Happiness is subjective, and it differs from person to person.Happiness is a feeling of contentment, pleasure or joy which is derived either from the people we love or from certain material items or favourable situations.
This feeling of pleasure stems from the associated belief that links to our past life. In the past, we have believed that ‘I like this particular person or thing or situation; they give me a lot of happiness.’
A simple illustration to understand this is: some individuals find pleasure from consumption of sugary food items whilst others have disdain for it. Why so? If sugary food is meant to give happiness, everyone should feel happy having it. But that’s not true. So let’s understand..
People who like sugary items do so because in their previous life they have sown the seeds of fondness for sweet items. Therefore, in the current life, they always opt for a sweeter option which brings them a great deal of pleasure from within.
In the same token, why do others have dislike for sweet items? It is because they have bound negative opinions for sugary items. So, whenever it is offered to them, they would immediately have adverse feeling towards it.
If you apply this simile to every aspect that brings you happiness in life, you will comprehend that happiness is self-created through our own opinion that we had in past life.
Our quest for happiness continues throughout our life, life after life...For how long does the pleasure last after consuming the sugary item? Until the item has been consumed. And then?
Our search for happiness begins all over again...
Every living being is in constant pursuit of happiness. Yet, one never finds the joy and bliss that lasts.
We human beings too pursue happiness from a very young age. When we are little, we experience joy from small things such as milk, sleep, etc. Then, as we grow up a little more, we are drawn towards toys, food, love and care of our parents. Further on, as years pass by, we look forward to get happiness from relationships, accumulation of wealth, acquisition of material objects, holidays, wellness, etc. At every stage of life, we do experience joy, but it is always short-lived. Before we feel contented, it is gone! Hence, happiness is always found to be fleeting; and importantly, it is followed by sadness.
This is because principally happiness from every worldly thing such as money, relationship, material item and even our body, is transient in nature.
Can everlasting happiness ever be experienced?
Absolutely yes!
Everlasting bliss can be attained and experienced from an eternal element only. An eternal element means a permanent entity. We have this eternal element present right inside our body, which is the Soul.Soul or Aatma means the Self. The Soul is our real Self. It exists in all living beings, but it has remained hidden, covered under the veils of ‘ignorance of the Self’. Owing to these veils of ignorance, one believes one’s body and the name given to identify the body, to be their self.
Therefore, every happiness and misery that is actually linked with the body or the name, is wrongly perceived to be linked to one’s own Self. Hence, one has to go through all suffering.
Really, the two are totally separate!
The body and the Soul are two different entities altogether. We can see the body, but cannot experience the Soul. It is only when Gnani, the Enlightened One, puts in a line of demarcation between the body and the Soul and enlightens our Soul with the ‘knowledge of the Self’, the darkness of ignorance leaves and the right belief of ‘who am I’ sets in.
Until then, we may understand it by theory that ‘I am a Pure Soul’, but we are not able to derive the benefit of the experience of Soul. However, once we attain Self-Realization, the experience of the Self never leaves; on the contrary it only enhances.
The Happiness from the Self is the Real Happiness, for it is the Permanent Happiness.
You, as the pure Soul, then begin to understand the inherent properties of the Self. The qualities of the Soul are infinite. Infinite knowledge, infinite energy, infinite vision and infinite bliss is what we truly are! This bliss of the Soul is not dependent on anything or anyone outside, nor does this bliss increase or decrease depending on any external situations. It is always constant and everlasting!!
Furthermore, we do not have to try to be happy here. The feeling of bliss just occurs naturally and spontaneously. As the right understanding of the Self develops, so does the corresponding bliss.
Let’s Run after Gnani instead of Running after Fleeting Happiness..
To conclude, there’s really no point in running after worldly happiness, for you’ll gain nothing but tiredness in it. Yes, if one is really keen to pursue happiness, one must run in pursuit of Gnani because permanent happiness exists nowhere but in the Soul.
Gnani, the Enlightened being, is the visible Soul!!! Therefore, from Him, we can experience our Soul. And until we become capable to do so, Gnani is verily our Soul!!!
If interested, you can know more about Gnani at https://www.dadabhagwan.org/spiritual-masters/pujya-deepakbhai/the-jewel... and to know about the qualities of Gnani you may check out..
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization