Journey to Perennial Happiness

The attainment of true perennial happiness has always been the ultimate quest and goal of all humanity in the world. Be it a saint or a rogue, both are ultimately searching for that true lasting happiness in their respective ways – one through spiritual practices and the other through illegal practices. 

What does the sacred scriptures of our country Bharata say about the manner of attaining this happiness? 

Bhagavan Shree Krishna, in Chapter 5 Verse 21 of the Bhagavad Gita says: 

बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम् |
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते || 21||

bāhya-sparśheṣhvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akṣhayam aśhnute

Those who are not attached to external sense pleasures realize divine bliss in the Self. Being united with Brahman (God) through Yoga, they experience unending happiness.

Bhagavan Shree Krishna gives a twofold method of attaining divine unending happiness in the above verse:

1. Non-attachment to external sense pleasures (since the happiness derived out of them is gross, transitory & impermanent); and
2. Unity with Brahman (God) through Yoga

Practicing the above two will lead to realization of divine unending bliss, which Bhagavan says is to be found in one’s Self, i.e. Atman. In fact, the Atman or the Self within oneself is identical or one with the Universal God (Brahman) and the very nature of this Atman, Self or Brahman is Happiness or Bliss. In this regard, the Mandukya Upanishad (2.1) states “Ayam Aatma Brahma – This Self is Brahman” and the Taittiriya Upanishad (3.6.1) further states “anandah brahma iti vyajaanaat – Bliss is Brahman”.

So, the question is: How does one put the above two points into practice?

To begin with, Pujya Swami Chinmayananda ji in his book Kindle Life says: “..Every man comes to make a ready sacrifice of the grosser in preference to the subtler in him…..Thus, psychological satisfaction is richer than physical gratification; the subtler the personality, the greater is the satisfaction that is derived by the individual and while identifying with the subtler in us, we readily get ourselves transcended from the world of the grosser and its joys and sorrows.” 

In summary, nobler and higher the goal in one’s life, lesser the ego and selfishness within oneself and consequently, greater is the joy one gets.

So, what are those higher, subtler or nobler goals or aspects of the human personality which an individual can start focusing on? Let us see six of them below:

1. Culture – Swami Chinmayanandaji in his book Kindle Life defines culture as “When a set of people live for a long period of time in a particular geographical area, respecting certain philosophical values and virtues of life, there emanates a fragrance, which is called their culture.” The rich culture of Bharata comprises her deep values of tolerance and acceptance of all kinds of people from any area, nationality, sect etc., respect towards all religions, concentration on achieving inner peace and joy as well as outer success for the benefit for humanity at large. The facets of Bharatiya culture are also reflected in her multiple languages, texts, arts, dance, music, architecture and festivals which uphold the principle of “Unity in Diversity”. Living a well-cultured value-based life leads to purification and refinement of both the body and mind which in turn contributes to inner peace and joy within oneself.

2. Patriotism – “Janani Janmabhoomishcha Swargaadapi gariyasi” is a famous Sanskrit phrase which means “Mother and motherland are superior even to heaven.” It is very clearly seen in our history that all the great freedom fighters were fired up with the idea of “Nation above self.” For this ideal, so many of them renounced all pleasures and gave up their very lives for the nation. The ideal of patriotism, loyalty, service, unity and development of the nation is one of the noblest and highest goals one can have where one forgets one’s egotistic self and works for the welfare of the nation.

3. Society – Society is the mutual coming together of individuals/persons (say as an institution) having similar values, beliefs and norms. A society (such as Chinmaya Mission) having higher goals and values with the intention to serve and uplift the community, nation and world is a great blessing to humanity. Connecting with and being part of the society, its ideals and goals through selfless activities such as volunteering, donations in cash/kind and using one’s inherent skill/expertise/talents to help in any manner brings about unity, positive change and transformation at all levels – individual, family, social, national and global.