Our
real identity is that we are eternally servant of God. This understanding, pure
understanding, is called Mukti.
When
we understand that "Kṛiṣhṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is my
eternal master, and I am eternal servant of Him," that is called mukti.
The
mukti definition is given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: muktir hitva anyathā rūpaṁ
sva-rūpeṇa avasthiti (SB 2.10.6). Mukti means when we give up our wrong ideas
and we stay in our real identification. That is called mukti. So a bhakta who
understands clearly that "I am eternal servant of God, and God is my
eternal master," this very understanding means mukti. If I wrongly think
that "I am something of this material world" or "I am God
myself," these are misunderstanding. There is no question of mukti.
Fact
is we are always seeking newer and newer sensual enjoyments in an attempt to
find that elusive satisfaction. We change partners, move house, watch different
films, read many books, go on holidays, and so on. But we always remain
hankering for something more. At no point do we stop and say, “That’s it, I’m
happy now.”
The Vedas therefore urge us to take our happiness seriously-to be inquisitive as to why, in spite of so much endeavor, we remain dissatisfied. They point out that as humans we should not be seeking only that pleasure which even the animals can achieve. We are meant for something more. Animals can also eat, have sex, sleep, and enjoy relationships. But they can’t go beyond that. They are not able to ask life’s big questions, such as “Why am I here?”, “Why do I suffer?”, and “How can I secure my permanent happiness?” Only in human life do we have this opportunity-and we should make the most of it.
Building Our Happiness On Sand
So, why is it that our attempts to be happy fail? Well, the Vedas suggest that we are basing our efforts on an incorrect premise-a false assumption. Through science and technology we have become expert in catering to the body’s needs. Our communications, transport, medicine, eating habits and overall lifestyle are very advanced. But we are also seeing many problems coming from this progress. The well-documented environmental catastrophe, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, increasing contamination of our foods, international terrorism, as well as all kinds of diseases such as AIDS, CJD, and cancer to name a few-these are just some of the problems we have seen springing up.
It seems that no matter how many problems we manage to solve, a new batch of even more difficult ones await just around the corner. Furthermore, despite our advancement more and more people are afflicted by stress, anxiety, depression and mental illness. Many of us struggle on, somehow coping by taking shelter of drugs, alcohol, over-eating, or some other harmful addiction.
All in all it would take a brave man to say we humans are making a good job of securing our happiness. And the Vedas say it is because we have wrongly assumed ourselves to be the body. This is the false premise, the sandy foundation on which we are trying to build our happiness. To successfully pursue happiness we must first know who we actually are-and in fact we are different from the material bodies we inhabit.
I Am Not This Body; I Am A Spirit Soul
This theoretical understanding is the first step in self-realization. We have to at least grasp the difference between me and my body. In the Bhagavadgita, an ancient Vedic text, we find the verse:
“As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” (Bg.2.13)
The truth of this is confirmed 5000 years later by modern scientists who have discovered that, through the process of new cells replacing old ones, the body is built almost completely anew every seven years. However, there is one thing that stays the same throughout the body’s changes-consciousness. Consciousness is a symptom of the soul’s presence. This is described in the Bhagavadgita as follows:
“As the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the soul, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” (Bg.13.34)
In Western society we commonly learn that we are the body and we have a soul. But the Vedas teach that we are the spirit soul, and we are entrapped in a material body. The great failure of modern day society is its obsession with trying to satisfy bodily demands without ever nurturing the soul. This is why despite our best efforts we remain dissatisfied. If our quest for happiness is to succeed, we must learn how to nurture the real me, the soul.
The
Vedas explain that the soul is nurtured when it comes in touch with the Supreme
Soul, or God. He is the reservoir of all pleasure. Sitting within our heart, it
is he only who can give us the deep satisfaction for which we hanker. He knows
us even better than we know ourselves, and is waiting to reciprocate with us
just as soon as we turn to him.
The example is given of a fire ember. Once out of the big fire, it gradually dies out. But if it is placed back in the fire it flares up again. Similarly with ourselves, when we are separated from the Supreme Spirit we gradually wither and die. As long as we seek pleasure from anywhere other than the Supreme, we are like that fallen ember, struggling ever more vainly to find enjoyment. But when we are reunited with God we will experience our full potential for happiness.
So how
do we turn to him and become reunited? In the Vedas this is described as the
process of yoga. The very word yoga means to unite-in fact the English word
“yoke” is said to derive from it. By practicing yoga one becomes gradually
freed from his attraction to material enjoyment, and attracted instead to the
Supreme Soul. That attraction matures into love and one can then see God face
to face. At that point, the Bhagavadgita explains, we will feel boundless
happiness and realise that there is no greater gain.
Namasivayam.C
The above article is extracted from ISKCON and written based on my understanding.
For my original thoughts on Lord Krishna please visit my another Blog
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