Personal Happiness

We're born into the world. The people around us teach us how to be. They teach us who we are. And they teach us what is important. We learn how to operate in the world and we learn how to live our lives according to the ideas that are given to us.

But when we look around, if we view the world dispassionately, we see that the people around us aren't really all that happy. They have things, they have relationships, they have careers, they may have lots of money and the best designer drugs. Having these things may bring a person a certain amount of satisfaction. There are two problems with finding happiness in these physical things.

First, the happiness that is derived from these things satiates. If you eat a slice of apple pie, you may enjoy the delicious pie and feel full afterward. But will you feel good if you have ten slices of apple pie? Buying your first home may make you feel very good. Will buying ten homes be ten times as good? The happiness that comes from the objects of this world does not increase as we increase their quantity.

Second, the happiness that is derived from these things is dependent upon their presence in your life. Once you have them you must do what is necessary to keep them or protect them. So if our happiness depends upon a relationship then we have to do what is necessary to keep the other person in our life. If we have a career we have to do what is necessary to ensure that it is not ruined. If we have money and possessions we may become very fearful that they will be lost or taken from us. And we even fear for the well-being of our bodies either from bad health or physical assault.

Desire - Aversion Operating System

The operating system that is given to us by this society is based on desires and aversions. We try to get the things that we desire and we try to avoid the things that we don't want. We are taught that this is where happiness comes from. We are taught that we will be happy if we have the perfect partner, the biggest house, the most beautiful car, the right job and lots of money. And then we find that the partner is not so perfect, the big house costs lots of money, the car gets dented, the job sucks all of our energy and the money really can't fix any of our problems.

This operating system will never make us happy for very long because it's dependent upon chance and the desires/aversions of others. Anything that you have in the physical world can be taken away. It's all transient. If you understand the fallibility of this system and you understand that there is another system which is really far superior, it's really not that hard to be happy.

The alternative is within each of us. There is an inner light that makes us happy. It does not satiate and it is not dependent upon external circumstance. The more of this light that you get, the happier you are. This light is found through meditation.

There are different dimensions in the universe. Happiness is in the physical and astral dimensions in a limited way. But it is in the causal dimensions, the planes of light, in an unlimited way. We can access these dimensions and the light in them through meditation. This will provide us with a better understanding of who we are. And we come to see that we are not the body, not the ego and not the desires or memories. We are a field of light. And that light has taken form in a body and experiences the play of life.

The Play of Life

Rama did not feel that life had a specific purpose. Life just is. The purpose is one that we choose. And so he recommended choosing real happiness. The happiness that comes from meditating deeply and coming into contact with the planes of light on a daily basis.

Each morning we touch the planes of light with our mind to restore ourselves. We replenish our store of inner happiness so that we are not dependent upon the limited happiness of the world. And then the experiences that we have during the day have less impact on us. The desires and aversions have less hold.

Rama also felt that human beings have a lot of problems with money. When people have problems with money they cut back, they feel limited. He didn't think that economizing was the answer. Money equals the ability to be mobile and secure in this world. Money is a tool that helps us to avoid being a victim. So he felt it was important to have plenty of money to afford then things that we need. The money doesn't cause problems, it's just a tool. The problems come from desires and aversions.

Meditation

Rama believed that the trick to being happy is to get beyond the body. Meditation is a direct and vivid encounter with immortality. Meditation is a visceral experience like swimming. It causes the blockages and self-destructive tendencies to pass. When we go into the planes of light the incorrect ideas that we have been taught are washed away. The light that we bring back gives us power to rise above circumstance. It gets us out of the trap of self.

The way we gain wisdom in meditation is not through words. It's a direct experience. Real wisdom is gained personally through meditation. It takes us beyond the desire-aversion operating system. If we bring earnestness to our meditation practice consistently we will gain experience with the planes of light and each day we will become happier.