Sri Ramana Maharshi - Who am I? ( # 10)

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Question: What is happiness?

 

What is called happiness is merely the nature of the

Self.

Happiness and Self are not differant. The happiness of the Self alone

exists; that alone is real. There is no happiness at all in even a single

one of the [many] things in the world. We believe that we derive

happiness from them on account of 'aviveka' [a lack of discrimination,

an inability to ascertain what is correct]. When the mind is

externalised, it experiances misery. The truth is, whenever our

thoughts [that is, our desires] get fulfilled, the mind turns back to its

source and experiances Self-happiness alone. In this way the mind

wanders without rest, emerging and abandoning the Self and [later]

returning within. The shade under a tree is very pleasant. Away from

it the sun's heat is scorching. A person who is wandering around

outside reaches the shade and is cooled. After a while he goes out

again, but unable to bear the scorching heat, returns to the tree. In

this way he is engaged in going from the shade into the hot sunshine

and in coming back from the hot sunshine into the shade. A person

who acts like this is an 'aviveki' [someone who lacks discrimination],

for a discriminating person would never leave the shade. By analogy,

the mind of a 'jnani' never leaves 'Brahman', whereas the mind of

someone who has not realised the Self is such that it suffers by

wandering in the world before turning back to 'Brahman' for a while

to enjoy happiness. What is called 'the world' is only thoughts. When

the world disappears, that is, when there are no thoughts, the mind

experiances bliss; when the world appears, it experiances suffering.

 

( to be continued )

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