All living beings seek happiness and
pleasure in their life. Every step and act has only one goal, either to
achieve or secure some kind of pleasure and happiness. After birth we
all join this race to achieve the happiness and pleasure, but still
everyone is unhappy, troubled and in sorrow. Many times, we find
happiness in our hand but just after few moments, it turns to be the
source of some kind of sorrow. Buddha’s whole philosophy is based on the
sorrow brought by worldly pleasure. He told that, in this world
happiness is only illusion.
To deal with this conflict, ancient philosophers talked about spiritual happiness. They said that spiritual happiness and pleasures are same. Only one difference exists there that, worldly pleasures are temporary in nature but spiritual happiness is permanent and thus they called it as an eternal happiness. They preached their experience and path to achieve the eternal spiritual happiness. Amazingly many, who listened and opted the path, suggested by them, experienced the same eternal happiness. Eternal happiness does not depend upon any outer object; so many people consider it as a source to attain divinity.
Many philosophical and spiritual approaches see worldly pleasure and happiness as the reflection of eternal happiness. According to them, worldly pleasures are only to remind people about that divine and eternal happiness but unfortunately, we because of ignorance and lack of knowledge gets entrap in worldly pleasure and think it to be true. Our consciousness does not accept it to be a reflection and illusion rather think it to be real. A story throws light on our entrapment.
"Once there was a king, who had presented his daughter, the princess, with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. The king then asked them all to search for it and put a reward for anyone who found it.
One day a clerk was walking home along a river next to a capital area. This river was completely polluted, filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try to catch it so that he could get the reward. He put his hand in the filthy, dirty river and grabbed at the necklace, but somehow missed it and did not catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river, dirtied his pants in the filthy river, and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed.
Then again, he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the river, although it was a disgusting thing to do as the river was polluted, and his whole body would become filthy. He plunged in, and searched everywhere for the necklace and yet he failed. This time he was bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he could not get the necklace that would get him the declared reward.
Just then, a saint who was walking by, saw him, and asked what the matter was. The clerk did not want to share the secret with the saint, thinking the saint might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell the saint anything. However, the saint could see this man was troubled and being compassionate, again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk mustered some courage and decided to put some faith in the saint. He told the saint about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing. The saint then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all this time."
It happens in reality, it happens in our daily life. Just for the sake of material pleasure, we often walk in to filth and on a polluted path, which indeed is no path and we achieve nothing.
To deal with this conflict, ancient philosophers talked about spiritual happiness. They said that spiritual happiness and pleasures are same. Only one difference exists there that, worldly pleasures are temporary in nature but spiritual happiness is permanent and thus they called it as an eternal happiness. They preached their experience and path to achieve the eternal spiritual happiness. Amazingly many, who listened and opted the path, suggested by them, experienced the same eternal happiness. Eternal happiness does not depend upon any outer object; so many people consider it as a source to attain divinity.
Many philosophical and spiritual approaches see worldly pleasure and happiness as the reflection of eternal happiness. According to them, worldly pleasures are only to remind people about that divine and eternal happiness but unfortunately, we because of ignorance and lack of knowledge gets entrap in worldly pleasure and think it to be true. Our consciousness does not accept it to be a reflection and illusion rather think it to be real. A story throws light on our entrapment.
"Once there was a king, who had presented his daughter, the princess, with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. The king then asked them all to search for it and put a reward for anyone who found it.
One day a clerk was walking home along a river next to a capital area. This river was completely polluted, filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try to catch it so that he could get the reward. He put his hand in the filthy, dirty river and grabbed at the necklace, but somehow missed it and did not catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river, dirtied his pants in the filthy river, and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed.
Then again, he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the river, although it was a disgusting thing to do as the river was polluted, and his whole body would become filthy. He plunged in, and searched everywhere for the necklace and yet he failed. This time he was bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he could not get the necklace that would get him the declared reward.
Just then, a saint who was walking by, saw him, and asked what the matter was. The clerk did not want to share the secret with the saint, thinking the saint might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell the saint anything. However, the saint could see this man was troubled and being compassionate, again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk mustered some courage and decided to put some faith in the saint. He told the saint about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing. The saint then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all this time."
It happens in reality, it happens in our daily life. Just for the sake of material pleasure, we often walk in to filth and on a polluted path, which indeed is no path and we achieve nothing.
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