It is a problem from the very beginning of mankind that it is their lot to suffer various kinds of calamities, diseases with pain and sorrow although they are destined to be happy forever. The fundamental problem in this scenario is a kind of radical ignorance about the source of both our happiness and sorrow experienced by us. It would appear that objects and events outside ourselves constitute our happiness and sorrow. For example, we imagine that we would be eternally happy if only we were to win a lottery giving us access to many millions of rupees. At the time we are unaware of eventualities that might lead us into multiple problems that might crop up in our life as a result of winning the lottery. If the source of happiness were in the millions we have won, nothing else should be able to render us unhappy. We know from the experience of so many people that the same is not true. Similarly, a calamity or accident that causes us pain and sorrow need not be the determining factor of our unhappiness. There are scores of people who suffer a lot as a result of calamities, sickness etc., and yet remain composed to face them bravely. Some even use the occasions to chart new avenues in their lives giving rise to succor and support to those who suffer misfortunes. It is not that we would never be affected by any sorrow from events happening where we are helpless in offsetting them. In such circumstances, however, our sorrow will be proportionate and it will not be able to incapacitate our ability to manage it reasonably well. Our conclusion, therefore, is that the source of both our happiness and sorrow is rooted in us irrespective of external circumstances. We shall try to explain it below.
This explanation calls for a little knowledge of who we are by nature. All human beings are endowed with a multiplicity of faculties like the five senses, a mind consisting of intellect and will and a spirit that is the underlying life-force vivifying and nurturing all other faculties. The spirit in a body is called the soul. People with disabilities like blindness, deafness, dumbness, autism etc., are also not out of the general sphere of humanity. That there are such exceptions and shortcomings in some cases only go to prove the general rule, besides the fact that such people are sustained by their spirit. The spirit of man, according to the Bible, is endowed with the image and likeness of God (See Genesis, 1: 26-27). As man's spirit is the unifying factor of all the faculties, it is the connecting link and sustaining element of both his body and soul. Man shines as the image of God in both body and soul as one unit. In Indian Thought, man is considered as God Himself (Paramatma i.e., the Absolute) in manifestation as Jivatma (individual). Remembering this reality is the source of our happiness achieved through meditation and allowed to remain in our consciousness throughout the day as presence of God.
With the faculties gifted to us by God, we are expected to grow up as against mere growing old. It implies that we manage ourselves to conduct the business of life with a certain maturity. It may be normal, for example, for a child to suck its thumb and can be easily forgiven with due caution to wean it gradually away from the habit. However, if a 40 year old person starts sucking his or her thumb we consider it abnormal. Similar is the case with some people, grown old but not grown up, when they are dejected by small incidents like a perceived insult. Students committing suicide due to failure in examinations may be considered as a refusal to grow up as they refuse to turn a breakdown into a breakthrough. They may not have heard about how Thomas Alva Edison failed 999 times in making the first light bulb. On being questioned about his frustration in failing so many times, Edison replied that 999 times he learnt how not to make a light bulb! We have a pathetic example in the Bible how a man grown old and held in high esteem by all was in fact never grown up. In 2 Samuel, chapter 17 we read about Ahithophel, whose counsel to king David and his rebellious son Absalom was considered as equal to the word of God , committed suicide. The reason was that just once his counsel was not accepted by Absalom preferring to follow the counsel of Hushai the Archite. This shows that acclamation by the people and holding high position need not in itself make a person happy unless he or she grows up.
What is the sign that a person has grown up instead of merely growing old? A really grown up person would have restrained the Ego lurking in all of us with a view to transforming oneself into an ever newer and better person. The Ego is the hallmark of our lower nature manifested through pride, greed, envy, lust for power and honor, uncontrolled sexual deviations, selfish motives under the garb of serving the common good etc. All these taken together are labelled under 'flesh' in the Bible. As against them the 'spirit' stands for our higher nature supported by the divine spirit. The fight between the spirit and the flesh is graphically pointed out by Jesus to his disciples by saying: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark, 14: 38). The fight is, therefore, internal to conquer our base self in order to allow our real self to shine forth. The same principle is followed in the Bhagavad-Gita throughout starting with the statement summarizing its content in "kurukshetra is Dharmakshetra". Its fifth chapter deals with 3 types of spiritual aspirants who remain liberated even as they transact with the world and enjoy its benefits. Our discussion in the present Study about the interaction and alignment between the secular and the sacred is in conformity both with the Bible and with the main thesis of the Bhagavad-Gita. There we can find how the real source of happiness is the Self that is none other than the Sadcidananda or God Himself made present to us in the Kingdom of God.
Just like happiness, the sorrow we experience from manifold sufferings has its source in the self. The fundamental difference here emanates from the two senses of self that we possess. The one and the same self that is governed by our higher nature is the source of happiness , whereas the self that is terrorized by our lower nature is the source of sorrow. It is not that we have two selves within us, but the one and the same self takes different hues and colors depending on who is our master, the higher or the lower nature. Our spirit aided by the divine spirit should be able to overcome and govern our will, intellect or mind and senses. "For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy" (Bhagavad-Gita 6.6). It does not mean to say that happiness or sorrow is just a mind-game, but the mind has a decisive role in our happiness or sorrow. Being shocked or devastated and thus becoming sorrowful at certain events is in accordance with the human nature and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Even the great king David, a person in tune with the mind of God, cried out loud calling out the name of his beloved son Absalom at his death. He even refused to eat for days together sleeping on the floor. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, wept at the death of his friend Lazarus although he was going to raise him from the dead soon afterwards. Such examples show that expression of sorrow is in tune with the human nature. In addition, psychologically speaking, to avoid falling into trauma with the result of the scarring of the psyche, it is beneficial to let out our anguish at sufferings beyond our control. However, our reactions should rise above the mere human level based on emotions to a higher plane controlled by our spirit. In the language of St. Paul, the expression of our sorrows should not be like that of people who do not have any hope beyond this present life. In this context, it is good to remember what Jesus said to Peter immediately after designating him as the foundation of the Church and conferring the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven on him (See Matthew, 16:: 18-19). As Peter could not reconcile himself to the notion of suffering and death his master was to undergo, he took Jesus aside and tried to dissuade him from his mission. To this Jesus reacted by calling him Satan and solemnly announced: "You think as men think, not as God thinks" (Matthew, 16:23). It is clear from this rebuke that to react properly to sufferings and sorrows on a spiritual level , we have to try to think as God thinks and not merely as humans do. (To be Contd).
This explanation calls for a little knowledge of who we are by nature. All human beings are endowed with a multiplicity of faculties like the five senses, a mind consisting of intellect and will and a spirit that is the underlying life-force vivifying and nurturing all other faculties. The spirit in a body is called the soul. People with disabilities like blindness, deafness, dumbness, autism etc., are also not out of the general sphere of humanity. That there are such exceptions and shortcomings in some cases only go to prove the general rule, besides the fact that such people are sustained by their spirit. The spirit of man, according to the Bible, is endowed with the image and likeness of God (See Genesis, 1: 26-27). As man's spirit is the unifying factor of all the faculties, it is the connecting link and sustaining element of both his body and soul. Man shines as the image of God in both body and soul as one unit. In Indian Thought, man is considered as God Himself (Paramatma i.e., the Absolute) in manifestation as Jivatma (individual). Remembering this reality is the source of our happiness achieved through meditation and allowed to remain in our consciousness throughout the day as presence of God.
With the faculties gifted to us by God, we are expected to grow up as against mere growing old. It implies that we manage ourselves to conduct the business of life with a certain maturity. It may be normal, for example, for a child to suck its thumb and can be easily forgiven with due caution to wean it gradually away from the habit. However, if a 40 year old person starts sucking his or her thumb we consider it abnormal. Similar is the case with some people, grown old but not grown up, when they are dejected by small incidents like a perceived insult. Students committing suicide due to failure in examinations may be considered as a refusal to grow up as they refuse to turn a breakdown into a breakthrough. They may not have heard about how Thomas Alva Edison failed 999 times in making the first light bulb. On being questioned about his frustration in failing so many times, Edison replied that 999 times he learnt how not to make a light bulb! We have a pathetic example in the Bible how a man grown old and held in high esteem by all was in fact never grown up. In 2 Samuel, chapter 17 we read about Ahithophel, whose counsel to king David and his rebellious son Absalom was considered as equal to the word of God , committed suicide. The reason was that just once his counsel was not accepted by Absalom preferring to follow the counsel of Hushai the Archite. This shows that acclamation by the people and holding high position need not in itself make a person happy unless he or she grows up.
What is the sign that a person has grown up instead of merely growing old? A really grown up person would have restrained the Ego lurking in all of us with a view to transforming oneself into an ever newer and better person. The Ego is the hallmark of our lower nature manifested through pride, greed, envy, lust for power and honor, uncontrolled sexual deviations, selfish motives under the garb of serving the common good etc. All these taken together are labelled under 'flesh' in the Bible. As against them the 'spirit' stands for our higher nature supported by the divine spirit. The fight between the spirit and the flesh is graphically pointed out by Jesus to his disciples by saying: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark, 14: 38). The fight is, therefore, internal to conquer our base self in order to allow our real self to shine forth. The same principle is followed in the Bhagavad-Gita throughout starting with the statement summarizing its content in "kurukshetra is Dharmakshetra". Its fifth chapter deals with 3 types of spiritual aspirants who remain liberated even as they transact with the world and enjoy its benefits. Our discussion in the present Study about the interaction and alignment between the secular and the sacred is in conformity both with the Bible and with the main thesis of the Bhagavad-Gita. There we can find how the real source of happiness is the Self that is none other than the Sadcidananda or God Himself made present to us in the Kingdom of God.
Just like happiness, the sorrow we experience from manifold sufferings has its source in the self. The fundamental difference here emanates from the two senses of self that we possess. The one and the same self that is governed by our higher nature is the source of happiness , whereas the self that is terrorized by our lower nature is the source of sorrow. It is not that we have two selves within us, but the one and the same self takes different hues and colors depending on who is our master, the higher or the lower nature. Our spirit aided by the divine spirit should be able to overcome and govern our will, intellect or mind and senses. "For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy" (Bhagavad-Gita 6.6). It does not mean to say that happiness or sorrow is just a mind-game, but the mind has a decisive role in our happiness or sorrow. Being shocked or devastated and thus becoming sorrowful at certain events is in accordance with the human nature and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Even the great king David, a person in tune with the mind of God, cried out loud calling out the name of his beloved son Absalom at his death. He even refused to eat for days together sleeping on the floor. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, wept at the death of his friend Lazarus although he was going to raise him from the dead soon afterwards. Such examples show that expression of sorrow is in tune with the human nature. In addition, psychologically speaking, to avoid falling into trauma with the result of the scarring of the psyche, it is beneficial to let out our anguish at sufferings beyond our control. However, our reactions should rise above the mere human level based on emotions to a higher plane controlled by our spirit. In the language of St. Paul, the expression of our sorrows should not be like that of people who do not have any hope beyond this present life. In this context, it is good to remember what Jesus said to Peter immediately after designating him as the foundation of the Church and conferring the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven on him (See Matthew, 16:: 18-19). As Peter could not reconcile himself to the notion of suffering and death his master was to undergo, he took Jesus aside and tried to dissuade him from his mission. To this Jesus reacted by calling him Satan and solemnly announced: "You think as men think, not as God thinks" (Matthew, 16:23). It is clear from this rebuke that to react properly to sufferings and sorrows on a spiritual level , we have to try to think as God thinks and not merely as humans do. (To be Contd).
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