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Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
right knowledge, accompanied by right conduct, that is, exertion in the right direction for the destruction of the karmic bonds is the sure way which leads to the attainment of the goal of supreme bliss.
Joy, or happiness, has the element of freedom in it. It is a state of gladness or exultation, and indicates exhilaration of spirits. Joy is a state of exhilaration which is manifested in consequence of some lasting and permanent good, i.e., by removal of some fetters of bondage. The idea of pleasure cannot keep pace, in any sense, with that of joy. While true joy is the sense of permanent freedom from some irksome liability or limitation, pleasure is only temporary, and conveys no idea of freedom. The emotion of joy springs up in consequence to the belief that never again the same thing be striven for. The sense of freedom from future straining and striving is the direct and immediate cause of joy. Feeling of delight and joy signifies mental ease, i.e., freedom from care, hence the state of buoyancy and light-heartedness, which is a necessary concomitant of release from anxiety.
It can easily be seen that pleasure and pain are both in the nature of affection or modification of the soul, since nothing corresponding to these has ever been known to exist in the external world, and also since nothing but own states or affections can be felt by an individual. Indian classical music can be a source of much delight to a connoisseur, and the same music may be repulsive for a glitzy high-flyer. Also, the extent of grief that a five-year old girl would experience at the loss of her favourite doll can be far greater than that experienced by a rich, fifty-year old man at the loss of his car. It is clear, therefore, that pleasure and pain both are emotions and depend on our internal state rather than on any outside object. An agreeable disposition of the soul-substance occasions a feeling of pleasure while an opposite kind of sensation arises from a disagreeable affection. Pleasure is essentially fleeting, transient, full of trouble in its procurement, and liable to give birth to
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