The Beyond is Within

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The Beyond is Within

 

Human exertion is directed towards gaining lasting happiness. Yet few

enjoy it. One looks for happiness by acquiring objects of the world,

little realising that happiness is not inherent in those objects. If

it were so, would not everyone who came in contact with the same

object gain the same degree of happiness? Why then is it, that the

object being the same, reactions to it are different? The same bitter

gourd, karela, is enjoyed by one but is distasteful to another! If

the pleasure were inherent in the karela, would not everyone who

tasted it gain pleasure from the experience? If money, power and fame

were key indicators of happiness, would not every rich, powerful and

famous person be happy?

 

Where then does happiness lie?

 

The great German philosoher, Arthur Schopenhauer said, " It is

difficult to find happiness within but it is impossible to find it

anywhere else " . Our lives are a startling testament of this

insightful statement. We may have experienced fleeting pleasures

through sense contact and acquisition of objects. But the moments

that have given us lasting happiness are times when we have ventured

deep within our personality. Looking for happiness in the world is

like trying to catch your own shadow – the closer you move towards

it, the further it recedes. All one has to do is hold one's own self

and the shadow will be caught.

 

This simple guide to happiness was emphasised by all spiritual

masters. Christ said, " The Kingdom of Heaven is within " . Sri Krishna

in the Bhagavad Gita has said, " One who pursues objects of the world

and develops attachment to them is caught up in delusion. It is the

one who turns within who attains true peace and happiness " . Yet in

our vain attempts to fill the gnawing void within we spend most of

our lives chasing the objects of the world. And we lose touch with

our inner being. There must be a paradigm shift from looking outside

to opening the inward eye. Only then can there be some hope of

finding permanent happiness.

 

 

Inward thinking

 

So how do we practice inward thinking? By spending time with

ourselves, contemplating. By questioning our thoughts. What are they?

Why are they? Where do they come from? Through a gradual practice of

watching our thoughts, determining, understanding their source and

sifting, we will be able to deal with a large part of our

insecurities, from which springs forth the quest for happiness

outside.

 

Each one of us, consciously or unconsciously, is seeking permanent

happiness in this changing, ephemeral world. What we need to do is to

look for the fountainhead of happiness within us because nothing we

seek in the world will be permanent. That infinite happiness that we

chase outside lies within us. The source of happiness, the Self, is

within, enveloped by our desires and our self-imposed limitations and

can be rediscovered only by undertaking the journey to the Beyond

that is within.

 

Jai Sai Ram

Swamy mahadevan

Bow to Shri sai-Peace be to all