Once a Disciple asked The Master, "What is happiness?"
The Master's say, "True Happiness is to Live in The Lord's Company, The Master's and The Saints Company. Every second that we Live in The Truth, is filled with happiness and bliss.
Happiness is the very nature of our Soul. Happiness and the Soul are not different, they are One. In reality, there is no happiness in any object of the world. Everything in this creation, including us human being, are perishable. So whatever we consider as happiness in this creation, is momentary and not permanent. The True Happiness is The Creator and His Particles, The Lord and The Soul.
We imagine through our ignorance that we derive happiness from objects. When the mind goes out, it experiences misery. But when in the company of the truth, its desires are fulfilled, it returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness, that is the Soul.
Similarly, in the state of Samaadhi when the object desired is obtained or the object disliked is removed, the mind is oriented Inward and it enjoys pure Happiness in Soul's awakened state.
Thus the mind moves without rest alternately going out of the Soul and returning to it."
The Disciple, "Can you explain it further for better understanding?"
The Master's say, "Under the tree, the shade is pleasant; out in the open, the heat is scorching. A person who has been going about in the sun feels cool, when he reaches the shade. Someone who keeps on going from the shade into the sun and then back into the shade will keep feeling the heat.
A wise man stays permanently in the shade.
Similarly, the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave The Lord. The mind of the ignorant, on the contrary, revolves in the world, feeling miserable, and for a little time returns to The Lord to experience happiness. Because all of us are The Lord's Particle, Soul.
In fact, what is called the world is only thought. When the world disappears, i.e. when there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery."
The Disciple, "But Master, Soul is present in all beings, then why should they live in misery?"
The Master's say, "There are three types of people in this creation on the basis of Soul searching, the first are those, who seek The Lord's Company, The Awakened Soul. Second type are those, who know That The Lord exists, but are still involved in the creation, The Awakening Soul. The third are those, who live thinking and feeling they are the masters of their life and everything is happening according to their whims and fancies, The Soul in deep slumber.
The third type try to find happiness all along in worldly pursuits, but they fail to realise that eternal happiness is not in the creation.
For example, However Rich we maybe, we can not purchase a second of extra breath, beyond what has been stipulated.
After our death, we can not carry even a small needle alongwith us. All the houses, car, jewellery, sons, daughters and even our wives shall be left behind. Still, we ignorantly seek happiness in mortal things.
Their life is a life without The Master and His Grace. Their life shall be limited to 84 lakh cycle.
The Second type of people, who accept there is The Lord, but have not been blessed with the spiritual path or they are yet to tread the path earnestly. That is, there Naama Earning is less or insignificant. Hence, they live in the outer world for longer duration and live in the Remembrance of The Lord at the time of trouble, seek comfort and move back to their worldly acts.
The first type are those, who have been Initiated into the spiritual path. They do the Simran of The Master's Naama and Live in the Remembrance of The Lord. The Simran enables them to cut their attachment and bonding from the worldly affairs. They seek pleasure and happiness by Stilling their mind, by Silencing their mind.
As The Dhyaan of The Master's Naama sets in from our Simran, we Realise The Lord is The Eternal Truth and this creation is an illusion, maaya, a creation of the mind. Beyond the realm of mind, we experience Eternal Silence and Happiness. The pleasure of being in that elevated status is such that none wants to come out of it.
Like in the ocean, when a diver dives deep below, he comes back up with precious stones and shells with each of his dive. Similarly, our ecstasy of being in The Lord's Company gives us pleasure and Happiness, which can not be expressed in simple words."
The Master is waiting to shower on us The Grace of Happiness, we can experience it internally, only through Naama Bhakti. So, let us start Living in The Master's Will and do Naama Bhakti as much as possible. The Master's Grace shall take care of us.
Authored by K. Giri