Seeking Bliss – Uninterrupted and Unlimited

Eternity extends before man; space too is horizonless; but, life is short and very unsure. Therefore, man has to make the best use of the years allotted to him in this world, and try to become one with the Absolute, so that these entrances and exits may end forever. That is his Dharma, the duty he has to do for himself. Know that Dharma and live according to its dictates – that is the meaning and purpose of life.

So, the Almighty who has made creatures evolve unto human beings comes down as man, whenever that creature forgets or ignores this basic duty towards itself. The sages of India, through the process of purifying their intuition, discovered this fact and sensed the message the Divine Incarnations bring, the Avathars carry. Many times in human history, Avathars have come and awakened man. But, the animal past, and the demonic delusion drag man into the mire, where he foolishly revels in sensual, physical and transient trivialities.

This is a splendid chance to fulfill your human existence. The ananda (Bliss) that you hope to derive from kith and kin, from wealth and worldly fame, is but a pale shadow of the ananda that resides in the spring of your heart, where God dwells. Try to contact that spring; go to the very source; be centred in the Athma or God within. Few seek real ananda; many are led away by the pseudo-ananda of the senses, the intellect and the mind. Real ananda springs only from Truth (or Sathya). And, Sathya is the Dharma or duty of each to himself. Seek Truth, serve Truth, be Truth.

The Message can be grasped only by those who yearn to know the Duty, to which they have to be loyal. Or else, it will sound hollow and mechanical, like the prattle of a phonograph record. But, if the heart is ploughed by that yearning and made ready for the seed, the harvest will certainly follow.

Arjuna was the brother-in-law of Lord Krishna (in the epic Mahabharata); he was a close companion of the Lord, for many decades! Krishna, mind you, was 84 years old at the time of the Kurukshethra battle, when He served Arjuna as a non-combatant charioteer! Yet, it was only on that battlefield that the Message of the Bhagavad Geetha was imparted to him! Why? Arjuna developed the requisite attitude for the reception and retention of the Message only then.

First Arjuna was puzzled about his duty and was tremendously anxious to get light thrown upon it. He was torn between two paths, and in spite of all his discrimination and detachment, he was at a loss to discover what his Dharma was. Second, he surrendered his judgement to God, and declared, out of the deepest recesses of his heart, in indescribable agony, “I am your disciple; I dedicate my entire being to your Will; tell me what to do and I shall obey.”