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A PEEP BEHIND THE VEIL OF KARMA
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element of freedom in it. It is a state of gladness, or exultation, and indicates exhilaration of spirits. In religious terminology it signifies a state of being at once glorious and triumphant, as in the passage:
"Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross."
In order to have a perfect comprehension of the idea of joy, we must consider some actual instance in which it arises, so that we may be able to perceive and understand its proper significance.
A schoolboy who has appeared in his annual examination and is anxiously awaiting the result, hears of his success suddenly, and feels joy at the news. This is common knowledge, but the question is: what changes his previous state of anxiety into that of joy? In other words, whence arises the exhilaration of spirits in him? Reflection here shows that it is not the news itself, nor the news of the success, but the certainty of his success which is clearly the occasion for his joy. For if the news be not authentic, the proper feeling of exultation cannot be evoked, notwithstanding the highly agreeable nature of the information. Joy, then, is a state of the mind which has its root in mental conviction, in other words, in Faith. Pleasure, it will be seen at a glance, does not depend on faith at all, for it is not an emotion and does not spring from mental conviction.
Again, the boy feels joyous solely and simply because something lasting has been achieved, for he is assured that he shall not have to appear for that particular examination any more in the future. His
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bondage in so far, at least, as that particular task was concerned, is now over for ever. Joy, thus, is an emotion which is manifested in consequence of some lasting and permanent good, i.e., by the removal of some fetters from the soul. The idea of pleasure cannot here keep pace, in any sense, with that of joy; for while true joy is the sense of a permanent freedom from some irksome liability, or limitation, and, for that reason, an emotion, pleasure is only temporary, and conveys no idea of freedom in its unqualified import. Whether we apply this principle to the case of the merchant who accumulates a vast fortune, to that of the field-marshall who, laden with the booty and honours of the war, retraces his steps homewards, to the lover who hears the softly-whispered yes' from the lips of
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