by subbugnanam » Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:36 pm
HARI OM, This is A.V. ANANTHA SUBRAMANIAM from the group.
There are many points (experience of Bliss, EGO, Ananda, Mind experiencing, etc., etc.,) put forth by the participants on the Topic called BLISS. Instead of attempting each point individually, I have tried to summarise my view on BLISS. I have taken points from the book “Path to Blessedness by Sw. CHIDANANDA. Divine Life Society Publications.
Bliss cannot be equated as “n” to the power of “n” happiness. Suppose you give the most delicious thing to a dumb man, he cannot express the taste. In the same way it is difficult to describe in words the supreme Bliss. Suppose you prepare first-class Kheer by putting rice and sugar into milk itself and boil it. After you have taken the Kheer the servant, while cleaning the vessel finds some quantity left in the vessel, but he had poured water in it already. He drinks it and he gets some taste of the diluted Kheer and not the pure, original undiluted Kheer. Similarly, only a small fraction of the Supreme Bliss alone is what we can experience here. Suppose a man has heard some wonderful concert and gives an account of it. We can get some idea of the concert, but we cannot actually have a complete and correct idea of the concert. We cannot enjoy the concert itself. So also, we can have only some idea of the great joy that is obtained from Samadhi.
HAPPINESS (or shadowy Bliss) is derived from the association of the Indriyas with external object whereas BLISS is a kind of STATE or you can call it as a CONCEPT.
A builder will derive maximum pleasure in seeing his building complex which has come up by destroying a portion of the forest while a nature lover will feel sad about it. Music or paintings, or natural beauty, etc can be experienced only by those who have the taste.
Each experience will have a certain amount of EGO. Any experience will not last long. It has a beginning and an end too.
BLISSFULNESS is that stage, attaining which, there is no other thing to be attained. This means the cessation of all sorrows and the acquisition of unlimited bliss and supreme peace. You have no more want. You have no more craving. You will feel yourself in a state of absolute inner wealth of knowledge or absolute TRUTH.
The joy of infinite freedom comes to the soul when it becomes one with the Supreme Soul. It is something which a person can never know or experience. Oneness is obtained.
Self-denial of worldly objects and denial of any urge to experience with the help of Indriyas and ceaseless effort to become BLISSFUL ultimately end in Supreme Bliss.
Let us further analyse this
What is your highest conception of joy that you can have in the universe? He who possesses everything in this world alone can have that privilege.
Supposing you have got all the refined manner of enjoyment opened up before you, then there is no need to go after gross sensual enjoyment. Therefore, a man possessing everything and having absolute control over everything can enjoy everything in this world. He can enjoy poetry, painting, and everything, and he can have honour from the whole world etc etc etc.....He will get the satisfaction that he is the supreme lord over the whole world.
If this sort of enjoyment is possible to conceive, and if one can get all of it—every sort of sensual enjoyment like dainty dishes, sex, etc., and also music, painting, etc.,—let the joy of that person enjoying all these be considered as one unit of JOY.
The quantum of enjoyment of one who has done merit and become a celestial being, an angel called man-Gandharva, is considered to be “n” times of such a unit of JOY.
If we extrapolate this type of enjoyment of man-Gandharva to divine Gandharvas, to Manes to the enjoyment of those that are born as gods in heaven, the joy of Karma-Devas who become gods through meritorious Karmas, the joy of the permanent gods in the heavens, the joy of Indra, the joy of Brihaspati, joy of Virat, the bliss of the Creator, Brahma, but infinite times more than the bliss of Brahma is the bliss of Parabrahman.
This is a calculus of joy given in the scriptures.
So the bliss of the eternal, supreme fruit of Yoga is simply indescribable. So they say it is divine ecstasy. They cannot express it. That is the ultimate fruit of the state of super consciousness which can be attained through the eight stages, Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. It is infinite bliss that dissolves your individual consciousness. One who gets this bliss cannot say anything.
That is the state of the highest Samadhi. Until you get the highest Samadhi, you get only so much of that bliss.
So we have known something about the bliss of Self-realisation.
What is the bliss of all worldly objects put together when compared to That! The bliss of Realisation is limitless bliss. The bliss of the non-self is limited. The bliss of the Self is eternal. It never perishes and you are yourself that. That is your real nature. But through ignorance and desire you have forgotten your real nature. Control the senses, remove ignorance and know your real nature. Be still and know the Self and attain the Supreme Bliss.
The ultimate goal of every Jiva, individual soul, is the attainment of union with the Supreme Soul. Even the rain-water flows through the rivers and merges into the sea wherefrom it originated and forgets its identity.
HARI OM.
Pranam, id. subbugnanam
Hari Om, With regards,
A.V.ANANTHA SUBRAMANIAM
SADHAKA