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--Sri. K.V.S. Murty
Rev. Shri K.C.Narayana garu,
brothers and sisters,
Shri Ramachandram Paramanandam
Sadgurum pranato asmyaham
My humble pranaams to my Revered Master Shri Ramachandraji Maharaj.
Happiness is a state of mind that occurs when the mind is satisfied or relieved of anxiety/ desire/pain, etc. In other words, contentment brings happiness. Our Samskaras and vasanas (which enwrap the real self), with external contact through senses (Indriyas), result in producing thoughts leading to actions and reactions. Eventually mind gets locked up in the labyrinth of actions and reactions, and the man becomes restless and agitated. Our Scientists have been trying their best to make the living beings comfortable and happy. But the fact remains that the man continues to be unhappy and restless. Physical comfort, howsoever great it may be, having not been able to satisfy, the man started looking towards spirituality, where he could find some solace and thereby various systems of spiritual exercises in the form of meditation, yoga, etc. developed to keep him restful and happy and also with a view to pave way to take him towards the highest bliss.
2. Sukhasyamoolam Dharmah:- Discharge of one’s duty is the main requisite for happiness. Our revered Master enunciated our duties couched in the form of Ten Commandments so as to lead us in the path towards reality. If we have to be called as Abhyasis (students) we should follow those principles assiduously.
3. While on the subject of happiness, permit me sir, to quote from our book “The five Kosas….” Page 76.
“It has been held that bliss is the core of all beings and life is meant for happiness…… The principle of life is the pleasure principle as psycho analysts held, only instead of pleasure; we prefer the nobler and more cohesive word - Bliss/happiness. No one does anything for any purpose other than to derive happiness…… Satisfaction of the various desires arising out of the tendencies in these Kosas was a source of happiness and therefore there has always been a desire to fulfill the desires. Happiness is the goal whether it is eating or mating, or friendship or envy, or jealousy, greed, or avarice or charity and nobility, or service or sacrifice, or knowledge or technical expertise. Behind all these, the only motive is happiness. Happiness is the canvas on which all aspects of life are printed or painted. The craving for different types of sources of happiness has a general and individual content.”
4. So, as stated above, satisfaction of the various desires is a source of happiness, and there has been always a desire to fulfill the desires. In our prayer, we say that our wishes (or desires) are the impediments for our progress. Our Master in His letter dated 11th Aug 1955 to Revered Dr.K.C.Varadachari, wrote(Event Horizon pg 22) “Our desires are to a great extent the cause of miseries. So, we pray to God to bestow upon us the state of desirelessness, or freedom from wishes. It is almost certain that unless it is achieved we can never acquire a balanced state of mind. Desirelessness means, we stop further formation of samskaras."What remains then is only to undergo the effect of the previous sanskaras, which, when exhausted, lead us towards freedom from wishes/desires. Purging of mind and clearing of sanskaras are therefore the essential requirements for spiritual progress.
5. Mind is the causative factor, either for achieving liberation, or binding in the labyrinth of sanskaras and vasanas. In this regard, Amrtopanishad says:
Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoh
Bandhaaya vishayaasaktam, muktyai nirvishayam smritam
It means: Mind is the cause for men to be bound or liberated. If the mind is not controlled, and engages itself in frivolous matters, it gets bound in the sanskaras. Otherwise it gets liberation.
6. Our master says in one of His letters to revered Shri KC Varadachari that a man’s problems comprise chiefly of things of his own making. Depicting this, there is a verse in Sanskrit:
Sukhasya Dukhasya nakopidata
Parodadateeti kubuddhiresha
Aham karometi vridhaabhimaanah
Swakarma sootrah gradhitohi lokah
It means: Happiness or unhappiness is not given by anybody else. If one thinks that it had fallen on him because of somebody else, it is only foolishness. It is also not correct to say that he himself is the cause for anybody else’s happiness or unhappiness as it is tantamount to egoism. It is only one’s own making.
7. Then what is the way for a man to be happy always? Let me quote our revered master, who gives us the clue in one of his letters to revered Shri KC Varadachari thus:
“Just as God, through divine will brought into effect this vast creation, so did the man bring into effect his own tiny creation by his own will. The result was that his real self got completely enwrapped within the thick covering of grossness. Now the agencies working for it are mainly Manas (psyche), Chit (consciousness), Buddhi (intellect) and Ahankar (ego).They lead to the formation of sanskaras and all these things collectively form a sort of network, round the real self. That is the true picture of our tiny creation. The only solution is to bring this creation to a state of dissolution (Pralaya). When this covering is shattered off and the real self emerges out of it, the real life of spirit (Atman) begins. That is what spirituality must be taken to mean. This is what I wanted to denote by the sentence “Give up all thy belongings!” But man goes on developing the activities of agencies mentioned above; he continues adding to his material existence in the form of his tiny creation. Thus, instead of dissolving, he makes it all the more solid. The only method is to give up, or, surrender everything to the supreme master”.
8. Thus, desirelessness paves way for stopping further sanskaras, and surrender everything to the Master is the way for dissolving the previous sanskaras. So, the load of sanskaras and vasanas has to be gradually alleviated through regular practice.
9. As stated above, mind is responsible for binding(attachment) or detachment. If the mind is engaged in constant remembrance of the goal (which is, the MASTER) and in contemplation that all our three-fold actions (Manasa, vachasa, sariranaha) are of the Master, for the Master, and performed by the Master, lead us towards the goal since all actions converge into Him, and do not belong to the individual. In other words, we should dedicate ourselves with head, heart, and hand irrevocably. That should be practised.
10. We do not distinguish between the Master and the Divine – it is one and the same. Thus our practice will have the pious Divine touch every moment of our march towards the goal – the Infinite. Whatever we get and/or consume during that march or journey (in the path of grace of divine) will become pious. To a true seeker, whatever comes along the way is a success and encouraging, since it is a divine gift. So, every step forward during the journey is a success, since we are unmindful of the results, for, the actions and the results are consigned to the Master. Thus, success moving towards our goal is a progressive journey. Our journey is an internal journey – transformation – (becoming THAT) – that state in which our Master is. For evolving into the final state – at every state, you have to know where you are and what you are – ‘To find yourself’ at any particular state, you have to ‘first lose yourself’ of the previous state. Each state is a new one in so far as the transformation has taken place.
11. Happiness is to be derived under all circumstances, all the way during our journey. Only thing is, we should never leave Master’s helping hand while walking along with Him. If He feels that the path is difficult for us to tread at any particular stretch, He Himself would walk that stretch lifting us into his hands. I mean to say, we become so absorbed ourselves during any difficult stages of life, that, when we look back at a later stage, we find only His footprints (without having any trace of our footprints in that particular stretch). That is his love and affection towards us to keep us ever happy without the trace of any agony at any stage. That much co-operation and surrender to Him are the requisites on our part.
12. For us, our Master Shri Ramachandraji Maharaj is everything – mother, father, Master, God, friend, and – what not -
Maata Ramo matpita Ramachandrah
Swaamee Ramo matsakha Ramachandrah
Sarwaswam me Ramachandro dayaaluh
Naanyam jaane Naiva jane na jaane
I do not know any one else but our Master Shri Ramachandraji Maharaj, to reach me to the goal and who keeps me happy under all circumstances in the path.
Sarve bhavantu sukhinah – May all be happy.
Pranaams.
K.V.S. MURTY
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