Swamiji said…
” Life is a constant struggle for most people, irrespective of the strata of society to which they could belong. The only factor constant in their lives could be struggle.Some struggle to cater for their next meal. Some struggle to meet their childrens’ or family’s needs; and yet others struggle with one, or, many of the other numerous aspects of life; ranging from professional, societal to financial etc.
This struggle is never really over as once one target is achieved, the struggle for the next begins. All this is bound to leave wear and tear on the mind and spirit. But, in the midst of meeting the challenges of life, have we forgotten to smile, be happy and take pleasure in the sights and sounds that surround us? ” Zindagi ki raftaar mein daudte daudte kya hum ‘khush’ rehna bhool gaye hain? Choti choti cheezon mein khushi dekhna band kar diya hai kya hum ne? “
” Man and society are guilty, at large , for equating happiness only with achievement. To get that coveted promotion, to hold a to-die-for degree in hand ; acquire a new luxurious penthouse; see a big payday; apparently are great providers of happiness and all these acquisitions and achievements are celebrated with parties and announced to the world through social media posts. But, we need to remember that such achievements and celebratory moments are bound to be few. So, will we be happy only on such momentous days and sad and morose on other regular, normal days? Even Alexander, the Great, was unable to conquer a new country every other day.”
“Thus, the long span of struggle to ‘unlock’ our next achievement is mostly devoid of any joy, as we seem to have trained ourselves, to focus only on the goal, and , not take a break till we reach that goal. Thus, it is not uncommon for people to feel unhappy and depressed in life. After all, such a lifestyle, adopted by many, is akin to a journey through a desert with no respite from the heat.”
” Yet, from the old travellers we must learn. They too were intent on reaching their destination; but that did not stop them from sipping water and taking a rest at the oasis.
Our lives too has such oases.We only have to learn to see them and enjoy them. Simple things in life should be enjoyed the most as they alone give us genuine happiness. ‘Jo khushi ugte hue suraj ko dekhte huey milti hai, uski kirne raat ke andhere ko prakashit karte huey, woh kshan ki khushi anmol hoti hai.’ ‘Purnima’ ke ‘chand’ ki sundarta aur shitalta ko dekhte huey… jharno aur nadiyon ko naye raaste banate huey dekhte huey, hummey aulokik anand aur prerna bhi milti hai!’ So would savouring a meal, cooked by a loved one, lovingly for us make us happy. Laughing at silly jokes with our colleagues or family. Catching up with old friends…’Doosron ki khushi mein khush ho…’ Enjoying the spectacular sunrise or sunset. Watching the trees sway in the wind. Waking up to the chirping of birds. All these delightful interactions and visuals provide us with priceless, indescribable pleasure…but only if we are not too busy and are determined to derive happiness, at all costs, from every little thing that comes our way.”
” Such natural, everyday occurrences, considered to be trivial, are missed by most of us.The reason for this is simple. We have conditioned ourselves to be happy only in ‘gratification’. The importance of enjoying the small ‘happy’ moments of life around us, needs us to be disciplined in the mind, too. Instead of letting ourselves be solely centered on ‘our life goals’, we must also teach the mind to appreciate ‘that’ – which has nothing to do with gratification of the ego and pride.”
” While there is no shame in being happy while buying an expensive chandelier for one’s home, if one can afford it; one must also learn to enjoy, in a similar manner, the brightness and majesty of the moon that God has gifted us with.The ‘samosa’ from the street vendor or a five course meal at a five star hotel and the mango plucked from a tree – all are delicious in their own way; thus, we must learn to enjoy them all, just as much as the other, as all these moments collectively form an album of fun filled moments and memories. And, It is only then, that we will be able to enjoy the ‘small’ things in life that God gives us to help us ‘struggle’ happily on in life.”
“If we think that money, property and horrendously expensive acquisitions alone can make us happy, we are sadly mistaken, as, though they might give us momentary pleasure on possessing them, ‘nothing’ can make us ‘truly’ happy, unless our ‘soul’ smiles genuinely from within us. And the ‘atman’s’ happiness is in no way dependent on the statement of our hefty bank account or a locker overflowing with gems; but it is the happiest on seeing the glorious sights of nature, marvelling at His creations, which are provided in equal measure to each one of us, free of cost. But then are we willing to be happy? The choice is ours to make.”
” Wise men say –
‘Man, when he plans ; God, He then laughs…’ Thus, we must make it a habit to find happiness in every unplanned, living, present moment that God blesses us with in abundance. It is we, who need to ‘open’ our ‘sleeping’ eyes, to embrace every such moment with delight, and, be thankful to Him, with a heart filled with gratitude for His wondrous ways …’ Hummey sada ‘khush rakhne ke liye !”
As Swamiji always blesses us by saying, “Khoob Khush Raho beta”… this sandesh is apt reflection of his blessing… Jai Swami Ajay Guru Devaya Namaha
Life definitely is a constant struggle. But it can be a happy struggle too. This can be achieved by finding happiness in small small events too. After all God is present in all small or big events.
Swamiji always coaches us so minutely.
Jai gurudev 🙏
Swamiji always guided everyone to find happiness in every small small things. Even in difficult times He said, this shall also pass beta,hamesha khush raha karo aur har choti se choti cheeza mein anand lo. Sada khush raho. Mein hoon na, chinta mat karo.
He always with us,around us,guiding us.
Jai Gurudev!!!
Om Gurudevo Namaha
How true it is that as humans we don’t tend to find happiness in small things,but after his going his knowledge hastaught me how to be happy and contended in life.
We keep talking about being Happy; words like Joy, Bliss etc. are used to define happiness. It may be useful to understand what are the varying levels of satisfaction we are exposed to, the happiness we experience and what is normally referred to as ‘Bliss’ or the ‘Ultimate Bliss’ before looking at the paths to attain Happiness or Bliss
We can easily understand the satisfaction we feel when the desires we have get fulfilled even if this is temporary. Also we do understand that the opposite reaction also arises i.e. we feel dissatisfied and unhappy being ‘Happiness’ and therefore pursue fulfillment of desires as being the only method to be Happy! Not only is this not true but there are deeper and deeper levels of happiness one can experience till we reach a stage of ‘Bliss’. This is best explained in the Taitreya Upanishad again where in the ‘Anandavalli’, there is a beautiful gradation of the various levels of happiness.
As always the ancients have made the words esoteric and difficult for us to understand on the face of it how the gradation occurs. Here again Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation and the words he uses are so useful in understanding the intent that one can then match with one’s own experience and link to practical life. The first clarity one needs to have is that any reference to ‘Happiness’ in the spiritual context cannot be linked to the satisfaction of one’s desires. We must also experience that there is no right or wrong about how one reacts to the fulfillment of one’s desires. Neither is there an absolute benchmark of how one should react nor is there any need to judge them. However, the more desires we chase, the lesser the time we have ‘To be Happy’!.
The verse in the Upanishad starts by trying to explain what is ‘Bliss’ through an example. It starts by saying let there be a youth, most handsome, a great student, strong with good manners and full of courage. Assume he has all the wealth that the world can offer and that the entire world is his to enjoy. This is the maximum measure of happiness a human being can have. Hundredfold times that happiness is what is enjoyed by the angels who are in heaven. Again hundredfold times the above bliss is the bliss of the Gods in heaven. Hundred times this bliss is the bliss of the Gods who are permanently in heaven i.e. no rebirth is required. This continues for more levels covering the Gods of work i.e. who by the strength of their deeds reach the higher levels of heaven and do not have rebirth. We can for practical purpose link the Angels and Gods to Souls who through the merit of their conquering all desires, actions and thoughts have actually attained the status of Angels or Gods. For the limited purpose of our understanding and defining ‘Happiness’; we can realize that Heaven or some other normal explanation of higher worlds do not give the ‘Bliss’ or ‘True Happiness’ we generally think they do. Even freedom from birth as a human being does not guarantee that we will be able to taste the ‘Bliss’ we seek.
This then even covers Indra (the King of Heaven as per our normal practice of reference) and Prajapati – the creator of all, i.e. whom we refer as the Purusha. But hundredfold times above the best of these is the Eternal’s state of Bliss. One can imagine then how tiny is the happiness a man can feel when he has the possibility of fulfilling all his worldly desires which we normally deem as happiness. However, the real striking point in this portion is that every stage of happiness one can achieve, i.e. as a Man or Angel or Gods etc. a clear statement is made that the happiness referred to at that stage is possible to be attained by the person who knows the secret of the Vedas and therefore the desires do not take ownership of him (the words used by Sri Aurobindo is ‘the blight of desire not toucheth’). This comes as a reference at every stage of progress to higher levels of happiness till one reaches the Eternal’s level of ‘Ultimate Bliss’.
Thank you Swamiji for making such a person, who still believes in everything.
Jai Gurudevo Namaha.
Om Swami Ajay Gurudevay namah.
Thanks Swamiji for guiding us always .
Pranaam Swamiji 🙏🏻 Thank you Swamiji😊
Thank you swamiji for your guidance. Grateful, as always.
Pranaam Swami Ji, Thankful to god that he gave opportunity to become a devotee of Swami Ji
Jai Gurudev,
Swamiji we are grateful and immensely thankful