Religions and happiness
Professor Sunanda Degamboda, University of Kelaniya
There are eight million life forms on earth and man is unique in many
respects. Man alone eats processed and cooked food and the rest, raw
food.
Man alone lives in constructed dwellings while the rest lives in the
open and in caves. Man alone wears clothes. All other animals move using
their limbs, while man travels by cars, trains and airplanes. Only the
man uses structured languages to communicate.
Another very significant difference of humans is that he is the only
specie out of eight million who has a vertical vertebral or spinal
column. This is because only the man is bestowed with experiencing
‘Universal Energy’ which flows only vertically upwards along the spinal
column during meditation.
It is only natural that the so much powerful man lives in happiness
but very often he seems to live most worried and this is most unusual.
The most powerful man is bestowed with stress, a myriad of diseases,
family and work place worries. When it is said that the God created the
man in His own image, a worried man is the most unusual sight on earth.
Spiritually, human life is a short but a golden opportunity given to
each one of us to acquire and accumulate qualifications for eternal
happiness.
Man can accumulate merits only when he leads a joyful life and this
is why the Buddha said, man’s biggest gift is happiness, ‘santhusti
paramam dhanam’. Lord Jesus too prescribed a way of living - rejoice
ever more.
Pleasure
The happiness religions teach us is not sensual pleasure, but a
glowing inner joy that emerges when man’s ego subsides. This joy can
only be experienced as a non sensual inner experience, and cannot be
given by another. We know the taste of tea but we cannot give or explain
that taste to another who has not taken tea in his life. Only by
drinking tea can he know the taste of tea.
Religions teach us ways of achieving this inner joy, which is far and
far more satisfying than any sensual pleasure the man has ever
experienced.
Inner joy is experienced when we become conscious of our true
absolute nature that escapes the mundane mind. The Buddha thus said,
“The ever Blissful Nirvana resides within this body of about six feet (a
fathom).”
Lord Jesus declared thus, “The Kingdom of Heaven I declare is within
you” and Vedanthas teach us, “Brahman resides in the heart of man”, and
the Holy Koran, “Lord Allah is closer to you than your own jugular
veins.”
Man is manifested as the most powerful being relative to the rest of
8,399,999 creatures but his true power, and the potential to live in
joy, emanate from this inner Bliss, which he is yet to experience and
realise Religions show three paths to experience this inner Bliss, often
described as Eternal, Timeless, and Omnipresent.
The three paths are the path of Wisdom, path of Surrender, and the
path of Selfless Service. All of these paths lead to the progressive
dissolution of one’s ego, the iron wall that separates us from the
Eternal Bliss.
The solid world we see, in an absolute sense, does not exist. Once
the Buddha said, “Oh Monks, you see a dream in your sleep and take this
dream as real. You awake the next morning and realise that what you saw
in the night is a mere dream and in the waking state only you see the
real world. No monks, I declare that what you see while you are awake
also is a dream.” The only non-dreaming state is Nirvana, the Absolute
Truth which lies beyond our senses and mind.
Path of Wisdom helps one to experience that the world he experiences
as a mundane being is an illusion created by the mind. The aspirant who
follows the path of Wisdom weakens his mind. The mind knows only three
things:
attach, repulse, and very occasionally maintain equanimity. The
follower of the path of Wisdom cultivates equanimity towards all objects
of the manifested world, and reaches a state called ‘sanskarupeksha
gnana’ where his mind gives up attachments and repulsions and finally
becomes ‘defunct’.
Achievement
This is why the Buddha described the final achievement called Nirvana
as a ‘Chiththa Nirodha’ state or a state where the mind does not exist.
The aspirant who follows the path of Surrender, also called the
Bhakthi Marga, progressively surrenders his ego, pride or the belief
that he is a separate entity to the Divinity within.
However, a mundane man cannot become conscious of the inner Bliss,
which is formless and free of attributes. Thus, he begins with faith and
love towards a Divine form, and performs worship, singing the glory of
the chosen form, constant remembrance of the name and form, prayers, and
meditating on the form.
Progressive practice of such ‘saadhanas’ makes his mind consciousness
of the Divine qualities of the worshipped, and cultivate such qualities
in his heart. The constantly purified heart and mind enables the
follower to surrender his mind and ego to the glory his own inner Bliss.
The Selfless service path is another. A man who follows the path of
selfless service begins by serving the world in the egoistic spirit, ‘I
serve others’, and he wishes, ‘let such and such benefits come to me as
a result of my actions.’ Progressive traversing of the path makes him to
serve as a way of ‘sharing’ what he has with the world. Even at this
advanced state of service, duality of I and others exists.
The final state of selfless service is to serve in the spirit of
serving without expecting any gain or benefit. This was the advise of
Lord Krishna, “Do good actions but do not expect results from such
actions.” In this state of serving the world, the aspirant has withdrawn
his mind from its routine actions: attachments and repulsions.
It is our ego that prevents us from achieving the Eternal Bliss. Ego
makes us believe that we are powerful and great. Every religion teaches
we are great, not because we are the only two legged creature that walks
upright but because only man has the potential to be conscious of his
eternal inner Bliss. Egoistic thoughts weaken us because such thoughts
drift us away from Universal Energy that resides within us. Religions
teach us that ego contracts and selflessness expands.
Can we know whether we are getting closer to Eternal Bliss?
Definitely yes! We are closer to Eternal Bliss to the extent we are
neutral towards worldly events, because perfect equanimity is the sure
precursor or the sign that you have made your mind, the magician,
weakened.
We erroneously talk about mind development. We often associate a
‘developed mind’ with learning, intelligence, power to analyse, and
logical thinking. All such attributes are barriers to achieve the
Eternal Bliss.
This is why the Buddha advised us that Desires, Ego, and Holding on
to views (Dhitti) are powerful deterrents in experiencing Nirvana.
The extent to which our mind shows illusions is explained by modern
quantum physics which tells us that the universe is not solid or liquid
as we see it but it is a continuous flux of transient and formless
energy.
The Nataraja form of Lord Siva depicts this formless ‘dance’ of
energy waves. Religions also teach us there are phenomena in this
illusory world which cannot be comprehended by the mind, intellect and
argument.
This is why the Buddha declared Nirvana and nine other subjects as
incomprehensible by the mundane mind. Thus, more you argue, use logic,
and comparisons to explain or understand these incomprehensible
phenomena., you simply drift away from the Absolute Truth and get into
an abyss of confusion.
How can an average person in this Kali Yuga be full of desires,
hatred, and confusion practice religious teachings? Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba has presented a very simple but most effective way of
generating positive energy that will help you to withdraw from sensual
pleasures and reach happiness and joy in this very life!
This technique is implied in all regions but it has been transformed
into a practical technique suitable even to those who live hectic, busy
lives, by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Deviate
His prime advise is that you must never deviate from your religion or
Guru in whom you have the highest faith and ‘Bhakthi’. Traditionally the
technique is called Naamasmarana and requires the selection of a phrase
to worship your own ‘Shasthru’ or Guru.
To perform this very simple but most effective method you choose a
calm place, sit comfortably and place a picture of the ‘Shasthru’ at eye
level.
After looking at the Shasthru for a minute or so, lightly close your
eyes and start chanting the selected phrase softly and musically. Your
mind is less bound to sway because you are in the action of chanting.
You must never stress yourself and the act should give joy.
If you feel tired or lethargic, please withdraw from chanting and
begin again when you feel like doing it. What is important is to
practice this technique regularly. You may visualise your Guru and
recite your phrase mentally at places where chanting is not possible.
More you visualise the picture and more you chant, quicker will be the
results.
Naamasmarana brings you joy in many ways: First, more you visualise
and chant, you will be closing the mind to undesirable worldly objects.
Second, the powerful vibrations and benevolent thoughts will create
positive vibrations in your body and the environs.
Third, when a person always remember another, the second person’s
qualities will be implanted in your heart. If some one can often
remember Buddha, Jesus, Shiva or similar Divine form and name, their
Divine qualities will flow into you. This is a modern psychological
invention. Many criminals, on being sentenced to death, have confessed
that they were thinking and admiring similar criminals during their
childhood and youth.
Finally, mundane or Eternal happiness cannot be achieved through a
life full of worries. A joyful life does not mean a life of ultra
luxury. A joyful life is a life in which your consciousness is closer to
your own Absolute nature.
None of the great Masters like Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, the Buddha,
Lord Jesus, and Prophet Mohammed led luxury lives. But they lived great
lives full of joy for the benefit of others, and taught us to achieve
the same. |