What you think to exist does really exist?
"Happiness and sorrow do not depend on any external condition; it is governed by our mental attitude."
It is hard to find a person not seeking happiness, pleasure and peace. It is also hard to find a person seeking unhappiness, sorrow, and pain. A big part of our life we spend around seeking happiness and avoiding unhappiness. Avoiding is also a type of wish of happiness, as it is an effort to prevent the 'happiness' from losing its happiness. There is no question or suspicion about importance of these both emotions in our life, but many philosophers from time to time have raised questions or suspicion on its very existence. They tried to eliminate it using our mind. They observed that, it is subjective experience; their existence is not universal, as many things may bring happiness to a particular group of people but is not able to produce the same effect on other group from the same society.
'Khalil Gibran', the famous philosopher of recent time wrote that, "Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
While explaining their hypothesis they used many arguments from the ancient spiritual treasure. Spirituality has always believed in a third state, which is above happiness and sorrow. Spirituality has always talked about a state beyond emotion. The exact explanation of this third state cannot be described through specific words; all the mystics with no exception have called this state, ineffable and unspeakable.
Happiness, sorrow or any emotions do not lie in the object or in outer world. It depends upon our perception, ignorance and attachment (not to be taken as love). Attachment exists because of ignorance of truth. Till the time one is attached with something emotions will keep on dwindling peace. Actual state has nothing to do with happiness or sorrow; it totally depends upon our perception. A story from some ancient scripture demonstrate it very practically.
"Once, two youngsters by name 'Rama' and 'Krishna', told their respective parents that they would go to foreign countries to prosecute further studies and then earn a lot of money. After some time, one of them died suddenly. The other studied well; earned a lot and was living happily.
Sometime later, the one that was alive requested a merchant who was going to his native place to tell his father that he is wealthy and happy and that the other boy who had come with him had passed away.
Instead of passing on the information correctly, the merchant told the father of the person who was alive, that his son was dead, and the father of the person who was dead, that his son had earned a lot of money and was living happily. The parents of the person that was actually dead were happy in the thought that their son would come back after some time, while the parents of the person whose son was alive, but was reported to be dead, were in great grief.
In fact, neither of them saw their son’s actual state, but both of them were experiencing happiness and sorrow according to the report they received and perceived. They both created their own world in their mind far away from the truth and reality.
In the same way, we all live in our own created world, mostly deluded by mind and false reports, far away from the reality. We are forced to believe that what exists does not exist and that what does not exist, does exists. Spirituality does all the efforts to break this illusion and instill reality in every cell of our body. When this seeding of reality turns into sapling and further in a tree, this let the emergence of third state of our mind. Many have understood the reality of mind game. Martha Washington says that--
"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition."
It is hard to find a person not seeking happiness, pleasure and peace. It is also hard to find a person seeking unhappiness, sorrow, and pain. A big part of our life we spend around seeking happiness and avoiding unhappiness. Avoiding is also a type of wish of happiness, as it is an effort to prevent the 'happiness' from losing its happiness. There is no question or suspicion about importance of these both emotions in our life, but many philosophers from time to time have raised questions or suspicion on its very existence. They tried to eliminate it using our mind. They observed that, it is subjective experience; their existence is not universal, as many things may bring happiness to a particular group of people but is not able to produce the same effect on other group from the same society.
'Khalil Gibran', the famous philosopher of recent time wrote that, "Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
While explaining their hypothesis they used many arguments from the ancient spiritual treasure. Spirituality has always believed in a third state, which is above happiness and sorrow. Spirituality has always talked about a state beyond emotion. The exact explanation of this third state cannot be described through specific words; all the mystics with no exception have called this state, ineffable and unspeakable.
Happiness, sorrow or any emotions do not lie in the object or in outer world. It depends upon our perception, ignorance and attachment (not to be taken as love). Attachment exists because of ignorance of truth. Till the time one is attached with something emotions will keep on dwindling peace. Actual state has nothing to do with happiness or sorrow; it totally depends upon our perception. A story from some ancient scripture demonstrate it very practically.
"Once, two youngsters by name 'Rama' and 'Krishna', told their respective parents that they would go to foreign countries to prosecute further studies and then earn a lot of money. After some time, one of them died suddenly. The other studied well; earned a lot and was living happily.
Sometime later, the one that was alive requested a merchant who was going to his native place to tell his father that he is wealthy and happy and that the other boy who had come with him had passed away.
Instead of passing on the information correctly, the merchant told the father of the person who was alive, that his son was dead, and the father of the person who was dead, that his son had earned a lot of money and was living happily. The parents of the person that was actually dead were happy in the thought that their son would come back after some time, while the parents of the person whose son was alive, but was reported to be dead, were in great grief.
In fact, neither of them saw their son’s actual state, but both of them were experiencing happiness and sorrow according to the report they received and perceived. They both created their own world in their mind far away from the truth and reality.
In the same way, we all live in our own created world, mostly deluded by mind and false reports, far away from the reality. We are forced to believe that what exists does not exist and that what does not exist, does exists. Spirituality does all the efforts to break this illusion and instill reality in every cell of our body. When this seeding of reality turns into sapling and further in a tree, this let the emergence of third state of our mind. Many have understood the reality of mind game. Martha Washington says that--
"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition."
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