I
HAPPINESS

ALL BEINGS DESIRE HAPPINESS ALWAYS,
happiness without a tinge of sorrow. At the same time
everybody loves himself best. The cause for love is only
happiness. So, that happiness must lie within oneself. Further,
that happiness is daily experienced by everyone in sleep when
there is no mind. To attain that natural happiness one must
know oneself. For that, Self-enquiry, `Who am I??' is the chief
means.

Happiness is the nature of the Self. They are not different.

The only happiness there is, is of the Self. That is the truth.
There is no happiness in worldly objects. Because of our
ignorance we imagine we derive happiness from them.

If, as a man generally imagines, his happiness is due toexternal causes, it is reasonable to conclude that his happiness
must increase with the increase of possessions and diminish
in proportion to their diminution. Therefore, if he is devoid of
possessions his happiness should be nil. What, however, is
the real experience of man? Does it confirm this view? In
deep sleep the man is devoid of all possessions, including his
own body. Instead of being unhappy he is quite happy.
Everyone desires to sleep soundly. The conclusion therefore
is that happiness is inherent in man and is not due to external
causes. One must realize his Self in order to open the store of
unalloyed happiness.

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There is a story in Panchadasi, which illustrates that ourpains and pleasures are not due to facts but to our concepts.

Two young men of a village went on a pilgrimage to NorthIndia. One of them died there. But the other having picked up
some job decided to return to his village only after some time.
Meanwhile he came across a wandering pilgrim and sent word
through him to his village about himself and his dead friend.
The pilgrim conveyed the news and in doing so inadvertently
changed the names of the living and the dead man. The result
was that the dead man's people were rejoicing that he was
doing well and the living man's people were in grief that he
was dead.

I used to sit on the floor and lie on the ground. No clothspread out. That is freedom. The sofa is a bondage. It is jail
for me. I am not allowed to sit where and how I please. Is it
not bondage? One must be free to do as one pleases and should
not be served by others. `No want' is the greatest bliss. It can
be realized only by experience. Even an emperor is no match
for a man with no wants.

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