The 4 qualifications for limitless happiness
If you go to a bus stop and ask each person “where are you going”, what will they say? You will likely hear many things such as – I am going to the….movies, a restaurant, meeting family, Yoga, Sanskrit class, temple, work, etc. These are outwardly all different activities, yes. But inwardly what are all these people seeking via these external pursuits? Only 1 and the same thing – inner happiness/ peace/fullness (Sukha). So actually, we are all seeking exactly the same thing!
But is it only happiness? For example, say you are going to the Doctor. Do you go to the Doctor because you are happy? No. In fact, it’s the opposite – you go because you are unhappy, in pain. So you go to the doctor to REMOVE your pain (Duhkha). Therefore, it is reasonable to make the following generalisation – All beings are engaged in activities for only 2 reasons:
1) Gaining Happiness (Sukha Prapti)
2) Removing Unhappiness (Duhkha Nivrtti)
Putting (1) + (2) together in other words: “All beings seek unhappiness-free-happiness” = All beings want happiness without it mixed with pain/struggle.
Problem is, in the world, there seems to be ‘no gain without pain’. No free lunch. Meaning that any happiness we gain does also inherently involve some pain or struggle in the process. For example, you get your job promotion. You feel happy! However, it took you 2 years of late nights, struggle, and putting up with your boss’ demands to get there. So clearly this happiness is NOT ‘unhappiness-free-happiness’. Point is: what we all want ideally is this ‘pure’ and pain-free-happiness (Kevala Sukha), even if it seems difficult or impossible to practically achieve.
Fine, we accept all beings ideally want kevala sukha. But is that all? How long do you want this kevala sukha? “I’d like to be happy Mondays to Fridays, 7am-8am please”. No! Of course no-one would say this – all of us want to be happy ALL THE TIME, permanently (nitya) if we could. Therefore I not only want pure happiness, but PERMENANT-pure-happiness (nitya-kevala-sukha).
Great. But is that all I want? Well lets imagine….you got your promotion with no effort (kevala sukha), and it’s a guaranteed job for life (nitya sukha). Wonderful! But after a few weeks you start to think… ‘my new job as a manager is really good, but it would be even better if I got promoted to SENIOR manager.’ Then you get that promotion to senior manager after a while. You feel happy again. But then you think ‘my new senior manager’s role is good, but it would be even better if I got promoted to Director level’. Then you become a Director. Next you think, wow…I’m a director….but actually, the Managing Director’s role would bring me even more happiness than this. (you get the idea!). Point of this example is: The LEVEL of happiness you gain, even if it is nitya-kevala-sukha, can ALWAYS be improved. Everything in this world is improvable. This constant striving for improvement will end when? Never – it is endless. In other words, it is LIMITLESS/infinite. This is a very interesting point – it proves that all of us naturally strive to achieve limitless happiness (Niratishaya-Sukha). It is perfectly normal and natural (which reveals something about our true nature too).
To conclude the above few paragraphs, we can now say: all beings strive for happiness (Sukha) which is limitless in terms of: (1) Quality (kevala); (2) Quantity (niratishaya); (3) Duration (nitya).
Right, so my next question to you: Is this an achievable desire? We may WANT 1,2,3 but it’s never going to happen because nothing in this world is limitless in terms of 1,2,3. Everything in this world (jagat) comes to an end, right? Well almost true….everything apart from 1 thing. What’s that 1 thing? Tattva bodha (3.2) answers: ‘Brahman’ alone is the only thing in the entire universe which is permanent and limitless (nitya-vastu-ekam brahma. Tad vyatiriktam sarvam anityam).
Oh really….Brahman? What is that? Upanishad answers: “tat tvam asi” = YOU are that Brahman! So Upanishad claims I am this infinite, permanent, happiness that is Brahman! This is a huge claim. Problem is I don’t see it. I don’t feel it. I don’t even understand what that means ! Exactly….this proves we are IGNORANT of who we really are (Brahman). Just like the 10th man story, or the guy who forgot his glasses were on his head and was looking for them everywhere. The guy is seeking something he already has, BECAUSE he doesn’t KNOW he already has what he seeks. Until his friends tells him: “you already have what you seek, the glasses are already with you”. So if ‘not-knowing’ is the problem, then what’s the solution? Knowledge obviously! (Knowledge here = “I already have what I seek”). Knowledge in the forms of words. So when this teaching says ‘You are Brahman’, and we do not understand it…Self-Ignorance is clearly the problem. Therefore Self-Knowledge (Atma-Jnana) is the only solution. This is a VERY important point. We will see this again and again throughout the Shastra. Self-Knowledge alone is the solution to this problem.
So where do I get this Self-Knowledge? Shastra answers: From the Vedanta teaching, taught by a qualified teacher, taught to a QUALIFIED student (i.e. you are the student). Just like a 3 year old child cannot understand degree level maths as he is not qualified, he is not mentally matured enough, he doesn’t even know basic addition. So qualifications are required for any knowledge, even Self-Knowledge. It’s obvious. So what ‘qualifications’ (adhikaritvam) do you require to gain this Self-Knowledge? Tattva Bodha begins its teaching by (2.1) listing ‘4 qualifications of a student of Self-Knowledge’: (1) Discrimination; (2) Dispassion; (3) 6-fold wealth; (4) Desire for Moksha. We will see more of these 4 next class.
