Vedic approach to Happiness

 

Vedas divide happiness into three categories, based on the means by which the happiness is acquired by a person.  Swami Paramarthananda calls them as Kama ananda, Dharma ananda and Moksha ananda based on the concepts.  We shall call them as Kamananda, Dharmananda and Mokshananda and see them one by one starting from Kamananda.

The term Kamananda means the pleasure derived through the desired or desirable objects. So it means all the sense pleasures enjoyed in the world through contact with sense organs like sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa, gandha i.e. sound, touch, form, taste, smell.  In short all forms of sense pleasures come under Kamananda.  Vedas do not condemn them but only advise moderation in their enjoyment. All legitimate, Dharmic sense enjoyments are accepted by Vedas and Vedas even prescribe pujas to attain these pleasures. Taittriya Uanishad in anuvaka 4 of Sikshavalli speaks of Avahanti homa wherein food and drink, clothes and cattle are prayed for. This is the most popular Ananda, all over the world.   In fact, when one talks about happiness, others understand it only as Kamananda, the materialistic sense pleasure.

Dharmananda means the happiness that a person derives by following a Dharmic way of life. The life style governed by Dharma is called the Dharmic way of life and the teachings or instructions of Vedas come under Dharma which can be classified into three categories.  They are sadbhavana, satguna and satkarmani i.e. healthy attitudes, healthy or noble values and healthy or noble actions.  All the three are equally important and they complement each other.

Of these three, sadbhavna, healthy attitudes, is the first and others will follow.  Vedas repeatedly mention that one must have a healthy attitude towards the world in which one is living.  Since the world is readily available to one, it is taken for granted and so one does not have a proper attitude to it and this leads to abuse and exploitation of nature and environs.  Vedas prescribe varieties of upasanas / meditations in which one is asked to dwell upon the wonderful universe with the wonderful variety of planets, oceans, rivers and mountains besides all living beings.  Taittriya Upanishad (1-7-1) prescribes a upasana on “The earth, the sky, --- the fire, the air, the sun, the moon, the stars, the waters, the trees -----“that brings about the awareness of the world around us.  The earth has got not only all basic resources but also everything for the fulfilment of all human aspirations i.e. Dharma, artha, kama and Moksha. One has to learn to appreciate this universe and this appreciation should change to reverence as expressed through Vedic mantras as “Namasthe Vayo (Salutations to Air)”.  This reverence will come when one looks upon the universe as Visvarupa Iswarah. Therefore, one’s attitude towards the universe must be one of bhakti and this Vivarupa bhakthi is a part of Dharmic life.  The reverence towards the entire universe of things and human beings as a manifestation of Iswara, besides looking upon all that one has got as a gift from Iswara is the first component of Dharma, sadbhavana.

The next two categories, satguna and satkarmani, are based on one fundamental principle; “Happiness ever, Sorrow never” that governs everyone’s attitude in life.  Sukham is universally sought and Dukham is universally avoided irrespective of nation or religion. Therefore, Vedas say, a Dharmic life is a life which takes into account this universal quest.  So Vedas say, don’t cause pain to others by word, thought or deed.  Even where pain is to be caused due to extraordinary circumstances, as in the case of a doctor inflicting pain in the course of treatment, efforts should be made to keep it as minimum as possible.  “Ahimsa paramo Dharmah” is the scriptural saying emphasising the paramount nature of Ahimsa and Swami Dayayananada Saraswathi says, “All other values are nothing but an extension or derivative of Ahiṃsa only'.  So Ahimsa, which is a fundamental seed value is the second component of Dharma, Satguna.

Applying the principle that everyone desires happiness and no one welcomes sorrow, we can say that the noblest action is Paropakara wherein one helps to relieve the sorrow of the others, known or unknown, voluntarily without any expectations except their happiness.  Veda Vyasa declared after writing the eighteen puranas that the lesson to be learnt from the puranas is: “Paropakara punyaya, papaya para pidanam (helping others confers punya and hurting others, papa)”.  In creation, Nature is doing this as said in the following verse: 

Paropakaraya phalanti vrkshah, paropakaraya duhanti gavah, I

paropakaraya vahanti nadyah, paropakarartham idam sariram II.

Trees bear fruits for consumption of others, cows give milk for the benefit of others, rivers flow giving water to people (others), (Same way, this human) body is for helping others.

And Paropakara, wherein one increases the happiness and relieves the sorrow of others voluntarily without any expectations is the third component of Dharma, satkarmani.

        So a Dharmic way of life is following these three i.e. Viswarupa Bhakthi, Ahimsa and Paropakara, in one’s life to the extent possible and the joy derived through adherence to  the practice of Visvarupa bhakthi, Ahimsa and Paropakara is called Dharmananda.  And Vedas say, Dharmananda is quantitatively and qualitatively much superior to Kamananda.  Dharmananda will also preserve the earth as livable for the future generations as it involves no exploitation of nature.

            Mokshananda is Ananda derived through Moksha.  Moksha is freedom from Self-ignorance and consequent Self-misconception.  Vedas say that one’s true Self is Athma, the Brahman, whose nature is infinite Ananda only. From ignorance of one’s Self, Athma, arises the misconception that one's Self is the body-mind-complex with its limitations.  From this arises the biggest misconception that one has to get happiness from outside. Vedas say that whatever happiness one derives from external sources are the ones that external sources are bringing out from oneself like the reflection in the mirror.  They are only mirroring one’s inherent happiness for only Athma is Ananda svarupa and not anathma.  Both the Kamananda and Dharmananda that arise from external sources are the Ananda brought out from one’s inner core, the Athma, only.  If one follows the disciplines of Jnana Yoga starting with the study of scriptures under the guidance of a competent teacher, one will discover this fact that the primary source of all his happiness is his inner Self, Athma. Then, as said in Bhagavad Gita (3-17) such a person will be rejoicing in one’s Self only (athmarathi) being content in one’s Self (athmanyeva cha santhushtaha).  Mokshananda is the greatest Ananda, greater than Dharmananda and Kamananda, as attaining Mokshananda, all the struggle of one for happiness ends.  That is called Liberation; freedom from Self-ignorance; freedom from Self-misconception; freedom from struggles to attain happiness.

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

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Vivekachudamani – 1

 Select verses 1 to 3

Vivekachudamani is a popular prakarana grantha by Sri Aadhi Sankara, whom we shall refer to as Sri Sankara, that expounds Advaita Vedanta philosophy in detail.  A few western commentators like Alston and Comans have disputed the authorship of Vivekachudamani as ascribed to Sri Sankara in view of difference in style as compared to his commentaries on Prasthanatraya.  But there is a general agreement among many others that Vivekachudamani is an ancillary treatise of Sri Sankara addressed to different audience with a specific emphasis and purpose.  In this connection Swami Dayananda Saraswathy observes “―I do not think we lose anything even if the authorship is attributed to any other Sankaracharya of one of the various Sankara-mathas.“   For Vivekachudamani, meaning ‘the crest jewel of discrimination’, remains a vade mecum of quintessential Advaita Vedanta theory and practice.

This is a fairly big work of 580 verses of which 108 were selected by Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and Swami Paramarthananda for their talks.  My blogs on Vivekachudamani will be based on these selected verses only.  The verse no. in the original text is given along with the verse and verse no. in the selections is given before the verse.

The text opens with mangalacharanam, an auspicious invocation, for the sake of successful completion of this work.

Verse:1

sarvavedantasiddhanta-gocharam tamagocharam |

Govindam paramanandam, sadgurum pranato’smyaham ||1||

My salutations to Sat-Guru Govinda who is limitless and is of the nature of Bliss Supreme, who is beyond the reach of the known instruments of perception and who can be known only through the import of the essence of Vedanta

Here Govinda refers to Lord and also to Sri Sankara’s guru, Sri Govindapada.  So Sri Sankara is offering salutations to his guru as well as to the Lord seeking their blessings for the successful completion of the text. Further the real nature of guru, like that of the Lord, is Brahman only. And Brahman is infinite; cannot be objectified by the senses; can be known only through the study of the Upanishads and is of the nature of Sat, Chit, Aananda.

Verse:2

durlabhaṃ trayamevaitad, devanugrahahetukam |

manushyatvam, mumukshutvaṃ, mahapurushasamsrayah ||3||

Very rare indeed are these three things and happen only due to the utmost Grace of God—a human birth, a burning desire for liberation, and the blessed refuge of an illuminated sage.

Human beings only of all the creatures have the free will, which helps them to pursue all the four Purusharthas that includes Dharma and Moksha. So birth as a human being, Manushyatvam, is considered as a blessing of the Lord.  Of those born as human beings only few develop a burning desire for Moksha. This burning desire for Moksha is called Mumukshutvam and the one who has this desire is called a mumukshu. Moksha can be gained only through Self-knowledge and Self-knowledge can be acquired only through the study of scriptures under the proper guidance of an enlightened Guru who has the knowledge of the sastras as well. Such a Guru is called Mahapurusha in this verse. So this three-fold accomplishment of Manushyatvam, Mumukhutvam and the discipleship under a Mahapurusha, for a jiva is described as special blessings due to the Grace of the Lord.

Verse: 3

labdhva kathancinnarajanma durlabham,

tatrapi pumstvam srutiparadarsanam |

yassvatmamuktyai na yateta mudhadhih,

sa hyatmaha svam vinihantyasadgrahat ||4|| 

Is there a man who, having somehow obtained this rare human birth, together with masculine temperament and also a complete knowledge of the scriptures, is foolish enough not to strive hard for Self-realisation? One verily commits suicide, clinging to things unreal. 

In this verse Sri Sankara criticises the person, who with the advantages of human birth, a subtle intellect and academic scholarship in scriptures, does not strive for Self-realisation. Wasting the advantages that this person has got by not pursuing the fourth Purushartha of Moksha is akin to squandering the human birth. So Sri Sankara calls him a dull fool and compares his lack of enthusiasm to strive for Moksha, to committing suicide. Swami Chinmayananda comments “One can get a Doctorate in Foolishness if one does not utilize such a rare opportunity to make rapid spiritual progress.”   In this verse masculine temperament is to be interpreted as emotional strength or freedom from emotional complexes, a quality that will be of great help in practicing detachment, if he chooses to.

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The Vedic view of God

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s Gurupurnima talk, 2017)

Lord Krishna classifies Bhakthas into four groups, aartha, artharthi, jijnasu and jnani in Gita (7-16). Of these aartha bhaktha is one who turns to the Lord only when he is in stress and distress.  He is not interested in knowing about the nature of God; any God, any mode of worship will do and if this doesn’t yield results, there is always another God or a different mode of worship or both to turn to.  Artharthi bhaktha is a steady bhaktha whose prayers and worship are mostly for success in material and worldly pursuits. Some of the arthathi bhakthas become disenchanted with wealth and worldly success and turn to spirituality and start enquiring about the nature of God.  They have the basic idea of God as one residing up in the heaven, far away from the universe, is omnipotent, omniscient, compassionate and is the srishti, sthithi laya karanam for the universe.  He now turns a jijnasu bhaktha, who is not praying for worldly wealth but for spiritual knowledge. When his quest for knowledge takes him to a Guru who comes in Vedic tradition, Vaidhika parampara, he learns that knowledge of God can be gained only by the study of scriptures like Gita, Upanishads and Brahma sutras under the guidance of a Guru.  As a teevra Jijnasu bhaktha, he starts the study of Gita and upanishads sincerely under the Guru. When exposed to the scriptural teaching the jijnasu bhaktha learns about the Vedic view of God. With the new knowledge gained his view of the world changes initially and later the view of self as well undergoes a change as he blossoms into a Jnani bhaktha.

Isavasya Upanishad in its opening mantra states “Isavasyam idagam sarvam yatkincha jagatyam jagat “ meaning “All this whatsoever moves on the earth (and those that moves not)  should be covered by Iswara.”  Iswara is Supreme Brahman that is God, is the Creator of this Jagat, the constantly changing universe. So He has karanam status in respect of this Jagat and the universe is the karyam.  Karanam pervades the karyam and karyam is only karanam plus nama, rupa, i.e. name and form and nama, rupa have no substance.  So the real nature of the universe is only Iswara.  Purusha Suktham states “Purusa evedagam sarvam yadbhutam yacca bhavyam” meaning “All that is past, present and future is His manifestation”.  Further the sthuthi Vishnu sahasranamam starts the thousand names with ‘Viswam’ and ‘Viswam’ means ‘the universe’.  So whatever one sees as objects of the universe are all manifestations of Iswara only, in the vision of the Veda. So one need not go in for any mystic experience to have Iswara Darsanam but only have the attitudinal change training oneself to look at all things one encounters with Iswara bhavana discarding the prapancha bhavana. This Iswara dhrishti, vision of Iswara, is what is indicated in the Isavasya Upanishad mantra quoted earlier by the term ’covered with Iswara’.  Lord Krishna as Iswara also declares in Gita (6-30); “He who sees Me everywhere (and in everything) and sees everything (everywhere) in Me, he never becomes separated from Me, nor do I become separated from him".

The artharthi bhakthas’ idea of triangular format; Self, world and Iswara undergoes now a change to binary format; Self and Iswara only, world merging in Iswara. This change in view involves other changes as well as indicated in the latter part of the Isavasya mantra quoted which runs as “Tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma grdhah kasyasviddhanam” meaning “Enjoy that through renunciation.  Do not covet (anybody’s wealth), for whose is wealth?)”.  Tena tyakthena means with a sense of detachment.  When one enjoys the world with Iswara Dhrishti only, one enjoys the world treating whatever one partakes of the world as a blessing of Iswara and with a sense of gratitude to Iswara. As everything is of Iswara only, one doesn’t entertain any sense of possession with regard to persons and things.  In short one functions in this world without getting attached to objects or persons.  As a corollary one does not have a desire for other’s possessions as well, whatever that may be. Dhanam stands for all possessions.  The person may be involved in worldly karmas but then his attitude will be one of detachment and inner renunciation.

Seeing the world as manifestation of Iswara, leads one to Viswarupa Iswara bhakthi as seen in Dhyanaslokam of  Vishnusahasranamam which runs as:

bhuh padau yasya nabhir-viyada-suranila-candra suryau cha netre

karna-vasah siro-dyauh mukhamapi dahano yasya vasteyam abdhihi

antas-stham yasya visvam sura-nara-khaga-go-bhogi-gandharva-daityaih

chitram ramramyate tam tribhuvana-vapusham vishnum isam namami.

[I bow to Lord Vishnu who has the three worlds as His body. The earth is His feet, and the sky His navel.  Wind is His breath, and the sun and the moon are His eyes. Directions are His ears, and the Heaven is His head. Fire is His face and ocean His abdomen. In Him is situated the universe with diverse kinds of Gods, men, birds, cattle, serpents, gandharvas and daityas (demons), all sporting in a charming way.]

Appreciation of Iswara as totality and everything else as belonging to Iswara leads to renunciation of mamakara, the idea that I am the owner of certain things with the new-born understanding that everything belongs to Iswara and I am only the current user of what I regard as my possessions. I am only the present lease-holder using the possessions for a temporary period.   One’s view of ownership is replaced by usership and idea of controllership changes to contributorship.

Next change comes when one absorbs Lord Krishna’s words in Gita (7-5&6):

bhumirapo analo vayuḥ kam mano buddhir eva cha
ahankara itiyaṁ me bhinna prakṛitir aṣhṭadha (7.4)

(Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoism thus is My nature divided eightfold.)

apareyam itas tvanyam prakṛitim viddhi me param)
jiva-bhutam mahabaho yayedam dharyate jagat (7.5)

(This is the inferior prakriti(nature), O Arjuna; know thou as different from it My higher prakriti, the very life-element, by which this world is upheld.)

Iswara has two fold nature, Para prakrithi, the higher nature, and apara prakrithi, the lower nature. The pancha bhuthas; earth, water, fire, air, ether, and mind, intellect, ego in short the world that is matter including one’s sthula, sukshma sareera, constitutes apara prakriithi.  Para Prakrithi is the Chaitanyam or pure Consciousness that makes the matter sentient by its blessing.  Iswara is Para prakrithi plus apara prakrithi i.e. Brahman plus maya.  Vedas through Mahavakhya teach one that the Para prakṛthi, the higher nature of Iswara, called Brahman, the Consciousness, is present in all beings in the form of  'I', the very Self, the witness-experiencer of everything.

Thus, the vedic view is: The whole material universe, including the body and mind, is apara prakṛti, the maya part of Iswara; and 'I', the Consciousness principle, which is not an object of experience, that 'I', the sakṣi chaitanyam is, Para prakṛti.  Para prakrithi plus apara prakrithi is Iswara, the God.  And whatever one experiences, is the lower nature of Iswara; material, changing and mortal.  Whereas, 'I', the experiencer, is the higher nature of Iswara, sentient, unchanging and eternal.  In other words  ‘I' am Brahman, the Para prakṛti;  what I experience is maya, the apara prakṛti.  Both the 'experiencer' and 'experienced'  put together is the 'total' Iswara, God.  In brief, the experiencer 'I' is sentient Consciousness Iswara, the experienced world is insentient matter Iswara and as everything is Iswara you can put it any way; Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagat or Sarvam Sivamayam Jagat, Sarvam Devimayam Jagat etc.  Swami Dayananda saraswathy puts it as:  ‘இருப்பதெல்லாம் இறைவனே (Iruppadellam Iraivane)’  meaning ‘whatever is, is only Iswara’  

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