Brahman is Bliss

[Onkara]

Because Brahman is bliss, ananda (see sat-chit-ananda) we are ourselves bliss.

Bliss is a sense of contentment and happiness without any external stimulus. However due to desire, fear, worries, confusion and ignorance, we continue to feel we do not have this eternal sense of happiness, bliss.

This is why we begin our search and this is what motivates us to look for more; for a lasting answer. Initially that search is external, we look for a partner, for security in a house, a qualification, perhaps new clothes or going out on Friday night. None of this is wrong, but it is transient, impermanent and the novelty doesn't last for long before we are searching for bliss/happiness again. Brahman is eternal. Bliss itself is Brahman and so when we know Brahman we have eternal bliss.

Comments most welcome

 

[Riverwolf]

As an addendum, it could be said that the external searches, though transient, help lead to the eventual realization of Brahman.

 

[Onkara]

As an addendum, it could be said that the external searches, though transient, help lead to the eventual realization of Brahman.

Good addendum! Quite so, as there is no escape, in other words; Brahman leads Itself to Brahman.

Thanks Riverwolf

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Very beautiful verse. I agree that external things are passing and fleeting. People suffer because they tend to get caught up in the external, rather then calling to mind that all life is one behind the illusion of the physical reality, and centering themselves.

 

[Onkara]

People suffer because they tend to get caught up in the external, rather then calling to mind that all life is one behind the illusion of the physical reality, and centering themselves.

Solid insight you offer us, Yosef, thanks!

 

[joea]

Accept your responsibility for misery, and you will find that just hidden inside you are all the causes of bliss, freedom, joy, enlightenment, immortality.

Osho

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Accept your responsibility for misery, and you will find that just hidden inside you are all the causes of bliss, freedom, joy, enlightenment, immortality.

Osho

Excellent quote.

The key is to become indifferent to pleasure and pain. You can enjoy pleasure, but realize the true reality of it, that you can't hold on to it, that it comes and it goes. Attachment to it will only cause suffering. Let pleasure come and let pleasure go. Same with pain.

 

[Onkara]

Yes, Joea and Yosef, that is a good quote I have not read before

One thought that comes to mind is that I must be careful at this point to define who "I am" if "I am" to accept the "responsibility for misery" as per the quote. I could easily find myself feeling pretty unhappy, and I know that is not what Osho's quote implies.

 

[K.Venugopal]

Our human predicament is a sense of lack that seems to continuously haunt us, giving rise to our restlessness. The question ever deep within us is how can we get out of this awful state of lack and restlessness and be in a state of eternal bliss. The answer lies in understanding that we have been conditioned to divide all our experiences into a like-dislike dichotomy. This leads to a constant war within us against experiences that we do not like and constant attempts to foster comfortable experiences. But if we accept all experiences as lessons equally valid in the understanding of life, we shall cease to be at war with ourselves and bliss, knowledge and stability would reign – the famous Vedantic vision of Satchidananda.

 

[joea]

Yes, Joea and Yosef, that is a good quote I have not read before

One thought that comes to mind is that I must be careful at this point to define who "I am" if "I am" to accept the "responsibility for misery" as per the quote. I could easily find myself feeling pretty unhappy, and I know that is not what Osho's quote implies.

No I can assure you that's not what it means..it simply means you reap whatever you sow. Attached too much or wish for too much does not bring bliss. For instance, ambition can bring misery. Ambition is the source of all misery. Everyone wants to be someone else,the poor wants to be rich,the ugly wants to be beautiful and so on. That's what the quote means by " responsibility for misery "

 

[Onkara]

So it is our desires which mislead us and keep us in misery. How do you think we should reduce or overcome our desires?

 

[WayFarer]

Much of desire stems from not being able to separate "need" from "want". If you are able to separate the two then you can begin to find contentment far more readily. Investigate your life. See if you have any "needs" that are unfilled. If not, then what you lack are left with "wants". Most "needs" are physical. Food, shelter, sleep. Wants are emotional and are ego centered. Fill your "needs" and float above your "wants" and contentment is with your grasp.

If may may go further and share this thought on ego:
Do not become too attached to your birth certificate. It is a temporary thing and will lead you to the you you really are not.

 

[GURSIKH]

Because Brahman is bliss, ananda (see sat-chit-ananda) we are ourselves bliss.

Bliss is a sense of contentment and happiness without any external stimulus. However due to desire, fear, worries, confusion and ignorance, we continue to feel we do not have this eternal sense of happiness, bliss.

This is why we begin our search and this is what motivates us to look for more; for a lasting answer. Initially that search is external, we look for a partner, for security in a house, a qualification, perhaps new clothes or going out on Friday night. None of this is wrong, but it is transient, impermanent and the novelty doesn't last for long before we are searching for bliss/happiness again. Brahman is eternal. Bliss itself is Brahman and so when we know Brahman we have eternal bliss.

Comments most welcome

Onkara ji ,

:foryou:

 

[Riverwolf]

So it is our desires which mislead us and keep us in misery. How do you think we should reduce or overcome our desires?

For the atheist or agnostic atheist, simple Karma Yoga. For the theist, Karma-Bhakti yoga. ^_^ At least at first.

I say this one because you can't do either of these yogas incorrectly, and for many the opportunity to learn Raja yoga, Hatha yoga, or Jnana yoga never appears, though their additions would certainly help the seeker if he or she is so inclined to them.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

So it is our desires which mislead us and keep us in misery. How do you think we should reduce or overcome our desires?

\

Become indifferent to both pleasure and pain. Do not lust after sensations. Let them come as they come, and let them go, do not cling to them. Do not strive for either pleasure or pain, rather become indifferent to it. Don't try to make sensations happen, but rather, feel them as they happen, and then let them pass. In this way a person can experience pleasure, without attachment to the sensation of pleasure. To overcome your desires you must become indifferent to sensations and sense objects.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Bliss and Beauty seem to go hand and hand.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram

God is Infinite Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

 

[joea]

Much of desire stems from not being able to separate "need" from "want". If you are able to separate the two then you can begin to find contentment far more readily. Investigate your life. See if you have any "needs" that are unfilled. If not, then what you lack are left with "wants". Most "needs" are physical. Food, shelter, sleep. Wants are emotional and are ego centered. Fill your "needs" and float above your "wants" and contentment is with your grasp.

If may may go further and share this thought on ego:
Do not become too attached to your birth certificate. It is a temporary thing and will lead you to the you you really are not.

Exactly right...you will always fulfill a need..You can never fulfill your Desires..

 

[Onkara]

All I want is to be happy, to be content, not wanting more or better than I have. When my thoughts turn to the divine there is a sense of bliss, like an inner sigh, like laying on the grass starring up at the summer sky during school holidays, care free with a full life in front.

 

[Kriya Yogi]

Because Brahman is bliss, ananda (see sat-chit-ananda) we are ourselves bliss.

Bliss is a sense of contentment and happiness without any external stimulus. However due to desire, fear, worries, confusion and ignorance, we continue to feel we do not have this eternal sense of happiness, bliss.

This is why we begin our search and this is what motivates us to look for more; for a lasting answer. Initially that search is external, we look for a partner, for security in a house, a qualification, perhaps new clothes or going out on Friday night. None of this is wrong, but it is transient, impermanent and the novelty doesn't last for long before we are searching for bliss/happiness again. Brahman is eternal. Bliss itself is Brahman and so when we know Brahman we have eternal bliss.

Comments most welcome

Awesome! I couldn't have said this better myself. My Guru Paramhansa Yogananda always said to be rid of external attachments, comforts, and desires one must have something within that is ever more desirable. That is God's evernew bliss, joy, and love within us. The more we can identify with that bliss and offer the fruits of our labors and activities to God the more we let go of ego and become immersed with Spirit. That is our eternal goal.