mine”, the increase in produce generated happiness in him. But once the connection was lost, the entire feeling changed with regard to the produce of that land.

Let me give you one more example. You all must have seen many parents bringing their children with some disability and requesting me to cure it. One father behaved just opposite to this. He had married for the second time. The step mother could not cope up with the first wife’s son. After a severe clash between them, the boy separated from this gentleman, who continued favouring the second wife. He went on to disown his son. He came to me one day and said, “The first wife’s son has done some black magic (pilli soonyam) on the second wife and good that it has reversely bounced on him”. While all fathers are worried about the illness of their children, this father is happy about the same! Why? Because, the earlier connection that “he is mine” is finished now! Only the connection “she is mine” exists. He is happy that there is no harm to her!

When the “I”, which is engrossed by Maya, is capable of indulging in so much of happiness, how much quantum of happiness would befit the bare “I”, which is unconnected from everything and possesses absolute wisdom! Even in the dish cooked with bitter gourd, we feel little sweetness if we add jaggery (vellam in Tamil). If just the addition of jaggery itself produces the taste of sweetness, is there any doubt that actual jaggery is nothing but wholesome sweetness? When the “I” which is closely associated with Maya in this bitter and sorrowful world is able to acquire the sweetness of happiness, what if that “I”, which can stand on its own, disassociates itself from Maya? How much quantum of sweetness of happiness would the “I” get?

If you light a lamp and cover it with a lid having small holes, the thin rays of the light would emanate through the holes. With the lamp inside ourselves (Atma Deepam), which is covered by Maya, we visualise just a little amount of the light of joy through the holes of our sensory organs. If that pot of Maya is demolished, we can transform ourselves into the light itself. Despite the fact that the quantum of light emanating from the lamp is different in its glow depending on the width of the hole, what is inside is only one light. If we demolish that pot of Maya, all distinctions seen in the world would fade away and everything would appear as only the embodiment of joy.

The only way to extinguish Maya is to renounce our desires. So long as the mind is there, desires will definitely exist. Therefore, one should get the mind to calm. We should not think that calming the mind means being inactive like a dead body, without any energy levels. We should instead think that this is the state of source for all energies. Generally, if anybody is disabled in one organ of the body, there will be more power and zest in some other organ. When there are several waterways and one of them gets blocked, the water gets directed to another waterway. That waterway will gush with more water. Disability in one part of body gives more vigour to some other part. Likewise, if we block all sensory organs that refract the power of Atma into multiple ways, the entire energy can converge at one place, giving us utmost serenity and joy. With such higher level of energy, we can do greater good for the world.

The power of rishis, who have attained inner wisdom (Atma Jnyana), is an ideal example of this state. They have had the competence of travelling to all the worlds during all the time periods for gathering information on various aspects of life. They could hear the mystical sounds in the air and decode the Veda mantras. Those who want to know how to control desires and how to regulate mind, it will be enough if they comply with what Vedas advocate. Ultimately, they can reach the state of absolute happiness. Let Lord Parameshvara bless you all to reach this state.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in & across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture & Tradition.