What Bliss is......

na hi kashchit kshanamapi jatu tishthatyakarmakrit

(Gita 3.5)

"No soul can remain inactive even for a moment." It is the inherent nature of every individual to constantly perform actions with the aim of attaining happiness. He will not cease to work until he attain Supreme Bliss. From this we can conclude that every soul desires only Bliss and is constantly making an effort for its attainment. Now let us find out since when this endeavor has been going on. "Every soul is eternal, without a beginning."

mamaivamsho jivaloke jivabhutah sanatanah

(Gita 15.7)

This verse of the Gita also states that the soul is eternal. If someone asks you, "Since when have you existed?" the straightforward reply is, "Ever since God existed." And if you are asked "How long has God existed?" the reply is, "Ever since I have." And if you are asked, "Since when have you and God existed?" the straightforward answer will be, "Since the time when even "When did not exist." This means that 'time' came into existence after God and us, and as such cannot be used as a frame of reference to determine our beginning. That is to say, we are all eternal. There is one more point worth considering, Any existing entity cannot cease to be. In other words, if one exist today, one would have always existed. If one does not exist today, one could never have existed in the past.

"All individual souls are eternal, immortal and unborn." So, it has been proved that we have been striving every moment since time immemorial to attain Bliss and will continue to do ssso. Now the asstonishing fact is that, in spite of our continuous efforts of countless lifitimes, we have not as yet attained this Bliss. What is the reason for this? The fact is that we have not yet understood or made a firm decision as to what Bliss is, where it is to be found and how it is to be attained? Now let us reflect on what Bliss is. According to the Vedas,

yo vai bhuma tatsukham

Bliss is always infinite in nature. it is never limited, because attainment of Bliss itself implies that it can never be overcome by suffering and there should be no other pleasure greater than it. Just as light can never be overpowered by darkness, the person who has attained Bliss can never be overcome by sorrow. Let us now contemplate, where such everlasting and unlimited Bliss can be found. This question itself is a profound one. There have been innumerable contrary viewpoints on this subject since eternity. However, there is no reason to give up hope. It will be conclusively resolved right now. we can divide all the prevalent theories for the attainment of Bliss into two categories. One is the materialitic viewpoint and the other, the spiritual one. If we thoroughly understood these two, then this controversy will be resolved indisputably. Let us first consider materialism. The materialism hold the view that the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe are all mechanical processes governed by natural laws. There is no entity named God. He is merely a product of a weak, degenerate mind. It is man who has fabricated a being called God. God has not made man. To bring God into the picture is an indication of insanity. The world has come into existence from the four elements: earth, water, fire and air. These materialists further assert that every individual desires happiness. This happiness is attained only when the individual acquires the cherished objects of his every desire. Happiness will not be attained if these objects of desire are not acquired. This is a self-experienced fact.

However, the matrialists are unable to prove whether these desires are fulfilled forever once we acquire the desired objects, or whether the desires recur. If the desires multiply, then striving to fulfill them is as ridiculous as adding fuel to fire to extinguish it. If the materialists claim that fulfillment of desires leads to happiness, then I challenge their claim with my own experience of the truth. The happiness that is experienced upon the fulfillment of any desire is only transitory. It is immediately replaced by another tronning desire. Thus, there is no end to fulfillment of desires through acquisition of material things. Is there any individual in the history of materialists who has declared that such and such a person, after receiving a material thing, was completely satisfied forever? This is impossible because desire is an ever-increasing decease. A person suffering from scabies experiences temporary relief by scratching, but this scratching only makes it worse later. In the same way, the happiness which is experienced upon the attainment of desired objects is temporary and limited. Very soon the desire reappears in an even more formidable form. Whenever desires for material objects are fulfilled, the inevitable result is greed for more and if the desires are unfulfilled, the result is anger. Thus misery follows with the advent of desire. No materialist can escape this inevitable consequence of material desire.

The Vedas declare,

raso vai sah, rasam'hyevayam labdhva" nandi bhavati

(Taitti.Up.2.7)

"God alone is Bliss. It is only by attaining Him, that the individual soul can become blissful."

loke nahi sa vidyeta yo na ramamanuvratah

The great Saint Valmiki says, "There is not a single individual soul in the universe who is not a devotee of Lord Rama." We may not know the path to attain Him, and could be endeavoring in the wrong direction. Yet, the fact remains that we do believe in God because we are seeking only Bliss. If someone declares, "I am determined to oppose God," then he is definitely a staunch believer in God. In our history, there have been demons like Hiranyakashipu, etc. who vehemently opposed God. Such people should be considered staunch believers because only a being that exist can be opposed. If God did not exist, how could they oppose Him? It is also a historical fact that those demons who opposed God finally attained Him as their mind was totally absorbed in God with feelings of great enmity. Devotion means absorption of the mind in God ith any emotion. It does not matter whether this absorption is through favorable emotions or unfavorable emotions.

Now we may accept the existence of God, but he may question the purpose or necessity of worshiping Him. We could argue that just as we have a President in a country, God may be the President of the entire universe; but why do we need to worship Him? Such an argument is naive because our relations with the President of the country are limited and formal, whereas our relations with God are complete, loving and eternal. Further, we are selfish by nature. We are naturally attached to whoever or whatever fulfills our self-interest. This is an experienced fact. We all desire true, everlasting, unlimited happiness and that happiness is only in God. Therefore. Our most intimate and only relationship is with God. If we could attain even an iota of happiness elsewhere, then our relations with God would have been the same as that with the President of the country.

However, you don’t need to worry about attaining God. He is easily attainable. I can assure you that you do not have to engage in any spiritual discipline to realize Him. You may argue, “if we do not have to engage in spiritual discipline, how is it that we have not yet attained Divine Bliss?” Yes, this is a valid question. That is just what needs to be understood.

“Having acquired a human body if we do not realize God, we will have to suffer in the endless cycle of birth and death.” This will be our greatest mistake. Therefore, realizing the importance of the human form, we must acquire knowledge of God so that we can attain our absolute, ultimate goal of Supreme Bliss.