Look on Worldly Life as a Mere Spectator
To recognize the reality is spiritualism; worldly life takes the unreal as real. What we perceive may not necessarily be real; and yet it may not be entirely unreal, non-existent. The Ultimate Reality has all the qualities that we attribute to it, and some more; in this sense, it can be called nirguna. Also, whatever attributes we apply to it are a matter of imagination, and it is therefore beyond all attributes; in this sense, too, it is nirguna. The structure of the universe is on the same pattern as the human body. Both possess the 'five sheaths', the pancha koshas, with the only difference that in the body they are in manifest form while, in the universe, they are latent.
Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, being single, felt bored with its solitariness, and so assumed the myriad forms which constitute the universe. Man inherited this trait from his creator, this liking for creating diversity. However, God remained aloof from his creation, and so stands as a spectator, and is untouched by pleasure and pain, whereas man got himself involved and entangled, and therefore suffers pain. One who can manage to keep aloof, mentally detached, will never suffer pain or sorrow. The spiritual quest is an attempt to disentangle oneself from all this mess. If one wishes that worldly activities should not give rise to sorrow, one should learn to live as a mere objective spectator.
We multiply our worldly activities with the aim of deriving pleasure, but as the joy arising out of anything is dependent on that object, it vanishes with the removal of that object. We should strive to find lasting joy.
To be alive is to have the vital force within oneself. This vital force being part and parcel of the Ultimate Reality, is constituted of existence, knowledge, and bliss. Therefore, so long as we live, bliss must be our natural characteristic. This pure bliss we should enjoy. This bliss is positive, while the pseudo-bliss that deep sleep brings is negative in nature.
The firm belief that the divine will is at the root of everything, that God is the real doer, gives the only real contentment. Real happiness lies in action itself rather than in the fruit or expectation thereof. The action of nama–smarana will easily and naturally lead to lasting happiness. One who genuinely feels that he knows nothing but nama, truly knows everything.
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