Real Happiness Lies In

Why do you search, in vain, for your happiness, outside, in objects, money, women, titles, honors, name and fame, which are false, worthless? You cannot get your happiness there. You are entirely deluded. Search within the heart, subjectively in the Soul, the source and fountain of all happiness.

Real happiness is within you. It is in the Soul. It is subjective. It is in the Pure Nature and beyond Pure. It manifests when the mind is concentrated. When the Senses are withdrawn from the objects outside, when the mind is one-pointed, when there is annihilation of the subtle desires and annihilation of the mind, when you become desire-less and thoughtless, Soul bliss begins to dawn; spiritual joy begins to thrill.

Attachment and Pleasure

The mind is the cause of attachment to delusive objects. It is the mind which is the germ of all Karma’s. It daily agitates this body of ours to work and secure for its enjoyment various pleasurable objects. The mind always wants to be doing something and, when it attached itself with the objects it cherishes, feels amused and happy. A play at cards has nothing in it; but, the attachment and attention produce pleasure.

There can be attraction without attachment. You can be attracted by a beautiful rose. But it is not necessary that you must be attached either to the rose. Attachment comes after possession and enjoyment. Attachment, love and bliss all go together. As this world is illusory and as through illusion pain appears as pleasure, you must cut asunder all worldly attachments and direct your love and attachment towards the Reality, Brahman, the substratum or basis that lies at the back of mind and all objects and is the witness for all the activities that take place in Intellect.

It is difficult to divert the mind which, from infancy, has fallen into the pernicious habit of seeking external pleasure and it shall ever persist in doing so, unless you give it something superior to be amused with, a greater form of pleasure to delight in. Intellectual pleasure is far superior to sensual pleasure. Joy from meditation is far superior to intellectual pleasure. Spiritual bliss from Self-realization is infinite, immeasurable and unbounded.

The Golden Mean

Keep the mind in a state of moderation or happy, golden mean. Never let it run to extremes. People die of shock from extreme depression as well as from extreme joy. Do not allow extremes to crop up in the mind. Mind always runs to extremes. Extremes bring about reaction. Mind can never be calm in excessive joy. Let the mind be cheerful but calm.

Be always cheerful. Laugh and smile. How can a mind that is gloomy and dull think of Supreme? Try to be happy always. Happiness is your very nature. This is termed cheerfulness. This spirit of cheerfulness must be cultivated by all aspirants. Meditate on Soul or God. This will free you from all mundane miseries and afford you eternal peace, knowledge and bliss.

With the growth of mind, pains increase; with its extinction, there will be great bliss. Having lorded over your mind, free yourself from the world of perceptions. Though surrounded by pleasurable or painful objects to disturb your equilibrium of mind, remain immovable as a rock, receiving all things with equanimity. The final cool joy and laugh consequent upon it is the bliss arising from the mind merging into the stainless Soul!

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda