The happiness that we really seek

Constant search for happiness in this world

Question

Your entire premise is that "we must love God as there is no happiness in this world". I would disagree with that - A cup of coffee in the coffee shop in the middle of work gives me happiness. Going out for dinner with friends is a lot of fun for me. I'd give anything for a dinner and movie night with my family. I just love exploring the world, going on hikes and nature walks. I can cite many such examples. I do experience happiness in the world.

How can you beat this argument? Why should someone like me care about God?

Answer

A child drops one toy and picks up another in search of happiness.

Most people would certainly agree that all of the above statements would bring happiness to them in the moment, or perhaps for a short duration of time. But sadly, the irony is that, all of these ways of finding happiness could have very well been said by a person in Ukraine a few months ago, who is facing a life and death situation now. It is an example happening right in front of our eyes, to show the ephemeral nature of material happiness. Even if the loss of happiness is not as drastic as in Ukraine (1), or faced by a person with a sudden diagnosis of a terminal illness, the fact is that material happiness eventually always gets lost. For example, if a cup of coffee gives you happiness, the fact is that one cup of coffee will certainly not give you everlasting happiness. Having more cups of coffee will in fact make you throw up instead of giving you more happiness.

Before exploring this topic further, let us think for a moment and ponder on a couple of questions.

Do you like it when happiness derived from objects fades away ?
Do you like it when the newness of things is gone and it feels like "same old same old"?
Do you have anything so great, wonderful and satisfying that you would not even consider something superior?

The answer to these questions cannot be in the affirmative, as every jeev has an innate desire to attain that happiness which is ever new, ever increasing and lasts forever. Not only that, the happiness has to be so big that nothing else can tarnish it. This is the natural desire of every living being. It is not an acquired habit. It is evident from your question that you know you desire for happiness. So now let us talk about various kinds of happiness.

There are many forms of happiness. Let us understand how to attain each of those types of happiness. Then based on your personal choice you can choose the kind of happiness that you want for yourself. And in this process of discovery you will understand how to attain your desired happiness.

So let us now explore the 4 types of bliss :

Forms of Bliss (Anand)

1.	Bliss attained by inert senses from an inert entity

Our mind and senses are inert, yet they appear to be sentient powered by the life-force, called the soul or jeev. The world is made of Maya, hence this is also inert. When the inert mind gets happiness by associating itself with the inert world then it falls in this category. This type of happiness is momentary and limited as it emanates from the bliss potency (hladini Shakti) of Maya. This is rajas/tamas bliss that we keep getting day after day, life after life which does not satisfy our innate desire to be happy.

The Vedas say -

सैषाऽऽनंदस्य मीमांसा भवति । युवा स्यात्साधु युवाध्यायकः ।
saiṣā''naṃdasya mīmāṃsā bhavati । yuvā syātsādhu yuvādhyāyakaḥ ।

आशिष्ठो दृढ़िष्ठो बलिष्ठो तस्येयं सर्वा पृथिवी वित्तस्य पूर्णा स्यात् स एको मानुष आनन्दः ॥
āśiṣṭho dṛḍha़iṣṭho baliṣṭho tasyeyaṃ sarvā pṛthivī vittasya pūrṇā syāt sa eko mānuṣa ānandaḥ ॥

“If there exists a person - who is the ruler of the entire world, is virtuous, wealthy, young and healthy, and his subjects are positively disposed towards him, such a person would be considered the happiest person in the world”. Higher than the happiness enjoyed by such a person are 10 different levels of progressively higher bliss starting with the bliss of Manushya Gandharva lok, going all the way up to the bliss of Brahma lok. We have attained all of this happiness several times. Since we do not remember our past lives, let us focus our discussion on this life. In our current human form, we have enjoyed the matters of our senses numerous times, yet we desire to get more and more. This incessant desire of attaining happiness is a reflection of the fact that the happiness we desire cannot be obtained from these matters. What we yearn for is different from this.

The happiness you have described falls in this category. We all know about this kind of happiness, for this is what we pursue and get. The reason for this is that since infinite lifetimes we have attached our mind to the material world and hence, associated happiness with it. We are two - the body and the real "I" (jeev). Our body is material and the soul is divine. Due to the illusory power of Maya, we have always thought of ourselves as the body and pursued things which give happiness to our body and senses.

There are very few who are fortunate enough to learn from a genuine God realized saint that there are higher levels of bliss than this. Let us learn about them next.

2.	Bliss attained by inert mind from conscious soul

The happiness of divine and sentient atma (also called jeev and soul) realized by an inert mind. Some refer to this as self-realization. This bliss of atma is so superior that after the attainment of such self-happiness, the mind naturally gets detached from material matters. The mind understands that there is no bliss in the material world and it also understands that the happiness derived from material matters is a mere illusion.

In addition, mind experiences that the bliss obtained from the material world is so transient that it disappears in a few moments and ultimately leads to misery. Atma is divine. Therefore, upon attainment of this bliss, a jeev realizes his mistake of trying to derive happiness from this world.

A gyani attains this bliss in his transcendental meditation where he is totally free from all the desires and anxieties of the material world. This is his happiness and it is the outcome of Hladini Shakti of Jeev. It is not the outcome of divine Hladini Shakti (bliss potency) of God. So, such a gyani conquers Rajas guna and Tamas guna mode of Maya, but still remains under the Sattva guna of Maya, because -

सत्वाद् संजायते ज्ञानम्
satvād saṃjāyate jñānam

Jad Bharat became attached to a fawn after its mother deer died.

“Knowledge rises from the sattva mode”; this knowledge originates from the sattva gun of Maya. Thus, even at this stage he is not entirely free from Maya. Jad Bharat used to follow Gyan marg. He had already accomplished 6 levels of knowledge out of seven levels. Once he saw a frightened pregnant doe jump in the water. Her baby fell out and she jumped away. Jad Bharat reared the fawn and in the process became attached to a fawn. Consequently, he had to take one more birth as a deer. Imagine the pitiable condition of such a great Gyani!

I happened so because one mode of Maya is still dominant therefore the fear of losing this stage of knowledge remains.

Swaroopavarika Maya hides our our true identity from us. A gyani in this state becomes free from Swaroopavarika Maya. This is also called Jeev Maya (जीव माया), vikshepatmika maya (विक्षेपात्मिका माया). Such a gyani can cross Panchtanmattra and Ahankaar but
Gunavarika Maya also called avarnatmika maya (आवरणात्मिका माया) remains.

So, because of the fear of falling down in the same well of material afflictions, this is not the kind of happiness that we ultimately desire.

The way to attain this form of happiness is by following the path of knowledge - Gyan Marg.

3.	Bliss attained by conscious entity from the impersonal conscious source

Brahmgyani attains this bliss all the time

This is also called Brahmanand. It is the encounter of the divine soul with the impersonal form of divine God, This bliss is called Brahmanand.

In this state, the soul becomes free from Maya forever and remains submerged in the divine bliss of God.

In this state since there is no mind, the soul cannot enjoy the ever increasing, ever new and unlimited bliss of God’s divine love, form and pastimes. The soul would never get trapped by Maya, nor would it ever attain a material body. The pure soul would merge into the being of the Supreme God, thereby remaining submerged in the unfathomable ocean of bliss but unable to enjoy that bliss, since the enjoyer (soul) has become one with the veritable bliss, God. So, you can compare this state with the state of eternal coma, where one feels no pain or bliss.

So, this is a state of no pain and no bliss. So, this kind of bliss also does not meet our needs to the fullest. To attain this form of bliss one will have to follow gyan marg and couple that with bhakti of Nirakar Brahma. This form of worship is call gyan yog.

4.	Bliss attained by conscious mind from All Conscious God

Here the divine mind meets the divine beloved in its full consciousness. This bliss is supreme and even a tiny drop of this bliss is far more potent than if you were to multiply Brahmanand (bliss of impersonal form of God) with 100 quadrillion (1 followed by 17 zeroes). This bliss is also ever increasing, ever-new and ever-lasting. There is nothing bigger than this bliss, so the chance of seeing something better and losing interest in this is not possible.

So, this is the bliss that we truly seek. Even though we have attained the first two kinds of happiness countless times, we have never been satisfied since that is not our true desire. We have never attained the third type of happiness which leads to neither pain nor pleasure. But this does not meet the goal.

To attain this form of bliss one will have to follow Bhakti Marg.

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत।
uttishthata jagrata prapt varanibodhatah

(कठोप.१-३-१४)
kaṭhopaniṣad 1.3.14

“Arise and awaken. Attain the true knowledge of God under the able guidance of a genuine saint.”

God says: Jeev you need to move to higher spiritual levels. Not go downwards. And to go to higher spiritual levels you need to approach a Mahapurush, who is a genuine saint for he has attained Me.

Jeev: And what should I do after approaching a Mahapurush?

God: Nibodhat which means, learn, believe and implement. If you carelessly listen (bodhat) and don't follow those instructions then they will do you no good.

Now that we have learnt about the different kinds of happiness, it is upto the seeker to decide, what kind of happiness is desirable -

temporary happiness, or
freedom from miseries with a chance of falling from that pedestal, or
attainment of the bliss of the impersonal form of God, or
Unlimited, ever increasing bliss of divine love of God who has a divine form, with divine qualities.

There is no doubt that there is happiness in the world AND that happiness does not last. It satisfies the senses for a short time and ultimately fades away, leading us to feel miserable yet again. That’s why material happiness is named as the illusion of happiness.

However, because of the practice of infinite lifetimes, it will not be easy to let go of material happiness. In fact, total eradication of all material desires is possible only by Guru’s grace. To attain this, jeev has to start the practice of devotion. When we can start perceiving bliss in material objects by constant contemplation, think how much joy can be experienced when we contemplate on God, who is the ocean of infinite bliss. By merely a little practice of focusing on real bliss, the mind will get easily attracted towards God. This is because we, the souls, are a tiny part of God, and so we will naturally get attracted towards Him. When we repeatedly contemplate on this fact and start putting instructions of Guru into practice then our mind will start getting purified. Consequently, we start realizing the grace of Guru which in turn enables us to let go of more material desires and the cycle continues. A Guru never leaves a sincere seeker alone even for a moment. He is ever eager to guide us along every step on the spiritual journey. And the unique aspect of this journey is that as you move forward the bliss increases. All we need to do is develop a firm faith and practice sincerely.

Now, we have understood the ultimate goal of our life, which is true, everlasting happiness, and have also understood how to find it. God has left the choice on the jeev to choose any of the above four forms of happiness. The wise ones do not settle for anything less than what they truly desire!

समझ में आ गया कि इस शरबत में जहर मिला है लेकिन मीठा लगता है । लेकिन देखा जाएगा । एक वाक्य है हम लोगों के पास “देखा जाएगा” । बाद में देखा नहीं जाएगा बाद में भोगा जाएगा । देखने का समय अभी है ।

- जगद्गुरूत्तम स्वामी श्री कृपालु जी महाराज
तत्व ज्ञान, प्रवचन-२

Even though we understand that the drink we are consuming contains poison (its hazardous for health), yet we consume it since its sweet. We tell ourselves - we'll see later, whatever happens will happen! Why worry about it now? We tend to say these words often - we'll see later. Well we won't get a chance to see later, we'll only suffer the consequences later. We can only see what's happening now. So we ought to choose wisely.

- Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Maharaj
Tattwa Gyan, Lecture -2