JAGADGURU SHRI KRIPALUJI MAHARAJ'S DIVINE PHILOSOPHY BLOG.

Elimination of Sorrow

Maharaji Kripalu describes that some philosophies have interpreted the goal of the attainment of Bliss as complete annihilation of sorrows. Thus, Sankhya philosophy states, “Dukhatrayabhighatat…” Freedom from sorrows is the ultimate goal of the soul.” These sorrows can be categorized into three kinds:

1. Adhyatmic. Those afflictions of the body and mind that are caused by illnesses such as fever etc. Mental afflictions such as lust, anger, greed, and so on also fall into this category.
2. Adhibhautik. Afflictions caused by other living beings such as men, animals, or nonmoving entities, etc.
3. Adhidaivik. Miseries caused by higher or supernatural powers such as heat, cold, rain, etc.

Sankhya Darshan further says, “Kutrapi kopi sukhi…” There is no happiness in the world. If anyone seems to be happy, it is an illusion, because material happiness is temporary, limited and ever-changing.”

In this way, the elimination of sorrow is just another way to indicate the attainment of Bliss. Also, every soul has a natural love for Godly qualities such as truth, nonviolence, forgiveness, compassion and so on. You might say that they are just a handful of people, the Saints, who love these Divine qualities, but this view is naive. Even the most foolish person, after innumerable ages of effort, will not be able to eradicate his innate nature to love and appreciate these qualities and will not be able to love falsehood, theft, immorality etc. You can understand this by a simple example. If a thief says that stealing is good, then steal some precious possession of his and observe his reaction, to see if he objects to it or not. If he does object, why does he do so? If stealing is appreciated by him, why does he feel miserable on being robbed? Why does a liar feel displeasure on being lied to? If you give pain to someone who enjoys giving pain to others, why is he distressed? This proves that everyone loves Divine qualities, and the science behind this is that, since every soul is a part of God, he has a natural love for Godly qualities. Therefore, this proves that along with the goal of attaining ultimate Bliss, every soul also wishes to acquire Godly qualities. All of this is innate to every soul.

Now let us consider whether it is possible for a soul to desire neither happiness nor sorrow and therefore perform no actions. No, this is impossible. The Gita states, “Na hi kashcit…”

“No soul can remain inactive even for a moment. To perform activities with the aim of attaining happiness is the nature of the soul, which he cannot give up until he attains ultimate Divine Bliss.”

From this we can conclude that every soul desires only Bliss and is making effort every moment for its attainment. Now let us think how long this endeavor has been taking place. According to the Vedas, “Gyagyau dwavajavishani…” (Shve. 1/1/9)

“Every soul is unborn and beginningless.” “Mamaivansho…” (Gita)

According to the Gita, the soul is eternal. This means that you have existed ever since God has existed. If you are asked, “Since when did you exist?” The answer is, “Since God existed.” Again, if you are asked, “Since when have you and God existed?” The straightforward answer is, “Even before time existed.” This means that ‘time’ came into existence after us, and it cannot be used as a frame of reference to determine our beginning. That is to say, we are all eternal. There is another point, “Nasato vidhate…” (Gita)

According to this verse of the Gita, any existing entity cannot cease to be. In other words, if we exist today, we have always existed. Therefore the Gita states, “Na jayate…” (Gita) “Every soul is eternal, unborn and immortal.”

It is thus proved that since eternity we have been striving every moment to attain Bliss, and we will continue to do so. The astonishing fact is that, in spite of this continuous effort of infinite lifetimes, we have not as yet attained it. What is the reason behind this?
The reason is that we have not yet understood what that Bliss is, where it is to be found and how it could be attained. Now, let us understand the nature of Bliss.

According to the Vedas, “Yo vai…” Bliss is always infinite in nature. It can never be limited, because to attain Bliss means to be free forever from distress. Also, there should be no other happiness greater than that. Just as darkness can never overcome light, the one who has attained Bliss can never be overcome by sorrow.

Now let us see where such an infinite happiness can be found. This question is extremely imperative. Various scholars have debated on this issue since eternity. However, we will conclusively resolve it right now.