Ten Days Journey Into The Self

Author(s): Chitrabhanu
Publisher: Jain Meditation International Centre

Page 27

Chapter Eight - Meditation On Joy
Sons and daughters of Love and Light. Today we shall concentrate on joy. We are here to celebrate joy. I mean the true joy in being alive, the joy of the Essence, the Self, in which we are united within ourselves, and with the universe. When we are whole, life is holy. There is no ego in such joy. There is no fear in joy. There is no pride or greed in joy. Joy of the Essence is in being awake, aware. To live meaningfully, to be creative, to give all we have to give, is the way to joy. Joy is within, but we have to discover it, experience it through meditation.
We come to this world so that we can find our ultimate center, which is happiness, joy. But we keep hoping that joy will come to us from the outside, that someone or some circumstance will give us happiness. But really, friends, there is no need to wait. The happiness you wish for is already there, Waiting for you, but you must open the door so it can come out. We do not come here to acquire anything, but to experience. Polish the rough diamond of your soul and it will display the lucidity, the luminosity that are its true nature.
Mahavir said, "I came to show you the treasure of wisdom and joy hidden in you as the tree is hidden in the seed." However, this treasure of wisdom and joy has nothing to do with material possessions, or with intellectual knowledge. I know a father who provided his family with a palatial home in the suburbs with a beautiful garden looking out over the bay. Unfortunately, he was so busy he had no time to spend with his wife and son. The son who was a college graduate, had his own car and all the possessions, but he committed suicide in that garden. All our possessions are a wasteland without love.
We must distinguish between pleasure and happiness. Happiness consists of unity and harmony within ourselves, and with the universe. Pleasure is either self-gratification, such as drink, sexuality, drugs, day-dreams; or it is filled with ego, with craving for the center of the stage. Happiness stems from doing our work, and giving. A mother takes care of her child, feeding it, encouraging it, and is happy when the child is happy.
So, friends, observe carefully and differentiate between these two phenomena: the line of pleasure, and the line of happiness. -Pursuit of pleasure will not take you to the abundant life. Cultivating happiness can and will. There is never assurance of "happiness ever after", a phrase common in fiction. There are always hitches-things big and small, that go wrong, and we will not know joy unless we maintain our balance. Whether our expectations of someone or of ourselves are fulfilled or not, maintaining our balance will insure our happiness! Also on the forward path there always comes some suffering and pain. When you are scaling the mountain peak, you will get tired and hot. You may even fall back down a bit, which can be both painful and frightening. But finally you will reach the summit. You will see the whole universe spread out before you. At this point, there is a fullness of joy.