Learn to carry all the conditions of happiness within yourself by meditating and attuning your consciousness to the ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Joy, which is God. Your happiness should never be subject to any outside influence. Whatever your environment is, don’t allow your inner peace to be touched by it.
When you have mastery of your feelings you abide in your true state. The true state of the Self, the soul, is bliss, wisdom, love, peace. It is to be so happy that no matter what you are doing you enjoy it. Isn’t that much better than to blunder through the world like a restless demon, unable to find satisfaction in anything? When centered in your true self, you do every task and enjoy all good things with the joy of God. Filled with His intoxicating bliss, you joyfully perform all actions.
In the spiritual life one becomes just like a little child- without resentment, without attachment, full of life and joy.
Real happiness can stand the challenge of all outer experiences. When you can bear the crucifixions of others’ wrongs against you and still return love and forgiveness; and when you can keep that divine inner peace intact despite all painful thrusts of outer circumstance, then you will know this happiness.
Be silent and calm (in meditation) every night for at least half an hour, preferably much longer, before you retire, and again in the morning before starting the day’s activity. This will produce an undaunted, unbreakable inner habit of happiness that will make you able to meet all the trying situations of the everyday battle of life. With that unchangeable happiness within, go about seeking to fulfill the demands of your daily needs.
If you keep the eyes of your concentration closed, you cannot see the sun of happiness burning within your bosom; but no matter how tightly you close the eyes of your attention, the fact nevertheless remains that the happiness rays are ever trying to pierce the closed doors of your mind. Open the windows of calmness and you will find a sudden burst of the bright sun of joy within your very Self.
The joyous rays of the soul may be perceived if you interiorise your attention. These perceptions may be had by training your mind to enjoy the beautiful scenery of thoughts in the invisible, intangible kingdom within you. Do not search for happiness only in beautiful clothes, clean houses, delicious dinners, soft cushions, and luxuries. These will imprison your happiness behind the bars of externality, of outwardness.
Don’t let your feelings rule you. How can you be happy if you are all the time fussing about your clothes or other possessions? Dress neatly in clean clothes and then forget about them; clean your house and forget it.
The more you depend upon conditions outside yourself for happiness, the less happiness you will experience.
If you think that you can live happily in forgetfulness of God, you are mistaken, because you will cry out in loneliness again and again until you realise that God is all in all- the only reality in the universe. You are made in His image. You can never find lasting happiness in anything because nothing is complete except God.
The unalloyed happiness I find in communion with the Lord no words can describe. Night and day I am in a state of joy. That joy if God. To know Him is to perform the funeral rites for all your sorrows. He does not require you to be stoic and morose. This is not the right concept of God, nor the way to please Him. Without being happy you will not even be able to find Him… The happier you are, the greater will be your attunement with Him. Those who know Him are always happy, because God is joy itself.
AFFIRMATIONS: Beginning with the early dawn, I will radiate my cheer to everyone I meet today. I will be the mental sunshine for all who cross my path this day. I form new habits of thinking by seeing the good everywhere, and by beholding all things as the perfect idea of God made manifest. I will make up my mind to be happy within myself right now, where I am today.
Extract from the book “Where There is Light” by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.
