We seek happiness in attachments and possessions. Yet attachments and possessions bring us the opposite of happiness – frustration, worries, anxiety and suffering.
Where then is happiness to be found? In these two passages, Sri Chinmoy offers us two illumining answers to this question:
“Detachment is true wisdom. Detachment is our divine Divinity. Nobody can be as happy as a man who has detachment. We are under the impression that a man can be happy only when he is attached to something or to someone, but this is a great mistake. When we are attached to something or someone, we actually become a prey to them. We actually become a victim of that person or that thing. So in this world, if we want to have true joy, true peace and true divine qualities, then we must be totally detached. This detachment does not mean that we shall not work for the world; no, we shall have to work for the world, in the world, but should not allow ourselves to be caught by anything.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Happiness can never be found in possession, either of earthly qualities and capacities or of heavenly qualities and capacities. Not in possession, not in dominion, but in cheerful union with the higher realities can we have happiness. Earthly qualities are all negative and destructive. Fear, doubt, anxiety, jealousy, insecurity — these are earthly qualities. But heavenly qualities are all positive and constructive. Peace, light, bliss, love of God, love of truth, self-giving, sacrifice, the feeling of constant oneness with the rest of the world — these are heavenly qualities. If we can identify ourselves with these heavenly qualities, then only will happiness be ours. Happiness will claim us as its very own then, and only then. There is no other way.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“How to achieve happiness?
Not by giving, not by talking,
But by being.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Those who run after happiness
Will never be happy.
Happiness is something
That has to come to the fore
From within.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Happiness does not and cannot come from outer phenomena, achievements, possessions or experiences. Its source is within, in stillness and silence. Once we find inner stillness and silence, happiness is automatically there. Our inner happiness is then reflected around us, in what we see, what we feel and what we receive from other people and circumstances, so our happiness may appear to be coming from outside. It is like shining a torch light – when our torch light is switched on, we see everything clearly around us for what it is; when our torch light is switched off, we do not see the things around us, we see only darkness. When our inner happiness-torch light is on, we see and feel happiness everywhere and in everything – otherwise, we can never see or feel happiness anywhere; we remain in unhappiness-darkness.
We often view happiness as a prize or a gift. We tend to assume that happiness is something to be pursued; that we acquire or receive or earn happiness as a reward for our actions or as a result of something we do.
Yet – happiness is not something we do; it is not a verb. Nor is it something we know, or own, or have. Happiness is not a state of doing, or even becoming: happiness is a state of being. Happiness is who we truly are.
Happiness is not achieved without; it is discovered within. It is not attained through activity; it is revealed in stillness. We cannot conquer happiness; we must allow happiness to claim us.
Sri Chinmoy spoke powerful words on the power of happiness:
“Your happiness you have to increase by all means, inner and outer. Anything that increases your happiness, you must do. Happiness also has its own degree. There is a little happiness, abundant happiness, infinite happiness. You know how happy you are today. Tomorrow, by virtue of your will-power, if you can increase your happiness, then you will see that there is nothing formidable standing against you. The day after tomorrow, again increase your happiness. When there is happiness, even if there is an obstacle, that obstacle does not remain as powerful as we thought. Happiness immediately unnerves or weakens the opposition party that is standing in our way.
“Always try to cultivate happiness. If you have happiness, then your mind’s frustration, your mind’s own way of thinking, will surrender. There is no other way to bend the head of the mind than to be happy, and this happiness is strength, strength, strength! Happiness is the strength of a lion, the power of an elephant. Nothing can stand against happiness, inner happiness. Again, you may say that there are many things that bother each individual every day on a regular basis. I say that is also true, but again, there are ways to avoid these things or escape from them or challenge them. Unhappiness has to be conquered by happiness. Unfortunately, the power of unhappiness on the outer plane is much stronger than happiness in the outer life. But again, the inner happiness is infinitely stronger than the outer unhappiness. If you have peace of mind, if you have happiness in your heart-consciousness, in your psychic consciousness or your soul-consciousness, then you will see that the outer unhappiness is no match for the inner happiness.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Just as a baby is inspired and then learns to walk by observing the adults around them, and as a novice tennis player will learn unconsciously by watching and copying the very best players, so just mixing with spiritually more advanced seekers, can help bring to the fore and develop our own latent inner qualities and capacities.
Sri Chinmoy spoke and wrote many times of the advantages of mixing with and being in the company of spiritual people:
“Each spiritual person, if he is sincere, is a tremendous inspiration to the rest of the world. So if you have fear or doubt, although there are many ways to remove them, you can easily look for another spiritual person. If that person does not have fear, just talk to him; if the person does not have doubt, talk to him. At that time you gain the strength that he has. A seeker, a sincere seeker, is more than ready to give you his strength and faith.
“Everything is divinely or undivinely contagious. Not only does the sadness or depression of others affect us, but their happiness also can easily enter into us. It is not only possible; it is inevitable. If you stay with a bad person, his badness is contagious. If you stay with a good person, his goodness is also contagious. Why do birds of a feather flock together? Because consciously they help each other.
“Sometimes, some of you come here feeling very unhappy. But after you mix with your spiritual brothers and sisters in your spiritual home, then you become happy. From the spiritual atmosphere here you get happiness. You didn’t have happiness, but some individuals had it. By mixing with them, you have caught their happiness, like a contagious disease.”
– Sri Chinmoy
When asked how a spiritual seeker might deal with the challenge of having to work with unspiritual people, Sri Chinmoy offered the following advice:
“It is very, very difficult to work with people who are not aspiring if you are not strong enough to inject inspiration and aspiration into these people. They are in the majority. One person will be a seeker, but there will be ten or twelve others around him who are wallowing in the pleasures of ignorance. If you want to be spiritual, you should try to mix and live with spiritual people. Otherwise, it is like having to face a few extra hurdles or obstacles on your path.
“Unfortunately, a spiritual seeker meets with obstacles every day. Even other seekers who are on the same path are not always in a perfect consciousness. They have insecurities, they have jealousies, they have fears and doubts. But at least they are consciously aware of their limitations, and they know that these shortcomings or weaknesses are things that they want to conquer and that they eventually will conquer. But if your colleagues are not even aware of their shortcomings, and they are not at all ready to perfect themselves, then it is very, very difficult for you to synthesise your outer life and your inner life. It is very difficult to have a bridge of harmony between your daily work and your inner life, between your social life and your spiritual life.
“My advice is to find a new job where you can be with people who are aspiring. They don’t have to be on the same path, but if they have a higher goal in life, then it is really better to be around them than to be around unaspiring people.”
– Sri Chinmoy
In this passage, Sri Chinmoy writes about mixing with spiritual seekers:
“It is always advisable for seekers to mix with other seekers, for then they will be inspired. If you stay with somebody who is not aspiring at all, that means you are constantly struggling. It is very difficult for a seeker — especially in the beginning — to maintain his highest consciousness. As soon as he goes someplace immediately he sees unaspiring people. Even if he does not talk to them, still they are spreading their vibration. If a saint comes here, immediately you will feel his vibration. And if a thief comes, immediately you will feel that vibration. But if you are a seeker and another seeker is with you, then immediately your strength increases tremendously. So it is always advisable for seekers to be in a community together or to meet together often.
“Here in the ordinary world we have to live amongst our friends. But we can easily choose our friends, and we must do so carefully. If we want to be spiritual, then we have to spend most of our time with spiritual people. If we spend most of our time with unaspiring people, then their consciousness will enter into us, and then our God-realisation and inner illumination will remain a far cry. But if we have proper guidance from within, if we know that we are walking along the right path, and if we mix with aspiring people, a day will come when we will be inundated with divinity. Then we will be in a position to reveal our inner wealth, and at that time we will be able to associate with all and sundry, to offer and share our experiences with them without endangering our own spiritual consciousness.”
– Sri Chinmoy
The quest for self-discovery is ultimately an individual journey. for each spiritual seeker can only his or her own self. Yet tremendous inspiration, joy and encouragement are gained from sharing one’s journey with fellow-travellers in whom one has faith and with whom one feels an affinity.
Sri Chinmoy writes:
“In the spiritual life when you want to discipline your life, you have to mix with spiritual people who have disciplined their lives. You are trying to discipline your life and they are also in the same boat. So when two persons are aiming at the same goal, it makes the task very easy. Early in the morning it is very difficult to run because of lethargy and inertia. But if you see that a friend of yours is running, you will go together. At that time, you will energise him and he will energise you. Your strength enters into his strength and his strength enters into your strength.
“Mix only with those who give you a kind of joy, a sense of satisfaction. In this way you can increase your power of discipline and self-control. And if you do not want to follow any spiritual path, then just mix with spiritual people who are your friends. They unconsciously will be able to energise you.
“For spiritual people, it is better to mix mainly with those who are spiritual. By mixing with spiritual people we will get inner strength. By mixing with unspiritual people we will never get inner strength. On the contrary, since unspiritual people are weak in their inner life, our association with them will also weaken us inwardly. So let us be wise and associate with those who have the kind of strength and inspiration which we want to have.”
– Sri Chinmoy
We are all affected by those around us. People with positive energy inspire and energise us, while people with negative energy drain our joy and optimism. If we aspire to learn or improve in any field, we will associate with those who have more of the knowledge, experience or expertise we seek. Good students apply to enter the best schools, footballers try out for the best teams.
It is the same when we are learning to meditate and exploring the spiritual life. As Sri Chinmoy writes:
“Suppose there are four or five good swimmers. If you want to become a good swimmer, then you will mix with the swimmers. If somebody knows how to swim better than you do, then you will mix with that particular swimmer in order to learn how to swim better. Similarly, if you want to accelerate your spiritual progress, you have to mix with those in whom you have some confidence, some trust that they will be able to guide you and accelerate your progress.
“If you see that a thief or some other culprit is sitting beside you, then automatically your consciousness will descend because of the vibrations coming from him. Negative, undivine forces will come and attack you. But if you mix with those people who are leading a spiritual life and are trying to realise God, they will undoubtedly strengthen your aspiration. If you have faith and trust in these people, their very presence will inspire you. If you sit beside a spiritual person, he will be thinking of God, meditating on God, on divine Love and divine Peace. And this Peace and Love will enter into you also. So the best thing is always to mix with spiritual people as much as you can.”
– Sri Chinmoy
In this one-page encyclopaedia of happiness from “Songs of the Soul”, Sri Chinmoy does not define traits of happiness, or instruct us how to be happy. Revealing happiness as one with the highest Truth, Sri Chinmoy offers a choice, which we read as a command, over and again: not to try, do or become anything – just … Be … happy.
“Be happy
You will grow into God’s greatest blessing, His highest pride.
“Be happy
Yesterday’s world wants you to enjoy its surrendered breath.
Today’s world wants you to enjoy its surrendering breath.
Tomorrow’s world wants you to enjoy its fulfilling breath.
“Be happy
Be happy in the morning with what you have.
Be happy in the evening with what you are.
“Be happy
Don’t complain. Who complains? The blind beggar in you.
When you complain, you dance in the mire of ignorance-condition.
When you don’t complain, all conditions of the world are at your feet, and God gives you a new name: aspiration.
Aspiration is the supreme wealth in the world of light and delight.
“Be happy
Do you want never to be poor? Then be happy. Do you want ever to be great? Then be happy.
“Be happy
You will get what you like most. You will be what you like best.
“Be happy
When you are happy, you and God command each other.
God commands you lovingly. You command God hastily.
When you are unhappy, the hostile forces command you ruthlessly, doubt commands you openly, bondage commands you triumphantly and fear commands you unconditionally.
“Be happy
God sees in you His aspiring Creation, His transforming Realisation, His illumining Revelation and His fulfilling Manifestation.
“Be happy
God sees in you another God. God sees you as another God. God sees you and He as One.”
– Sri Chinmoy
We do not have to create happiness. It is already there, inside us. We do not have to run after happiness. It is already here, within us, integral to our very being. In this delightful series of aphoristic poems, Sri Chinmoy shares several simple ways of unlocking our inner happiness and bringing it to the fore so we can bask in its radiance, beauty and effulgence:
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply offer a flower-heart of oneness.
Offer your heart’s oneness.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply let go of all your sadness.
Just let it go.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply watch the children playing in the park.
Watch them play.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply imagine you are in a fragrant rose garden.
Imagine the fragrance.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply watch the innocent child as she plays.
Just watch her playing.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply look at a dog frolicking with its master.
Look at them.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply imagine you are in front of a waterfall.
Aah. The waterfall.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply imagine that you are eating the most delicious fruit.
Imagine how delicious it is.
See. You are happy.
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply feel a glowing smile on your face.
Feel the glow of your smiling face.
See. You are happy.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“My meditation
Invokes God
The Universal Heart.”
– Sri Chinmoy
In meditation, we endeavour to silence our mind and enter into our spiritual heart. We know our spiritual heart is the home of all the divine qualities we treasure and seek within us: peace, love, light and bliss. When we enter fully into our spiritual heart, we realise this heart is not our unique possession – it is universal.
Sri Chinmoy explains:
“The spiritual heart embodies not only the individual consciousness but also the universal Consciousness. We have two hearts. One heart is a tiny muscle and the other is the possessor of the universal Consciousness. The spiritual heart is much larger than the universal Consciousness. This may be difficult for you to believe right now, but once you realise God, you will see that the universal Consciousness is perfectly housed in your spiritual heart.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“The tree of life reveals to us that there is only one heart, one universal heart.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Each soul
Is a leaf
Of God’s universal Heart-Tree.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“No scriptures
Can totally discover
God’s universal Heart.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Love is the open doorway between our prayer, meditation and the universal heart:
“Divine love
Means oneness
With the Universal Heart.”
– Sri Chinmoy
When asked, “Where did the universal heart originate?”, Sri Chinmoy answered:
“The universal Heart originated in God’s Silence. When God was absolute Silence, inside this Silence something was growing all the time. This was the universal Heart. The universal Heart came into existence before God’s sound-life came into existence. And where is the universal Heart? It is deep inside us, where reality constantly grows.”
– Sri Chinmoy
We are each shareholders of the universal heart:
“God tells me that
My happy heart
Increases the beauty
Of His universal Heart.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Now, how can we conquer these forms of temptation? We can conquer them only by surrendering — not to them, but to the divine Light, to the divine Will. How can we do this? We can do it by consciously trying during our meditation to feel that we are the instrument and somebody else is the player. And who is that somebody? It is the Inner Pilot. If we feel that we are the doer, the undivine forces will mock us. They will come and make us proud, haughty, undivine, impure and insecure. So we have to pray to the Supreme during our meditation: ‘O Lord, I am Your instrument. I am so grateful that You have accepted me as Your conscious instrument. Please use me in Your own Way.’
“Just because we have accepted the spiritual life, we are fully conscious of the fact that we are the instruments and God is the Player. If we can maintain that kind of feeling, there will be no temptation. As long as we want to be the doers, wrong forces will come to attack us and devour us. But if we become absolutely helpless and feel, ‘I am the instrument, O God. You play, You utilise me,’ then all the temptation will come and attack our Inner Pilot, God, and He will not be affected at all.
“When we become the lord, when we feel there is no other lord, then the temptation forces will come and attack us. But if we become clever and wise and say, ‘No, no, no, I am not the doer; I am the instrument. The doer is somebody else,’ then those forces will come and attack the Doer, the Omnipotent, the Supreme. And then we will be safe.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“There are various kinds of temptation. One kind of temptation is physical temptation to enter into the pleasure world, the vital world, sex life and all kinds of undivine activities. If we give in to this temptation, it is the death of our spiritual life. It takes years and years and years to come out of this life.
“Another temptation is aggressive vital temptation. This comes in the form of ego. Like Julius Caesar we want to say, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ We are tempted to have everybody come and touch our feet. We want to be powerful and strong so that we can lord it over others. We feel that will give us real satisfaction. When ego comes forward and tempts us, we feel that we are the supreme lord and everybody else is useless.
“In the mental world there is still another kind of temptation. We feel that we know everything, whereas the rest of the world is composed of fools. Everybody, everybody else, is an ignorant fool, and we are the only ones who know everything. In the mental world we are tempted to believe that we possess the sea of wisdom and everybody else possesses the sea of ignorance. We are tempted to believe that we are the only knowers, whereas the rest of the world is a mass of ignorance.
“There is one other form of temptation. This is the temptation to feel that we alone are purity’s flood, and that the rest of the world is all impurity. We are the only pure and divine persons around. This is a form of ego, but it is different from normal ego. It is very subtle and, at the same time, very damaging.”
– Sri Chinmoy
