Happiness & The Joy Of Giving

Hari Bhol,

Hari Bhol,

Hari Bhol,

Hari Bhol,

Hari Bhol,

Hari Bhol Hari Bhol So this month we've been talking about happiness.

We started with the unhappiness epidemic as it's been called and the attempts to solve this problem of unhappiness through artificial means or chemical solutions.

And last week we examined the difference between actual happiness which is spiritual in nature and material happiness which is very limited and temporary passing.

Tonight we wanted to speak about the happiness,

The actual joy that comes from giving or serving.

But before talking about that I'd just like to offer my deepest condolences to those that were thoughtlessly murdered and hurt and to those that survived them in an act of real savage brutality that is the exact opposite of all that is spiritual.

There is this unfortunate and strong tendency for people to utilize in a political sphere the ideologies of identity called identity politics.

But this was the same disease or corrupt thinking that was behind what happened in the Second World War both with the Nazis,

The imperialist Japanese push.

It is what lies behind racism and is actually a product of the deepest form of ignorance where a person is completely removed from any spiritual thought whatsoever.

If people engage in the same type of activity even in the name of so-called religion then they too are deprived of even the smallest glimmer of spiritual understanding.

For me this was just like amazing that a person could be so moved by this idea that people that don't look like me they're not of the same racial identity as my particular body,

That their coming to the country in which I live is considered an invasion.

It's just like extraordinary and on the basis of my wanting to protect my motherland I am prepared to go out and inflict great injury and suffering on the invaders.

I mean it's like you think that's a smart thought?

I mean this guy his body was from a European racial extraction.

He was not a native of Australia.

His ancestors and their group forcibly invaded Australia and marginalized all of the native inhabitants.

So if he was thinking clearly he should have turned the gun on himself as being guilty of what he's accusing others of.

It's just once you go down this path where there is no concept whatsoever of the soul of the spiritual being we become capable of the most horrific things.

And the thing that separates us in this type of consciousness is this spiritual reality.

When I disregard the reality that all living beings are my brothers and sisters,

That we have a profound closeness and intimacy and that we are all children of the same father.

And just based on a temporary identity associated with a body which is like clothing that you wear I'm now going to develop a mentality of violence to those who wear different colored clothing or different style of clothing than me.

It's just like how can you be more insane than that?

But this is the natural fruit,

The product of such crippled thinking of such complete ignorance.

I mean this is the deepest,

Darkest state of ignorance.

And unfortunately most of the world is caught up in this thinking in one form or the other.

The foundation of real happiness has to be first the recognition of my spiritual identity.

When I understand that,

When I embrace that idea it automatically becomes extended to all other life,

All other living beings are equally spiritual beings.

Another part of the,

As we talked about in the first talk on the series,

Another part of the great misfortune in the current time is this tendency towards utter self-absorption.

And when I say self-absorption I'm not talking about the actual self,

I'm talking about the false concepts or ideas of the self and how that leads to terrible state of unhappiness.

It's so unhealthy and incredibly unhappy and that is why I quoted that statistic on the first talk in the series that there has been a 70% or 75% increase in depression and unhappiness over the last 25 years.

That's phenomenal,

That's phenomenal.

And that's in spite of having a greater opportunity for sensual stimulation and enjoyment than at any time in history.

And this is the product,

This is the result.

It is because we have wandered far from our true identity who we truly are as spiritual beings.

One of the most incredible examples of someone that actually really sparked people's imagination and brought them back to their potential roots or at least some stirring of that,

A fantastic example was Mother Teresa who lived in Calcutta.

And starting with absolutely nothing,

She tended the least fortunate in society,

Cleaning wounds,

Changing the bandages of lepers,

Begging for money to prepare some food to feed these less fortunate individuals.

And all the while manifesting an amazing joy.

There was this tremendous joy emanating from her that really touched and affected so many people.

And the wonderful thing about her was that she had no expectation that people would convert to her religion.

She did not even seek their conversion or advise it.

She felt compelled that it was a calling from the Lord of her heart to minister to those who are in great need.

And the resulting experience that she had was a really deep and abiding joy and happiness that came from doing something for others.

Now this mentality is the exact opposite to what the selfie generation is all about.

If you are heading east and the sun is going down in the west,

You cannot see the sun.

You cannot feel its warmth on your face.

When you are heading east,

You are heading away from this light that is setting in the west.

And if you turn and you look at this beautiful sunset and you begin walking towards it,

That is,

This is 180 degrees of difference.

When we are leading a life of self-absorption,

Whether it's the desire to grab,

To enjoy,

To exploit,

To take care of my happiness,

When I am in that state of self-centeredness,

I become utterly separated from my true and eternal spiritual nature.

When I turn towards that source of light and the beauty of the sunset,

I mean,

We can switch directions and do a sunrise,

No big deal.

It's the principle,

The idea.

When I'm heading towards the light,

Everything changes.

A life of self-centeredness,

You are moving away from all that is good,

From all possible genuine happiness.

You are heading towards darkness.

This darkness manifests in the form of ignorance,

So many false ideas that we embrace as being true.

You know,

I encourage you all,

Many of you may be already doing this,

And I know you won't take offense at me encouraging you more to actually engage in acts of kindness.

You know,

When you see a homeless person on the street,

Just because they may be struggling with addiction,

They may be deep in depression,

They may be an alcoholic,

A drug addict,

This should not mean that you should not show kindness.

In fact,

This person is incredibly deserving of kindness.

If you want to contribute some money or buy some food or something to share with them,

Don't just do it in a begrudging fashion.

Stop for a moment and speak to them,

Not at them,

Speak to them.

For a person sitting on the street,

Utterly separated from this ocean of humanity that's moving about,

They are utterly,

They feel utterly alone,

And for someone to stop and show them kindness and ask,

How are you?

How are you?

And to engage with them even briefly can so deeply affect that person,

To give them words of encouragement and kindness.

I know there are many people that have been completely at rock bottom,

And somebody has showed them some kindness and spoken some words of encouragement to them,

And turned their life around.

Every time we encounter anyone in any form of need,

We should learn how to reach out.

You know,

You may not be very confident,

You may not feel like you have so much to offer,

But I tell you the act of engaging with someone who is in a very desperate situation,

And this can,

It's got nothing to do with just people that live on the street,

This could be a neighbour,

It could be a teacher,

It could be someone we don't even know,

Who externally looks so professional and together and like their life is totally on,

You know,

It's moving along this trajectory that seems to be towards success.

But they may be contemplating suicide.

Reaching out to someone,

Making some effort to actually help others will awaken within your heart an experience of happiness that actually cannot be compared or equated with any material experience.

And the reason,

The reason that we feel that way is because at that moment,

We have reconnected with our true spiritual being.

It is the nature of the soul itself to love,

And to manifest that through kindness,

Through the offering,

The serving of the heart,

Heartfelt service.

And going anywhere near that territory can reconnect you with something that you may not even have felt in your life before,

And awaken something very,

Very wonderful.

If we want to experience happiness,

One of the things we must do is change,

Completely change direction from a self-centred existence,

Where it's about me and what I want and what I feel I need.

And that I is a corrupt I.

We have been corrupted by material ideas,

Material consciousness.

The true I,

The spiritual being,

Doesn't behave in that manner.

That behaviour is corrupt behaviour.

When we purposefully,

Even though I may not be motivated by deep spiritual understanding,

When I turn my direction,

I change the direction in which I am looking,

When I begin to show kindness to others,

You will have a wonderful experience.

Anyone that wants to follow a spiritual path,

You must go there.

You must engage in this.

You must participate.

When you start going down this route and you actually start engaging with those who are less fortunate,

It will awaken you to the actual direct perception that we are all equal.

We are all eternal spiritual beings having a huge variety of material,

Temporary material experiences.

It will lead you to being able to embrace any and every living being.

And what manifests is the experience of empathy.

The feeling of empathy where you identify with,

You can understand how others are feeling and you feel sad in their sadness.

You feel pain in their suffering.

When that has awakened,

Even in the smallest degree,

You cannot inflict cruelty and pain upon others.

It becomes impossible.

A place where we can and should start is in our own home.

Within our life,

We may have a partner in life,

We may have children,

We have parents,

We may have brothers or sisters,

Cousins,

Nephews and nieces,

Grandparents.

At least start there.

You know,

We can try to have all kinds of high ideals.

But if I act in a selfish manner,

A self-centered manner with those that are closest to me in terms of relationship,

Material relationship,

I am very far from any spiritual understanding whatsoever.

The spiritual awakening means my ability to see all,

Even those who would hold themself to be my enemy as being equal to all others.

In the Bhagavad Gita,

There is a verse that says a person is considered still further spiritually advanced when he regards honest well-wishers,

Affectionate benefactors,

The neutral,

The mediators,

The envious,

Friends and enemies,

The pious and the sinners,

All with an equal mind.

Then in another verse it states he is a perfect yogi who by comparison to his own self sees the true equality of all beings in both their happiness and their distress,

O Arjuna.

So I'll close out with reading three verses that were spoken by the great transcendentalist who appeared in eastern India about 537 years ago.

His name was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

And he spoke about this necessity.

If you want to be happy,

You must walk on the spiritual path.

And walking on the spiritual path means doing good to yourself.

That good is not the idea of pampering through sensual activity and material stimulation of the body and senses.

True good to myself means that I engage in my own spiritual welfare.

He states that one who has taken his birth as a human being should make his life successful.

And of course this is how you make your life successful,

By taking this spiritual journey,

Awakening your true spiritual identity.

One should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.

It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life,

His wealth,

His intelligence and his words.

By this work,

Thoughts and words,

An intelligent person must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.

So that is the aspiration that we should have.

That is the vision that we should have.

And embracing this is the only way to experience true happiness.

In closing I was just going to chant a wonderful mantra from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

And this mantra states,

O Lord,

Lead me from illusion into the eternal reality,

From darkness into the light,

From death to the nectar of immortality.

Let there be peace of spiritual enlightenment.

Om Asatoma Sadgamaya,

Kamasoma Jyotirgamaya,

Mrityo Amrityamgamaya,

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Thank you very much.

In order to reflect on the events of two days ago and feeling tremendous sadness for all involved including the perpetrator,

How this person is steeped in and will suffer for so long because of what he did in the deepest of ignorance,

I have invited Kunti to sing with us in the nice melody to Hallelujah,

Mi Mantra Gopala Govindarama Madana Mohana.

Oh,

Sorry.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Sorry.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Glad somebody's thinking right here.

So reflect on what we have discussed,

Reflect on what's happened in the last couple of days,

And use this opportunity to make an appeal,

An appeal for light over darkness,

For truth over untruth,

For eternality over that which is temporary and destined for death.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Mohana Mohana.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Madana Mohana Murari.

Adi Mohana Murari.

Thank you very much.

Adi Mohana Murari.