The Only Worthwhile Change, The Only Permanent Advance,
            Is The Inner Evolution Of Man Toward Spiritual Perfection.

                                              ***Paramahansa Yogananda***

               What is the nature of the happiness that we seek? Since happiness is
               synonymous with God, it has the same nature as God. It is limitless and
               eternal, just as God is. If it's limited, if it fades with the passage of time,
               and if it is overshadowed by sorrow, it is not happiness. Being naive, we think
               a person, a place or an object to be the source of happiness. Many believe that
               if they live in a certain house, in a certain neighborhood or in certain country,
               happiness will come to them. A man gets married and fully believes that
               his wife will make him happy. A couple feels that a child will bring them joy
               and satisfaction. A poor man sincerely believes that money will make him happy.
               A millionaire is unhappy because he is not a billionaire, and the billionaire is
               working feverishly to become the richest man in the world. And the richest
               man in the word is tense, because he wants to maintain his number one position.
               But we find that happiness which is attained through people, places, money and
               things, decreases and keeps on decreasing until it comes to an end altogether.

               To attain true happiness, we must first understand who we are.
               We are a combination of the mortal body and the immortal soul. For the sake
               of the body, God has provided us with the world, and He has pervaded
               each particle of His  creation for the benefit of the soul. The body is material ,
               whereas the soul is divine. Both need their respective nourishment. The body,
               comprised of five material elements : ether, air, fire, water and earth,
               needs the world in the form of clothing, air , sunshine ,shelter food , water , etc.
               The soul, a divine fraction of God, needs to be fed also. The food for the soul
               is the Supreme Soul, variously known as God. Just as ignoring the needs
               of the body leads to ill health and disease, in the same way, depriving the soul
               of it's nourishment results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

               According to the scriptures, we must do two things in order to be happy:
               1) Limit our material desires
               2) Form a loving relationship with God

               Let us take up the first point. Television ads would have us believe that all
               we need to get rid of stress is to go on a shopping spree, or take a holiday
               on some exotic island in the Caribbean. Lottery ads do their best to
               convince us that all our problems will come to an end once we are millionaires.
               Huge billboards suggest to us that we cannot be happy without wearing
               designer jeans and the latest fragrance. We need seem to have enough
               material goods. A teenager has a closet full of clothes,
               but says she has nothing to wear. A man drives a good vehicle,
               but has his eye on a fancy sports car. A woman lives in a perfectly food house,
               but feels it is not big enough...The teenagers gets a new outfit, the man is
               now driving a sports car, and the woman buys a bigger house.
               Are these people satisfied now? Are they happy? Yes, but only for a while.
               The outfit loses its charm in a few days, the car gives the man problems
               and they woman is still not satisfied. Please Think. Is this not your
               experience also? It is our gross misconception that material objects can
               give us lasting happiness.  

                                ** That New Car Won't Bring you Happiness...
                           as printed in the March, 1999 edition of Hinduism Today **

When you are thirsty you love water, but not when your thirst is quenched. A lustful man longs for a woman but when that lustful craving is absent, that same woman becomes burdensome. This fact is experienced by everyone, but no one actually bothers to reflect upon it. No one bothers to analyze the delusive nature of material happiness. It is obvious that there is not a trace of happiness in any object of the world. Whatever we experience is the deceptive result of our own imagination. Observe, people think that there is happiness in beauty, but our own experience is contrary to this thinking.

The goal of human life is to attain Divine love which is only possible with the Grace of God. To receive His Grace you have to wholeheartedly surrender yourself at His lotus feet and love Him selflessly. This is called divine love devotion. In fact our desired object, The Divine Love, is Divine by nature which is beyond the material world so there cannot be any direct approach to it, neither through our material intellect nor senses.

In this material worlds every person is born with certain tendencies and likes. As he grows, his likes take the shape of desires, and to fulfill those desires he works for his whole life. The life ends but desires never end. Everyone is devoid of real happiness, that is why they run after everything that pleases them. This world has been created in such a way that every living perceives two kinds of objects and situations; one is soothing to the senses and the mind, and the other is non soothing. When a person perceives such an object which is soothing to his mind, his brain nerves feel a sweet comfort , and this feeling strengthens his faith that the world is sweet. The faithful imagination give more imaginary pleasure which further multiplies his faith, and thus, this cycle of misunderstanding goes on forever.

You feel happy when you are having a good time, but at the same time your inner conscience declares a discontent that appears in the shape of a desire to have more. The happiness that you receive from the world reaches to a certain depth in your mind, but the proclamation to receive total contentment comes from the very bottom of your mind which is next to your soul. Material joy, happiness, pleasure and felicity can never reach the very bottom of your heart and mind. There remains a big gap, and that gap, can be observed by you if you sincerely think over it alone. This is the fact of life, and the truth of material happiness. Material truth is the experience and perception of temporary discontented pleasures of the material life with a growing hope for future fulfillment that can never happen because the present is always wholly or partially discontented. The Divine truth is God himself who is loving, kind, and friendly, who is eternally yours and always with you in every situation.

Your innermost conscience is already desiring God's love and His association. The moment your conscious mind begins to believe this fact, you begin to feel a kind of secure fulfillment in your life. This is the beginning of your spiritual life...

The nature of human mind is that it becomes attached to the object or person it faithfully remembers, and adopts the qualities of that where it is attached. When the mind is attached to material phenomena it develops only good and bad qualities and always remains bound to the material dimension. When your mind is attached to God it develops devotional qualities and, in time, you may receive God realization with the Grace of God and your Divine Spiritual Master.

Once Lord Shiva and His consort Parvati set out to tour the world along with their mount, the bull, Nandi. Every action of the Divine couple was criticized by the worldly people. When both walked alongside their mount Nandi, they were criticized for being foolish not to ride upon the bull. When they did mount it, they were again criticized for being cruel to animals. Both of them immediately got off the   mount. This time they decided that Parvati alone would ride on the bull, and Shiva would walk alongside. But people again criticized them, complaining that in the age of Kaliyuga men become slaves of women. Hearing these comments, Parvati got off and Lord Shiva mounted the animal. This time the criticism  was against the strong, sturdy man who sat comfortably on the mount, without the least consideration of allowing the lady to sit in his place. Eventually Lord Shiva and Parvati decided to carry the bull on their shoulders. This time criticism was inevitable. They were branded as being crazy people, who needed to be sent to a mad-house for treatment. Thus, it is obvious that there is no standard behavior or action that will be approved of by everyone in the world. It is fruitless to waste our time and effort in this direction. We cannot destroy the world, so the only way out is to get rid of the inner world and devote ourselves to the right path.

Isn't it silly to presume that the Almighty, All-powerful Supreme Being, who gives form to innumerable solar systems and countless subtle elements, cannot take a form Himself? God has innumerable, incomprehensible transcendental powers. When He has such unlimited powers, what is so surprising about Him assuming a form? We have examples of formless substances taking form, in the material world itself. God made the element ether. Ether does not have the property of touch, but from it came air which possesses the qualities of both sound and touch. From air came fire, and from fire came water from which came the element earth. From the earth came the trees and plants and from the trees and plants we have food… Observe, from the formless element ether which I devoid of even the quality of touch, we have the earth, which contains the properties of touch, taste, smell, sound, etc.

A Saint has a simple and innocent heart like that of a child. He is pleased with straightforward talk and behavior. He remains unaffected by both praise and abuse. A man abused Lord Buddha all day. Instead of being annoyed or hurt, Buddha said, "This man must be really tired. Give him something to eat and drink, so that he may regain energy to continue abusing me." The man was shocked to hear this. Lord Buddha then said to him, "O friend! Just answer my question. If you give a gift to someone, and he does not accept it, with whom will the gift remain?" The man replied, "Obviously, it will be with the giver." Lord Buddha smiled and said, "You showered abuses upon me, and I did not accept them. Now with whom will those abuses remain? And who is it that will be harmed by them?" The man understood the message and begged for forgiveness. Abuse is a kind of seed which germinates very quickly. But a Saint is like barren land where this seed is fruitless. ***Excerpts from the Book***
Philosophy of Divine Love  (Prem Ras Siddhant)
by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Ramana Maharshi once said: Why do you become a wandering monk, -a similar thought that you are a renunciation will haunt you-. Whether you continue as a husband and father or renounce your family and go to the forest, your small self will accompany you. The self is the source of thoughts. It created the body and the world and makes you think that you are really a householder. If you renounce the world, it will only substitute the thought "renunciate" for "householder" and the environment of the forest for that of the householder. But the mental obstacles are always there. They even increase in new surrounding. There is no help in change of environment. The obstacle is in the mind. It must be overcome, whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in the forest why not in the home? Therefore, why change the environment? Your efforts can be made even now, whatever your environment may be.

The desire for happiness is what motivates all creatures to act. Whether it is a tiny little ant or a human, every child of God is constantly busy looking for joy, peace and happiness. Whether we are laughing, eating, sleeping, walking, paying, getting an education or working, we are in fact searching for happiness. Just as rivers flow incessantly towards the ocean, so do God's children continually strive to be happy. The reason is quite simple, and it has been disclosed in the scriptures. Being fractions of God, who is otherwise known as Bliss, of Perfect Happiness, we cannot help but desire to be happy. This desire comes to us as naturally as breathing.

Since happiness is synonym with God, it has the same nature as God. It is limitless and eternal just as God is. If is is limited, if it fades with the passage of time, and if it is overshadowed by sorrow, it is not happiness. Being naive, we think a person, a place or an object to be the source of happiness. Many believe that if they live in a certain house, in a certain neighborhood, or in a certain country, happiness will come to them. A man gets married and fully believes that his wife will make him happy. A couple feels that a child will bring them much joy and satisfaction. A poor man sincerely believes that money will make him happy. A millionaire is unhappy because he is not a billionaire, and the billionaire is working feverishly to become the richest man in the world. And the richest man in the word is tense, because he wants to maintain his number one position. But we find that happiness which is attained through people, places, money and things, decreases and keeps on decreasing until it comes to an end altogether.

To attain true happiness , we must first understand who we are. We are a combination of the mortal body and the immortal soul. For the sake of the body, God has provided us with the world, and He has pervaded each particle of His creation for the benefit of the soul. The body is material, whereas the soul is divine. Both need their respective nourishment. The soul, a divine fraction of God, needs to be fed also. The food for the soul is the Supreme Soul, variously known as God. Just as ignoring the needs of the body leads to ill health and disease, in the same way, depriving the soul of its nourishment results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

According to the scriptures, we must do two things in order to be happy : limit our material desires, and form a loving relationship with God. To love God, you do not need to learn Sanskrit. All you have to do is to spend some time alone with your Creator every day to communicate with Him. Talk to him as you would to a friend.  God will be pleased with the prayers that comes from the heart.

Someone's guru ( Jadadguru Shri Kiraphu Ji Maharaj ) explains that happiness is not found in an individual place or object. The happiness we experience in the world tends to shrink until it disappears altogether. Happiness lives within us, and we live within happiness. To get in touch with happiness, we must strive towards leading a balanced life.  Discipline yourself. Budget your time. Devote some time to God every day. Live a balanced life, and you will find the happiness you have been seeking.     
                    
          Blessed be today and always...
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