Science of Spirituality

Theoretical discussion on happiness and unhappiness

1. Expectation of happiness and not of object pleasure:

Man does not have expectations of worldly pleasure from objects, but of happiness, or rather, of Bliss. For example, if one is told that his trip abroad will be sponsored with enough money to enjoy worldly pleasures but that he will have to endure unhappiness, he will reply, 'I want neither worldly pleasures nor unhappiness'.

2. Happiness derived from objects itself is Bliss:

The peak of worldly happiness is sex. Hence, it is called the 'seat of Bliss' in Ayurveda (a branch of the science of Spirituality). Sex in this context refers to ejaculation. The process of ejaculation activates the dormant spiritual energy (kundalini) due to which he experiences a high amount of happiness. The mechanism of object pleasure, or experiencing a high amount of happiness upon ejaculation, is as follows: Due to the firm conviction that happiness lies in objects, at least momentarily, the pran and apan, that is, the vital energies, become equal. Due to this, the individual loses awareness of his body, activates the dormant spiritual energy (kundalini), and thus his inner Bliss manifests itself. Since, due to his ignorance, he does not realize that the inner Bliss has manifested due to steadiness of the vital energies, he concludes that his happiness depends on some object or some tool. In this case it is sex, and thus in order to experience more of that high feeling, he gets more and more entangled in the object. The impression which remains unfulfilled relative to the desire, results in entrapping one in the cycle of birth and death, hence he becomes unhappy.

In Vedic terminology this happiness is termed as object pleasure. As it is dependent on a cause, it is relative to time, space and objects. The satisfying feeling that one gets on having a good meal can be explained as follows: When one eats to one's content, the vital energies pran and apan become steady. This makes the individual forget the attachment to his body, and thus his inner Bliss surfaces. However, the person attributes the experience of inner Bliss to the food. Similarly, the spouse, children, etc. are for the sake of one's own happiness. One experiences one's own Bliss through them. Though that happiness is inner Bliss itself, due to one's ignorance, it is concluded to be happiness derived from objects, namely the spouse, children, etc. In short, real happiness lies within oneself (and is termed as the inner ocean of Bliss).

3. Vast objects bestow happiness:

One experiences a lot of happiness when one stands in front of the vast sprawling ocean or the sky. However, the same amount of happiness is not experienced when one sees a part of the ocean or sky through the window. That is why a quote from one of the Upanishads (a spiritual text) says, 'All that is vast gives happiness. There is no happiness in small objects.' Similarly, compared to our limited individual mind, when one's mind becomes all pervading, the Bliss experienced will also be limitless.

One can note that those individuals who are inspired by a specific objective like the welfare of society, of the nation, humanity or animals, do not care much about worldly happiness and unhappiness, as their whole focus is the success of their mission. For example, Florence Nightingale made the mission of nursing the wounds of the injured her sole goal in life. She sacrificed a lot for this cause. The famous philosopher Socrates was condemned to death because he believed that knowledge was meant for everyone. Since he had encouraged the son of a trader to study philosophy, the Greek officials sentenced him to death. To this he responded that he preferred to die rather than give up his belief. Thomas Edison, the great scientist, was once asked by his wife to take her on vacation. He asked her to suggest a place, to which she replied that the world is so huge, so she can be taken to the place where they would be happiest. The next day she found him in his favourite place, his laboratory. He was that dedicated to his mission. Explorers such as Columbus went through many hardships to achieve their goals.

Similarly, those motivated by the desire for Self-realization are affected neither by pleasures and pains of worldly life nor by even the happiness and unhappiness of living beings.