Page 42 - NAMAH-Jan-2023

Namah Vol. 30, Issue 4, 15th January 2023

Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. And the Helping others, loving others, seeing them
Vedaanta also says that we are a portion of happy makes us happy. A good fight for
This, whose quintessence is Delight. Just justice makes us happy, even if the process
think about it. Tears rolling down your is painful and the goal is far off. Creating
cheeks, with an aching heart and body, art, enjoying dancing and playing good
mind tortured by memories, you sit with music, eating and cooking, everything that
this thought — that we are That Delight, puts us in a flow state, make us happy.
Tad Vanam (Kena 4.6). It is a paradox,which These are the many ways we exceed our
is why life is called a mystery. Only in ego-sense. We are then expanded beings
sorrow can you practise happiness. Only and this brings us great joy because we are
the negative shows you how close you indeed bigger beings than the individual
are to the positive. Even if everybody is ego. And when we can be connected to
struck by the same grief, each individual the universal AAtman, the transcendental
is affected by it differently, and reaps a being, we feel most expanded, and then
different lesson. So how does one best our delight is greatest. Which is why we
cope with grief? If the more you are united follow a spiritual path, and even the most
to the Satchidananda, will you be closer to external ritual gives a joy that brings with
his AAnanda, even as you see the sorrows it the Divine’s peace and love.
of this world? Will you deploy a portion
of yourself in this anityam asukhamm lokamm
to wallow in the mud and help a lotus
grow out of it? And will this avalokitessvaar
of yours be happy, knowing that perhaps
it is doing the divine’s bidding? Will you
be happy having disconnected with the
world’s sorrows? Or are you thinking
happiness can co-exist with unhappiness,
or that satisfaction can be cultivated no
matter what we get?

Worldly happiness depends on the gap between How does one create one’s own happiness?
our expectations and reality. Something we It needs self-confidence, perserverance,
ought to be able to manage our self without diligence, courage, patience, a positive
external dependence. What can be better attitude, and some more. This is the practice,
than to be in control? A perfectly happy the yoga, the hard part. Book knowledge is
person will be happy all the time, because helpful to know, and apply when the time
he has woven his happiness himself with comes, but not the real thing. It is someone
his own soul-stuff. Apart from worldly else’s perception, a wise man’s darssana. But
joys, we have glimpses of a higher quality this is where we have to start — weaving
of happiness. Being in Nature makes with borrowed threads. It is the safety-net
us happy, looking at a flower, a flash of that will catch us in our downward fall. It is
lightning that brings the promise of rain. the trampoline that will throw us up from

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