Chap 7 contd.

Happiness and “Truth-Knowledge-Bliss”

Why do we want to be happy? Does everyone want to be happy?  Such questions seem to remain un-answered for ever.  Nobody can hope to fully & scientifically analyse the state of mental happiness, nor explain easily why it is so important to us. What we can do however is to side step the theorising and practice of trying to define the intangible, and look at our wants in a realistic manner. We can and should get the most out of our lives, but not necessarily by any particular attainment. It seems a fallacy that success & happiness, (call it what you will), is to be achieved, if we believe that a state of perfection is no further than our true innermost self. Yet we do not see, except or recognise it, (this natural s innermost self), easily. Why?

If we are really perfected souls, why then are we very imperfect? What can be more perfect in so many ways than the amazing facts of human life and the world and cosmos around us? So brilliantly designed and conceived and yet seen as so flawed in so many respects!

To answer our questions and realise a truth that is already there, we have to seek guidance usually. It is as if we are blind, and yet with help can reach a place where our eyes will be opened and we will see the truth of what has been described to us. In some ways it does not matter who guides us really or which path we take, as in time we will the probably find our own way. It is a matter of making the journey to start with, setting out and having a desire to be in a different, illuminated state of self-knowledge.

The word self-knowledge is a useful term to describe or mean the state that a seeker of happiness should attain.  This ties in with an interest in a chosen spiritual philosophy that can be used as the core of the search to achieve and understand intellectual and spiritual goals. One such path or philosophy that we can draw on as a particular source for inspiration is Vedanta. (There are lots of books on this topic). In the eyes of the Western world, Vedanta seems to be part of Hindu philosophy, albeit at the extreme end of the scale, as it seems to present a somewhat strictly monotheistic view. (And a monastically inclined one). It can be seen however as a universal expression of spiritual truths. In Vedanta the “apparent” world is Maya. We could say “unreal”, although in slang that means “fantastic”. We actually mean false or fake, in comparison to the essential Divine nature of the universe, which is Anirvachaniya, or a reality which “words & thoughts cannot reach”.

How real is the body? It dies and then does not exist. How real is a dream? It ends and then does not exist. Where then one might ask has the real world been hidden? When we dream we exist within a world that is very real to us at that moment, and the outside world is blocked out by sleeping mental and physical faculties. Life still exists, not really as a hidden world at all, as we know that the world around us goes on even when we sleep. We know this however by intellectual knowledge; not necessarily by any direct awareness that functions during our sleep.  When we wake up from a weird dream, we know that the strange people and places we experienced were false reality. Yet we still feel a chill and awaking has not distanced us completely from our imaginings or dreaming.

If we walk out in the dark and see in the gloom something lying on the path in front of us we hesitate.  Is it a snake?  It may be just a piece of thick rope which appears in the gloom to be a snake.  We are momentarily frightened until our eyes adjust to the object and we laugh inside at our silliness. In the murkiness of our minds we erroneously perceive the world about us to be something other than it really is. When we are very young we believe that the height of affluence is to possess a bag of sweets or a posh doll, a new cricket bat or a modern bicycle. Adults may laugh at childish naiveté, yet see nothing about their own desires for a turbo model car or the latest in lounge furniture. No doubt someone in the heavens is looking down with amusement on the childish fantasies of fully grown adults, and yet we take ourselves seriously whether as children or senior citizens.

All our games are usually played as real, and we do not want to be put down as daydreamers. Not until perhaps our last days when, as we know, there are quite a few conversions to some religion or philosophy on the deathbed. When we are about to depart this mortal world our prowess in chess or in sports, or on the stock exchange becomes a non-entity. People can remember us for our achievements when we are gone, but do we actually get to enjoy adulation as if we were alive and there?

Where is then the way to real happiness? Do we avoid the world completely because it is like passing dream? We cannot usually spend the whole time in trance, nor even alcoholic stupor or drugged euphoria. The reality of our continuous dream of life impinges upon our consciousness to a greater or lesser extent, whether we choose or not. We are bound by our bodies, upbringing and personal environment to live out our lives as long as we live. There is no simple escapist route that avoids the facts of life and death. Happiness then it anywhere and must live within our own experience, if it lies anywhere, or if it exists at all even.

Perhaps before we start spending any more of our time on the pursuit of happiness we should consider whether or not we are really wasting our efforts. We know due to universal experience that some states have an utter inner peace and tranquillity, and do exist even when we are in deep sleep. We can experience deep and profound rest from our problems and woes, and we know this because when we are awake we say to ourselves that we had a wonderfully refreshing rest. If we are in pain and receive some injection that works, we can go into the state bordering on euphoria because of the effect of the drug, and also the release from an immediate and urgent physical pain. It’s such a relief. On a more mundane level we might jump for joy when after days or weeks of some hassle or problem, and we have a breakthrough or a change of luck perhaps. Note that often the arousal of happiness is almost dependent on some previous misery, tiredness or trouble. Happiness is achievable, but may also be transient and the result of having an opposing unhappy time!

True happiness is not something achieved by a change of our mood in reference to our surroundings. True happiness is a natural state, unaffected by a good or bad luck, by tiredness, sleep, or by our pain or euphoria. True happiness is not even happiness at all, it is something else described in other words. Unfortunately we do not seem to have very suitable word or words in English language that properly refers to this state of being – that is not the result of external or mental influences. There is however in Sanskrit a very interesting phrase– Sat, Chit, Ananda. This phrase describes the state which is the very innermost nature of all life on earth and elsewhere. Sat means the Truth. Chit means Consciousness, and Ananda means Bliss.This is the description of the unchangeable inner soul, as well is that for the Divine cosmic presence. Truth-Knowledge-Bliss.

The way to our inner self is by negating or removing all the fluctuating and transient and moods that range from abject misery to wild euphoria. To do this we need some mechanism by which we can purify or still the fluctuating mental waves that wash hither & thither within our skull, like water in a bath tub. Note that we may not be able to subtract much from our thought patterns. We cannot just dump our mental processes, because there is no way of just removing them – except by dying, and there is nowhere else to put them. We do not need an extractor mechanism, we need something that will calm the turbulent emotions of grief and anger, elation and confusion, and allow the mind to become calm clear lake in which we can experience the reflected joy of our inner soul, and the Sat, Chit, Ananda of the Divine.

What is?

Vedanta: Means literally end of the Vedas, and is a part of the vastness of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta however, on the surface, seems to oppose the Vedic & Hindu religion in a major way and on major points, and separates away from the concept of worshipping many gods or performing rituals. God is one transcendental state, without specifically denying the value and purpose of a personal god. It does critically analyse Vedic sacrifice and worship of the various deities, and even penance of the yogis.

Vedanta seeks to clear away the clutter of ritual, and point to the discovery of the inner soul, the Atma, which is one with the cosmic soul, Brahma. Vedanta is not the pathway of devotion to a Personal God. It is a way of being already perfected souls in oneness with the whole of creation. It may be hard to swallow, that we ourselves are God, as the Atma is the same substance as Brahma. The Vedantic mantra is Tat Twam Asmi – That I Am. Or the mantra, Soham – I am that (Brahma), meditated on with the inhalations and exhalations of breath. I am Brahma, Cosmic Consciousness

Kundalini: Otherwise known as the serpent power, which is considered to be like a coiled snake of energy at the base of the spine. It can be coiled there in a dormant state & when awakened the energy or Shakti arises in a sinuous movement through the centre of the spine to the crown of the head. Along the way are centres of energy called chakras and each one of those chakras has specific and particular attributes.

Shakti: Considered to be the universal energy or Goddess energy – the creation force of the divine being. In this sense the masculine aspect of divine being is seen as a transcendental power which is beyond form and shape & the female aspect is seen as the external creation. When practitioners worship the Shakti or Goddess form they can worship the divine being as the world, the universe, or creation.

Mantra: Is a Sanskrit word. The first part of the word means “constant thinking of” The second part of the word means “that by which one is protected.”

So by the conscience thinking of a certain word one is “protected’, where the word protection has a wider connotation in spiritual terms, as being a means to a degree of perfection (siddhi). The part Man means literally to think and the word Tra means literally to protect or free. The repetition or use of a mantra is considered to be enabling of a range of outcomes, from enlightenment down to the acquisition of wealth and pleasure.

The repetition of a mantra is called Japa. In Hinduism it is said in Scriptures that in this age, the Dark Age, (Kali Yuga), that the repetition of certain mantras is the easiest way to obtain enlightenment. However there may not seem to be much science or evidence associated with such a view. Chakra: In Sanskrit, chakra translates into “wheel”. These “wheels” can be thought of as vortexes that both receive & radiate energy. There are seven major energy centres or chakras, in the human body. They run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Emotions, physical health, & mental clarity affect how well each chakra can filter energy. This in turn dictates how pure the energy is that’s emitted from different regions of the body.