We all have different
pursuits in life. The goals of these
pursuits appear different, like position, fame, fortune etc. But in the end-analysis all of them will
converge in the happiness of our ego self, the self that identifies with body-mind-intellect
referred to as BMI in Swami Chinmayananda’s lectures. This happiness Lord Krishna grades into three
categories Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic in Bhagavad Gita (Ch.18). We shall see
them starting from Tamasic happiness.
Tamo guna is characterized
by inertia, both mental and physical. Tamasic happiness is one which begins and
ends in self-delusion that comes from sleep, procrastination and misapprehension
(18-39). The happiness that one appears
to derive in the state of intoxication, whether with drinks or drugs also falls
into this category. Here the sense
organs or/and mind and intellect are either not functioning or handicapped in
their functions due to a deranged mind. This happiness is achieved by detaching
oneself temporarily from reality and as this state wears off whatever
unhappiness one escaped temporarily returns back with added vigour. In sleep we are not conscious of the
happiness; only we can realize for a moment after we wake up that we had been
happy forgetting our cares and worries, and again these cares and worries
surface again. In procrastination we are
only postponing what we fear as the pain/discomfort of action for us extending our illusion of
being happy for awhile. So in all these cases happiness is not permanently
achieved.
Rajo guna is characterised
by activity. The Rajasic happiness is
one derived from the contact of a sense object with sense organ/s (18-38). Here Lord Krishna sounds a note of
caution that though it may appear to be nectar initially, it will prove to be a
poison in its effect in the end i.e. pleasant initially but unpleasant later.
For instance if one neglects studies in the student days spending time in
entertainment and recreation, he may feel happy then, but as he grows into a
nobody struggling to make a living, his life will be one of regret and
frustration. Lord Krishna refers to these pleasures which are derived from
external contacts, be they objects or relationships in another place (5-22)
where He points out that these pleasures have a beginning and an end and also
they are sources of unhappiness, which surface sooner or later.
Satva guna is characterised by
wisdom. Satvic happiness is one in which
one enjoys a tranquillity of mind as a result of gaining and staying in
Self-knowledge, Athma Jnanam (18-37). Lord Krishna here warns that the path to
Self-knowledge is a difficult one. Here
the simile employed in the case of Rajasic happiness is reversed; deterring
like poison in the beginning but uplifting like nectar in the end. It is deterring because to acquire Self-knowledge one has to have the
four fold qualification of discrimination, dispassion, disciplines numbering
six and desire besides engaging in the study of sastras under the guidance of a
competent guru and complementing it with reflection on the teachings, to make it doubt-free. It is
uplifting because when one acquires Self-knowledge and is able to stay in that
knowledge without doubt and without effort, he is in a state of peace and bliss
that passes all understanding. For he realises that his
real Self is not the mortal samsara-afflicted “ego-self” that gives him the
sense of individuality, giving him the identity of BMI but the eternal, ever
blissful Cosmic Supreme, Brahman, with this BMI as upadhi. With this
realisation comes the spiritual awakening that the ego-self is only the virtual
self whose role is limited to transacting with the world during the stay with
this upadhi. With Self-realisation one rises to the state of Jeevanmuktha, where he is
not affected by opposites like pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow etc. as he
considers all these are for BMI, which is only a dress worn in this birth. As he considers himself one with all in the creation, he has no
sense of fear as fear arises only where you cognize a second thing. So this Satvic happiness, the happiness of
Jeevanmuktha, is the only true happiness.
-----------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment