Divinity And Bliss

People aspire for a good time, good position, a comfortable life;
But they do not ask for a good mind, wisdom and good behaviour;
They do not pray for truth, righteousness and love.

In this vast world, with the animate and inanimate, every living creature aspires to the state of Bliss. They want permanent Bliss. Wherefrom do you get this Bliss? Beauty is Bliss and Bliss is the nectar of life. This world is full of Beauty. But all worldly materials which give temporary bliss draw the attention of everybody. They are highly attractive in their own way. Whether with man, bird or animal, you find their bliss lasting only for a moment. Here is a rose flower. It is so beautiful to look at it. It gives happiness. How long does it last? The beauty may remain till tomorrow at the most. Later it will fade. The moment it looses its beauty, the bliss is also lost. Therefore, in this world, you do not find permanent beauty and permanent bliss. True bliss is present only in God, out of whom we can get it. God is the only permanent in this world. All else is like passing clouds.

In this world, which is ephemeral, transient and full of misery, how do you expect permanent and eternal joy! In order to earn and attain the state of permanent bliss, we should experience Divine Bliss. God is Beauty that gives us permanent bliss. Therefore we have to surrender to God. Then only we can have this permanent bliss. When once we have the state of permanent bliss, we reach the state of immortality. Man considers momentary happiness as permanent bliss. That is what Sankara Acharya says Maa Kuru Dhana Jana Yauvana Garvam ; Harathi Nimishath Kala Sarvam. Do not be proud of having wealth, people or youth. Time will sweep away everything in a minute.

At one time, a student approached a palmist. He saw his palm. Studying his palm, the palmist said to the student ,"You will become a wealthy man, as there are lines of prosperity. The student became excited. After some time, the palmist said to the student that he will become a highly educated person. The boy could not control his happiness. The palmist continued that he will earn a very good reputation in society. His joy knew no bounds. Giving a pause, the palmist put on a face of frustration. The student asked "Why are you so serious? Please tell me what else is left for me". The palmist said , "what am I to say; you are going to live for a short period only". The boy become upset over hearing this. No doubt, you will have very good affluence, education, reputation. What use is all that when they are not going to last long? Therefore man gets frustrated without getting permanent bliss. All the worldly pleasures are not at all permanent.

Buddha got up one fine morning , looked at his wife and children and also thought of his kingdom. He pondered: how long they are going to last! "The joy I get from this is not permanent", he realized. "I should get that permanent, eternal state of liberation. That gives me permanent bliss." Recognizing this fact, He left from his home. In order to derive an eternal joy, we have to observe certain things on earth. All thoughts we have are outward tendencies. The permanent joy is inwardlyness. We should make every effort to enjoy that which is permanent. Man today, though he is very intelligent and highly educated, is not able to recognize this reality.

It was the time of the battle of Mahabharatha. Sage Vyasa went there to the battle field. On the way, Vyasa noticed a small insect running very fast. He stopped his chariot there. He asked, " O insect, why do you run so fast?" He conferred to this insect the art of communication skills, expecting a reply. The insect said "Swami, very soon, you will find a chariot approaching very fast; the whole earth will tremble watching that fast running chariot. I am afraid of this present situation. Before that chariot starts, I want to return home". Then Vyasa asked, "You are so small; do you love your life so much?" The insect started saying, " Swami, the form may be big or small; but life is the one and the same; Swami, the man with all his intelligence and all forms of knowledge enjoys all comforts and pleasures; we too enjoy them. Food, fear, sleep, and procreation are common to mankind and also to us. Wisdom is the extra quality given to mankind. Bereft of that he becomes an animal. So do not go by the form you look at. Everyone loves life. All the living creatures including insects enjoy all physical comforts. Just as man relishes all sweets available, we also eat and enjoy. Just as man is deluded that he gets all happiness from family relations, we also get deluded in the same way". Hearing the words of the insect, Vyasa's inner eye got opened. What a shame it is! It is a small creature. All living creatures enjoy life in their own way. It really spoke of truth. So, we should not observe, in respect of life, differences between insects and mankind. The pleasure and pain are one and the same.

When a man starts crying, we ask why do you cry? To cry is unnatural to man. When one man is extremely happy, we do not ask ,"Why are you happy?" This happiness is natural to man. The grief is unnatural. We consider that which is artificial as natural and that which is natural as artificial. Man does not exercise this sort of inquiry. On the other hand, he feels that there is a wide gap of difference between insects and himself. The difference lies with the vesture put on; no difference in respect of pleasure and pain. You think that tiny insects will suffer a little and big man will suffer a lot. This is a very big mistake. There is a vast ocean. The taste of the entire ocean is very much the same as in a drop of the ocean. You may find the salinity being less; but taste is the same. Therefore, for every creature, the pleasure and pain are uniform. Man should maintain the state of equanimity in both the times. That is the subtle principle contained in the intelligence of man. He should consider profit and loss , praise and blame equal. This state of equanimity is true yoga. Since then, Sage Vyasa started teaching to the entire mankind all that was conveyed to him by the insect. Do not go by the form alone. Keep in view the reality and the experience. This is the main goal of mankind. Man thinks of this external form and considers his ideas noble and lofty.

Just as a child is hungry, mother is also hungry. Food is different, but the hunger is same. Mother eats food but the child drinks milk. Yet the appetite is one and the same. Therefore experiences are one and the same among all living creatures. Though Sage Vyasa is one of yogic practices and the composer of the Vedas, he could not understand this until he was told by this insect. We can learn a lot of things from this tiny small insect.

Many teach us many things. In this nation, there are many that teach ideals to mankind. You cannot get this permanent bliss by textual knowledge. Nor can you acquire it by listening to the teachings of a preceptor. Nor can you receive it as a gift from the elders. You have to inquire into every subtle matter, discriminate and experience. In every act, we perform in our daily life, we have to discriminate which is ephemeral and which is permanent.

We have to understand the kshetra (field) and kshetragna (the knower). Body is the kshetra and the spirit of awareness is the knower. How do you know the knower? Because of the body, you know the knower. Body is only the basis whereas the knower is non- apparent. Therefore this awareness is hidden. You cannot see it with the eye. That which is non- apparent must be experienced in a subtle way. Therefore meditation is given. In the process of meditation, we have to close our eyes and see that which is not seen by our naked eye.

Usually, every one visits a temple to pay his respects to the deity therein. The moment you go to the temple, you close your eyes spontaneously and pay your respects. Having gone a long distance to a temple, why should you close your eyes? You can as well watch with full happiness, whereas the bliss you experience from contemplation of the idol is non-apparent. Therefore, the hidden joy in the idol can be experienced only by the hidden eye of wisdom within us. So, in every one there is a inner feeling that stands as a witness.

Once King Janaka got a dream. In the dream, he was conquered by many of his neighboring kings. Leaving his kingdom, he ran way and was all alone. He was hungry at that time . Nobody was there with him. There were no servants anywhere near him. There he saw a person about to eat. Janaka approached that person by telling, " I am very hungry... I am very hungry...". That person could identify Janaka as a king. Good and bad reflects on our face. So everything is the reflection of the inner being. That person recognized King Janaka and served some food in a leaf to him. The next moment, an eagle came and grabbed the food. When he felt so sad at this occurrence, he woke up to consciousness. There he noticed his physical body lying in a bed. All the kingdom actually belonged to him. But in the dream he felt as if he was left all alone with hunger. Here, in the waking stage, he enjoys all comforts and convenience. This started the confusion in him. He is a karma yogi. He questioned himself whether that is truth or this is truth. He went on repeating this question. His wife got up immediately and asked," what is it that you are saying?". But he did not stop screaming yet. He went on repeating whether that is true or this is true. His wife felt so sad that she brought the family preceptor, Vashista. He came and saw but he too did not understand. With the inner-eye looking to the facts, he could know that it was all due to the dream. And it is true in the waking stage. Therefore, he could understand the confusion in the mind of Janaka and said "O King! that is not true nor this is true. When you are awake there is no dream and when you in dream, you are not awake. But you are present both in the dreaming stage and waking stage. You are omnipresent. So that is not true, this is not true. But you are true. What does it mean? All experiences in this world are bound to fade away one day or the other. But the experiences of the Self will be permanent. That is possible to acquire only from God. Therefore you can get eternal bliss out of only eternal God. Therefore, God is beyond all attributes, is formless, the pure and unsullied eternal. Only such persons who realize this will have permanent bliss. All the rest will never give you permanent joy.

You are hungry. You go to the canteen. You give two rupees and get two chappatis and your hunger gets satiated. How long is this? After 2 hours, you will be hungry again. Later, you have to eat again. Punarapi jananam, punarapi maranam, punarapi janani, jatarey sayanam. You are born again and again; you die again and again. Everything is momentary; everything is a passing cloud; Body is like a water bubble; Mind is a mad monkey. Do not follow the mind. Do not follow the body; Follow your consciousness. That is the witness. When you follow the transient mind and transient body what you get is also transient. So, do not follow it. You can enjoy and experience the pleasure in this world. But even that, you cannot say in all certainty. Many people did not enjoy bliss during their life time. Dhritarashtra had all possible wealth. There was no dearth of it. But he was never blissful anytime. Though he was resting on a comfortable bed, yet it was as though he was resting on fire. So comforts are never permanent. With all money, you have, you can have air-conditioner, dunlop sofa etc. But this air-conditioner will keep your body cool but not the mind. The mind can be kept cool only by thinking of God. That's why Arjuna also questioned, "O Krishna, how can I ever be blissful with this mind which is unwavering, unstable?" Krishna replied, " O mad man, you follow as I say. Do not follow the mind. Never look at it. You always think of God". "Swami, while I am in the battle field, how can I ever think of You" asked Arjuna. Krishna said, " Only your body is fighting; let your mind think of me. You can achieve victory without fail".

There is a latent power within us to accomplish anything. There is Divine power in every individual. It is a mistake to think that this power is limited only to certain individuals. It is present right from a child to an adult, from a pauper to a millionaire, from insect to a wild animal. Difference lies only in form, but the experience is uniform. Under any circumstances, we have to discharge our duties with this body. Do your duty sincerely. Consider all your duties divine. You just think from a worldly point of view. But consider the world as Divine. All heads are His, all forms are His; how happy will you be if you think in this way! If you observe all sorts of differences, you will never be peaceful. It is only dualism that makes you restless. A man with dual mind is half- blind. That which binds is dualism. Sarvam Vishnu Mayam Jagath. It is the Divine Power that is present in all. So, never forget anybody, never hurt anybody. With divine feeling towards everyone, you surrender yourself to God. Then you will get the permanent bliss. Therefore, the one who wants this permanent bliss should follow the Divine

One small example: Ramayana has got a lot of significance. Ravana was one of penance and power. But he could not control his desire. He wanted to enjoy this nature. This nature is Sita. She is the daughter of mother earth. Whose property is this nature? It is God's property. You cannot enjoy God's property without God's permission. If so, what will be your fate? Without Rama's permission, he wanted to enjoy Sita. What is it that happened ultimately?. When you want to rob some other's property, you will naturally suffer. Therefore, he, his family, his relations, his kingdom - every thing he lost. You can enjoy God's property with God's permission and Grace. Without God's permission he acted senselessly and his very ego uprooted him. What is the cause for Ramayana? Mandara stands for Anger. Soorpanaka in forest stands for Desire. It was the anger of Mandara which was responsible for sending Rama to the forest. It was the lust of Soorpanaka that sent Sita to Lanka. So, these two are responsible for entire story of Ramayana. Therefore all problems that man faces are due to anger and desire.

People think that nine planets harm them. Actually they do not harm us. They go in their own way. But we have only two grahas that put us to all sorts of problems. They are kama and krodha. To control these two, what should we do? We have to develop friendship with God. God is our permanent friend. Prahalada being a tiny tot asked his father, " Father, you could conquer the whole world; but you could not conquer the inner senses; what is that you achieved? You are deluded that you are achieving something; but you are achieving nothing. Having succumbed to inner enemies, how do you capture the external enemies"? Therefore, we should have full control over our inner enemies. With God's grace, all these senses can be subdued. Many noble souls could not realize this fact. Many people could have achieved mighty power through penance. Once, when you are recipient of the fraction of God's grace, you can achieve anything in this world. We should deserve the Divine Love. Therefore, by chanting the Divine name, by participating in the Divine mission, we should sanctify our lives.

[Bhagavan concluded His Divine Discourse with the Bhajan Prema Muditha Manase Kaho Rama Rama Ram.]