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Rays of Dharma
time to time. One may like a particular object or situation and another may resent the same. Till yesterday one was feeling pleased with a friend; now he avoids him because of some difference of opinion or misunderstanding. The objects and persons have not changed here, only the perception has changed. True happiness actually lies within the soul, but it can be experienced after gaining enlightenment. That can be gained by acquiring the right perception.
It is therefore worth examining our concept of happiness or unhappiness. If one is in a good mood, he may be pleased to see the beauty of a rose; otherwise he would feel sad on seeing the same flower. When one is not in a good mood, his mind remains perturbed. As such, he remains far from being peaceful. It needs to be borne in mind that during our life we are going to come across happiness as well as unhappiness, comforts as well as discomforts. It is not possible to come across a person, who is imbibed with only happiness or unhappiness. With excessive happiness, one may get swollen-headed, and with excessive unhappiness, he may get depressed. We have to accept both gracefully and maintain peace of mind and equanimity.
Bearing of unhappiness can become helpful in reducing the bitterness of life and rendering it sweet. Count Leo Tolstoy has therefore said that unhappiness is comparable to the summer heat that ripens the mangoes and fills them with sweet juice. It is thus helpful to undergo unhappiness, in order to experience the pleasure of happiness. It is necessary to get a bitter taste in order to experience the pleasure of sweetness. Both of them nourish life; one need not get sick of either of them.
As winter follows summer, so does discomfort follow comfort. That is the law of Nature. It is said that one remembers a jeweller in times of happiness and the Lord in times of distress. It means that when one comes across the adversities or draws close to the end of life, he remembers the Lord. Adversities thus become helpful in remembering Him.
Neither happiness nor unhappiness stays forever. They are like
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