Friday, September 23, 2011

What is the difference between worldly happiness and transcendental Bliss?

Question:  What is the difference between worldly happiness and transcendental Bliss?

Swami Ramsukhdasji:  Worldly happiness is with reference to worldly unhappiness / sorrow.  In other words, along with worldly happiness, there is also worldly sorrow.  But Bliss is neutral,  it is not mixed with any sorrow.  In worldly happiness there are changes (often changes for the worse, deterioration), but Bliss is changeless.  Worldly happiness is related to sense-objects and through contact with these, but bliss has no connection with any external contact or objects. In worldly happiness, there is exhaustion after,  but in bliss there is no such exhaustion, rather it is equanimity, stillness, continuous flow of nectar, and attributeless.  The point is, not having any of the following - deterioration, sorrow, changes, feeling of inadequacy, turmoil, frenzy, lack of balance, favoritism etc. is "bliss".

Bliss is of two kinds,  "Akhand" (Uninterrupted, Continuous) Bliss and "Anant"  (Infinite, eternal) Bliss.  The Bliss of Salvation is Uninterrupted, whereas the bliss of Divine Love is infinite.  The Continuous bliss is equal, still, single continuous flow of nectar, whereas in Infinite Bliss, there is every moment, ever increasing.  In other words, the bliss of Divine Love is far more extraordinary than the bliss of salvation.  In salvation, only the worldly sorrows are wiped out and the self remains as is.  But in divine love, the Self gravitates towards it's source (anshi) - Paramatma (Supreme Soul, Supreme Consciousness). 

If a spiritual aspirant has no insistence of any sort, then he automically eases into silent uninterrupted bliss and continuous and infinite nectar filled transcendence.

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