Part 2
The World and Happiness
Spirituality claims that we cannot find joy or happiness from the world, outside, but that’s not totally true. We do find joy and happy moments from the world and the things we like and what seems to bring us pleasure. The importance is emphasized on the word ’MOMENTS’.
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The problem is that anything we receive from the outside, or from the world is temporary, just a moment of joy and happiness. But we want to have it always all the time. So, we repeat the things that give us happiness. When we get tired of one thing we find another interest. And this way we are chained in a never-ending cycle and hunger that can’t be fulfilled.
As Christ said in John 4:13-14: “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” That water springs within our hearts.
I asked Swamiji (Swami Sarvapriyananda) about happiness and he gave a very nice answer. He said, “Happiness or ‘ananda’ is our nature, so we naturally want it and search for it. The problem is that we are looking in the wrong direction. It is already in us as our self. Nothing outside needs to bring it to us. And because we always exist, we want happiness to exist always. But the happiness brought outside doesn’t last. We have to find it in ourselves as our natural state of being. Last, but not least, existence-being-awareness is what we are, and it is eternal. We don’t need anything from the outside. Let’s direct out attention towards our self, inward and see that we already have everything we need.
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The other point of view which I heard from Michael James is interesting. That concerns why we feel that we get happiness from things. The mind is restless, and we want something to calm it down. Whatever it is. It can be a new car, a new relationship or a fancy dinner. Anything that would give a relief from the mind’s activity. When we’ve had our “thing” the mind is satisfied, and it immerses back to its source. Then we have a momentary peace OFF mind, as they say.
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What does this mean? It clearly points out that the absence of the mind is happiness. When we don‘t crave or need anything we are naturally happy, and stillness prevails. This obviously proves that we don’t receive happiness from anything outside, because happiness already dwells inside of us. We just need to silence the mind or let it be unnoticed and keep our attention on our self. ‘I am’ stands for silence and happiness.
The Dead and the living
Matt 22:32: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
The God which Christ is referring to is a “living” God. ‘I am’ is the living God that we experience when realizing our true nature. Before that we are as good as dead and seemingly trapped in the cycle of birth and death, i.e. samsara.
The problem is not that we die but that we don’t “really” die as an ego. If we would just die as a rule of nature when the body vanishes, that would be the end of it, then there wouldn’t be any problem. But, because we identify ourselves as some separate being, namely ego, we rise again to experience another dream, we call “my life”.
All the great prophets and Masters have recognized their self and thus they are free from the illusion of an individual being, a particular ‘I’. They have realized that ‘Tat Twam Asi’, That you are ‘is true and there is no other but Brahman.
We, on the other hand are still convinced that there is an ‘I’ in me, somewhere inside my body that has an existence of its own. It was born and someday it will die along with the body. That is why we must investigate and know who we really are. Who am I? That’s the first and only question that needed answered according to Sri Ramana. Otherwise, we are as good as dead.
Christ's Commandment 1
Jesus said: "Love the Lord your God ('allaha') with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." The Aramaic word 'allaha' means the origin and power of the universe, which is everywhere. In the air we breathe, in the beating of our hearts and in the awareness of our own existence.
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No one loves something unknown to themselves. I argue that we can only love a person or thing that is close and important to us. And what is the most important and closest to us? Ourself of course. Everyone naturally loves their own self the most. But this 'I' cannot be our body or person. That is not the point, but Jesus means our god, which is the name of the God we know; 'I am.'
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Everyone knows that they are and that is perhaps the only thing we can be completely sure of, namely our own existence. All other theories and perspectives may vary.
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I would say that loving God, ourself, in this way is the same as practicing self-inquiry. As we turn our attention and interest more and more inward to know ourselves, the separate ‘I’ loses its hold and God (the Real ’I’) opens in our hearts like a flower that everyone experiences as an innate ‘I am’ feeling.
Why is this particular commandment or instruction the most important? What is its message and purpose?
We recall that Jesus also said, “Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
It suggests that our true being or reality itself is already perfect and does not need to be improved by any spiritual practice. Instead, we must recognize this reality first and foremost within ourselves. Otherwise, it will not become our own experience but will remain a mere intellectual statement. Only understanding and implementation on a practical level will change our current limited understanding of ourselves or reality.
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I think Jesus emphasizes this instruction because when we know ourselves, we know everything else is necessary. He specifically said, “Seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things will be given to you.” Unfortunately, we usually do the exact opposite. We look for everything else everywhere else, before finally, disappointed by the promises of the world, we turn our attention inward and ask for help from the Higher Power.
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When we focus our attention on ourselves, on ‘I,’ the mind’s natural tendency to turn outward gradually weakens and our interest in turning inward increases accordingly. Self-examination can feel dry if it remains a mere thought in the mind. We need to feed it with the fresh water of love in order to go deeper into it.
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Love is the force that gives us the necessary motivation to continue on the path of self-investigation and loving God, ourself.
Christ's Commandment 2
Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as thy self.”
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Everyone loves themselves the most. But until we know and recognize our true self, we do not recognize it in other people either. Of course, it is important to reduce self-centeredness by trying to pay attention to those closest to us and also to people we do not know. And to try to be in their shoes in different situations. Compassion is important and there is far too little of it among us.
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We experience the challenges of life in exactly the same way, both joys and sorrows. We laugh and cry in the same way all over the world. We all want to be happy without suffering. Everyone needs love and attention and support in difficult situations. From this perspective alone, we are one in life and consciousness. But if we want to understand Jesus’ statement a little more deeply, it seems to indicate that we must first recognize our true self. When we turn our gaze inward, we realize that there is no such separate individual as ‘I’, but rather that it is mainly a product of the imagination, to which we have for some reason clung for many lives.
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We now see and experience the one true self, ‘I am’. This ‘I am’ is everyone’s experience and inherent self. After this recognition, we know by our own experience that there is only one ‘I’ and that is also the ‘I’ of our neighbor. Since we naturally love ourselves, we automatically love our neighbor as ourselves. Before our own realization of who we are, we cannot fully follow this instruction of Jesus. But all forms ofloving and forgiving our neighbor are steps towards the goal that is the goal of every spiritual seeker; to be free from present suffering and to recognize our true nature, which is always free from suffering.