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SELF AWARENESS THROUGH MEDITATION
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The King ordered to bring the shirt of that man. The messengers reached and asked the 'happy man' to give his shirt for the King. He said that he had no shirt. The man was brought before the King. The man submitted to the King, “Your Highness, had I anything in my possession, I would not have been happy. The secret of my happiness is that I do not have anything, nor do I have any desire to have one." The King took the lesson and realized that his illness was due to desires and affluence and not due to lack of anything. The person without shirt was happy because he had nothing and cared for nothing. The King became healthy and took the task of removing want of the people. Similarly, we can become happy and blissful if we stop clamouring for things, people or fame and engage ourselves in the service of others. We are unhappy because we are in delusion and attached to people or things. Our craving and aversion is the cause of suffering.
The following stanza from the 'Uttaraadhyayana Sutra’ (Jain scripture) gives the reason of unhappiness and the way to attain freedom:
"When full enlightenment destroys ignorance and delusion leading to full elimination of cravings and aversion, person gets singular happiness and salvation."119
In this context following stanza from Bhagwad Geeta is also worth consideration:
"One who does not get elated by getting the desired thing nor unhappy or disturbed by getting the unwanted, such a person of tranquil mind is wise, knows the Supreme Self (the Brahma) and is established in it."120
If we want to become tranquil, stoic and happy, we should give up craving and aversion for things, people and our own name and fame. As we stop the craving and aversion, the store of happiness is automatically opened for us; one need not go in search of it. The search or desire itself is suffering. The store house of happiness is inbuilt in the elimination of desires and that happiness is eternal, infinite and without any hindrance.
One can give countless examples to explain that 'search' is suffering and happiness lies in getting rid of desires. Normally we believe that happiness lies in accumulation of wealth and inheritance of palaces, kingdom or wealth, and are a result of good deeds done in the past life. We undertake fast and worship gods to appease them and seek their blessings for fulfillment of
