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ACCORDING TO UPANISHADS
D. S. Subba Ramaiya
~ } 6-
G 3q I U
~ 4 } 6
or 'Happiness' has ever been at the centre of man's being and his
endeavour. It is at the focal point of his very existence. The goal that
everyone seeks to obtain by means of his actions and contemplations
directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously is Happiness. Every
moment of his life, he strives to achieve the cherished state of eternal and
unbounded Happiness, uncontaminated by the evil of misery. This is
instinctive to man.
Where does 'Happiness', which is sought after by everyone
instinctively, reside? What is its locus? An appreciation of the development
of man from his cradle onwards would seem to indicate that the much
sought-after Happiness is, if at all it exists, very elusive and not within the
grasp of anyone. A constant locus in which Happiness may be regarded as
stationed is neither noticeable nor is agreed upon universally. It is seen that
for the infant, the Happiness is located in the bosom of its dear mother. As it
advances in age, the centre of Happiness shifts on successively, for example,
to the toys, then to the books, then perhaps to the honours obtainable at
school, then towards a fortune, then towards matrimony, then towards one's
own children and so on. Thus, apparently Happiness goes on travelling as it
were from object to object; regarded as being now in this object and then in
another. Again, what makes one feel delighted on one occasion does not
necessarily do so again, which goes to show that Happiness is not only
elusive but also evanescent. The pleasure afforded in any situation is
necessarily limited in time and is usually not unconnected with the pain that
perhaps accompanies it. Even dreams are not unmixed pleasures. Happiness
and misery appear to be the obverse and reverse of the same coin. Says the
Gita P ] 0~~ ~ Further
what pleases one may pain another.
Upanishadic Philosophy, which is another name for the science of
Happiness, insists, however that there exists Happiness or Joy which never
changes. It is true that the pleasure which is generated by an object is not
constant. When a person gets disgusted with a particular object, he puts it by
and takes to another in the hope of finding Happiness there. From this
circumstance, says Vedanta, it does not follow that there is nothing like
abiding Happiness. All that can be said is that the locus of Happiness is not to
be found in any object, small or big, gross or subtle. The Happiness that
seems to travel from object to object is to be likened to the sunshine which
travels from place to place and from continent to continent. None of the
different places where it is seen is the home of sunshine. It is elsewhere, in
its source, namely the Sun. Likewise, in the present case, the source of Joy is
elsewhere, says the Shruti. The instruction is given by Sage Yagnavalkya to
Maithreyi, after pointing out that riches, for example, can serve as the means
to obtain only evanescent attainments and there is no hope of securing
interminable and uncontaminated Bliss with their aid. The Bliss itself,
however, does exist. In order to locate it she is asked to recognise that the
love that one bears to any object (husband, wife, son, wealth, cattle,
Brahminhood, Kshatriyahood, worlds, Gods, Vedas) is not because the object
is in itself loveable intrinsically it may be hateful or be fit for an indifferent
treatment in a different circumstancebut because it subserves the
interests of the enjoyer who loves himself. This part of the instruction is
brought to a close by the summary statement " U 9 ,
~~ 9 ". The supreme love is thus for the Self. It never
wanes in any situation and is not inconstant.
This tells us that the Self is the native home, the real metropolis of
Bliss. The deduction is given as
(a) ~ 9 P
(b) FF 7 ~
9 ~H
(c) ~ ~
= W 7
3 ~ ~~~ U H
This pure love for the Atman is that mode or Vritti ( ) of the
Antahkarana (~) which has for its object pure or Happiness and
must be distinguished from other vrittis which seem similar like , ~4, *
and =. These latter arise from and fade away into the former which
sustains them by being contained in their very constitution. Actually, all
other emotions like lust, greed, anger and even hatred for example can be
seen to arise in this love of oneself whose warped manifestations they are.
This love of the Self is unconditioned and precludes the possibility of its
being the means either for obtaining some other object, in which case in the
same act of the Self that is the * would also have to be the which is
an impossibility, or for securing non-existence of misery, ] as the
desire to get rid of misery is itself for the sake of the Self. Nor is the Self
supremely loveable on account of its being the locus of the non-existence of
misery because of the fact that the love for the Self is seen even at the time of
misery. The view that is to be considered merely as another name for
] cannot also be maintained as it fails to account (a) for the experience
of gradations in the intensity of Joy, (~ ) which can hardly be
associated with non-existence or (b) for not finding oneself in the state
expressed by (meaning ]
F E
9~ 97 " The 4
then though not patently manifest, is in a very subtle condition. The bliss
experienced is given expression to by the Gita as " ~~ 4RG-
E
and
the shloka " U U~ ~
T
~ ~ G " Such a serves to put the experience of the Bliss
that is the Atman on the indisputable basis. This is however attained only by
very few people and that usually intermittently lasting only for a short while
each time.
The instinctive attempt which when recognised and consciously
directed would be a planned struggle or adventure, is not merely to get
in to the state of Bliss now and then, but to obtain it once and for all and put
it on a permanent, firm and final footing. There should be no return to the
humdrum activity of life involving pain and apparent pleasure. To secure this
end, we listen to what the Upanishads say. Sage Yagnavalkya points out that
this world in its entirety is nothing other than the Atman,. ~ .
This is established by drawing attention to the fact that the world originates
from, is sustained by, and dissolves into the Atman, which however remains
changeless and unaffected. In other words the Atman is none other than the
Brahman. The 6 0 tells us G 7
0 ~
~ ~ 9~ The ~~ gives 4
4 ~~ 4
7 H 4 We
also have G F~ 97
G in the .
The 7T refers to it as ~ 3 and the as ~ , ,
G, 3
G *~ + ~ ~~~7l G
G = as also G 9U U7U U U
U ~U Thus the Atman Bliss is Brahman Bliss. It is Ever-existing,
Self-effulgent, Impartite and without the second. The world of names and
forms really does not exist. It appears to exist because of the ignorance
(0)of the Substratum (U) which is G
E 9 9 9~ 9
All desires for those other than the Atman are to be abandoned 9 ~
U ~ ~l ~4 G + With such qualities and with
proper devotion to his Guru, under whose benign care he takes to ~,
and 7 hearing reflecting and meditating, the enquiry would certainly
culminate in the Immediate Experience of the Impartite Brahman-Atman
Bliss which is the Final Awakening. The Guru, in his Infinite Grace, would
confer his own status on the * as a gift as it were ~ ~* ~
F .
This state of 3 is ipso facto the state of 0 on reaching which,
one finds that he is in possession of the substance of all desires and all
attainments all at once. It is the state of 8, +
~. Nothing
else remains to be known, ~ ~ ~
and nothing
else is left to be attained, GH
. It is the state of ~,
U T
It is the
supreme abode of peace or repose par excellence, I ~ the state of
fearlessness, G 3
is
, the "other", in fact, being one's own self. Virtue, like Bliss and
Wisdom is not being realised but revealed by him in that state. It is the acme
of satisfaction, the 8 that knows no bounds. The Gita tells us, for example
F~ U~ 8 ~F ~ 9 U 0 U l
U 7~ and refers to the man of realisation
as 9, 3~F, , , *, etc. He is a man among men, the
Hero, . He is to be felicitated and revered by all F F .
We are extremely fortunate in being blessed by the Capturing
Compassion, 7 ~ and the Divine Grace showered on
us by Sri Sri ]agadguru Mahasannidhanam of Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham
appearing as the Great Master adorning the throne of transcendental wisdom
and maintaining in all its purity the Shruti Sampradaya for the spiritual
welfare of all mankind. In the thought that we have been saved by being
taken into His fold I am thrilled and filled with Joy and I offer my most
humble prostrations again and again at the Holy Feet of the divine Guru.
H H
7 7 ~~ 7
6-
H3 4 ~~ 7 -
~~ ~-3 9W
=R~9 8 ~
9~} H U E