-आनन्द (ānanda) Bliss - October 2015 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami

The Yoga and Samkhya texts are concerned about the enormity of Duhkha or pain from various sources and look for a permanent and dependable method for eradicating the pain. Dukha nivritti or pain removal is their main goal. The ultimate state of the yogi's mind is said to be a state of saamya where all the three gunas are in a state of equilibrium. Yoga itself is defined as Samadhana or absolute mental peace

The Vedanta philosophy while is also for the pain removal by the knowledge of the ultimate reality, brahman,  talks about ananada or happiness which we rarely see in the Samkhya-Yoga duo. Brahman the ultimate reality itself is said to be bliss, and the source of all happiness we feel occasionally through our lives. While it is duhkha nivritti for samkhya-yoga it is sukha and ananda prapti for the vedantin, the Brahmagnani. The one chapter in Taittiriya Upanishad is entirely devoted to this ananda or bliss is the Anandavalli. Many Yogahyasis are familiar with the five kosas or sheaths of the human system this upanishad portrays. Accordingly, the real Self the individual soul which is also the Brahman the ultimate reality is encased (or appears to  be) in five sheaths, of anna (matter), prana (life force), manas ( basically the indriyas), buddhi (intellect) and ananda (happiness).  Each sheath is depicted as having five parts, the head, the right wing, the left wing, the body/torso and the tail or support. The last of the innermost kosa or sheath is the ananda maya kosa or blissful kosa where we feel an agreeable feeling or sukha/ananda. If this is vitiated then obviously one feels unhappy. It is desirable to keep all the kosas satvic so that one tends to feel good all or most of the time. There is a gem of a mantra in Mahanarayana Upanishad where the prayer is for keeping all the subsystems in a satvic state.  

Anandavalli is an interesting discourse about shades of ananda and the source of ananda. Which is the source of happiness? 

Bliss  itself is considered at different levels. The head or siras of this sheath is priya or liking or what is dear to one. By the mere thought of the object, one's favorite food, football team or spouse gives an agreeable feeling-- the first or head part of this ananda maya or ananda body/self. This feeling is referred to as priya. When one gets to see or hear  the object (maybe a long distance call) then the 'feeling good' increases and is considered the right wing (figuratively) of the bliss sheath. It is referred to as Moda. Then when and if  one gets hold of the object, possess it, then the happiness increases and is considered the left wing of happiness or promoda. Then when one finally enjoys the object of one's liking then the happiness increases and is considered the torso of happiness and is called ananda or happiness. But which is the base or source of this happiness? The upanishad gently reminds that the different shades of happiness given by the object is not from the object but it only uncovers the ananda which is inherent in one, the core or the real self (pratyagatma) which is none other than the Brahman or ultimate reality. Brahman is the source, nay, is bliss itself. Because it is the innermost Self, encased by the five kosas, it should be known as the real Self, say the upanishads. It is pure consciousness, eternal and is Bliss (brahmananda). Sat-cit-ananda

But when a spiritual seeker first reads  from texts or hears from  teacher(sravana) like the upanishads or the Yoga Sutra about the Self, the first stage of liking comes and that is the head of this sheath known as siras and is called priya as mentioned earlier. When one starts contemplation (manana) and understands it thoroughly at the intellectual level then the happiness about understanding one's own Self increases and is referred to as the right wing or moda. Then when the yogi meditates ( nidhidhyasa or dhyana) on the atman based on his deep understanding and gets the yogic perception then we have the third level or the right wing of happiness called pramoda. Then his chitta completely transforms into the vritti of the Brahman itself and he experiences unalloyed bliss that is the torso of ananda and the upanishad states that it is ananda "ananda atma". Then finally  the mind loses its own identity and becomes the atman/brahman   itself which is the source of all bliss. Such an individual will never be afraid of anything  or anyone.

This ultimate bliss the upanishads say is immeasurable. To enthuse the seeker to go along this path the Upanishads take the seeker from the limited happines one is used  to, to the unlimited bliss of the brahman.  It starts by exploring the limit to human happiness. Take the case of a young fellow. He  has an absolutely righteous behaviour (sadhu) and also is a great vedic scholar (adhyayikah). He is one who does his duty correctly and unerringly (asishtah). He is also firm in his mind (dhradishtah) and physically strong (balaishtah). He also possess plenty of wealth (vittasya purnah) a la Yagnyavalkya. He further has plenty of landed property, like virtually a king. Let us consider the happiness experienced by such a person as one unit of human happiness; all other human beings may be considered to be much less happy than this individual. However much I may endevour my happiness can not exceed that unit of human happiness.

 

The Vedas especially the ritualistic parts refer to several higher worlds where the happiness could be many many times more than what a human being can experience. One hundred times more happy will be the 'human fairies' or maunushya-gandharvas. And equally happy will be the one human being who is not smitten by worldly pleasure (akamahatasya) and well versed in the vedas and the upanishads (shrotriya). One hundred times more happy are the celestial fairies (deva-gandharva).  And equally happy will be the one human being who is not smitten by worldly pleasure (akamahatasya) and well versed in the vedas and the upanishads (shrotriya).     

One hundred times more happy will be the individual who has attained the abode of the pitrs, or what the forefathers who have reached this world due to their righteous deeds (punya karma).   And equally happy will be the one human being who is not smitten by worldly passion(akamahatasya) and well versed in the vedas and the upanishads (shrotriya). 

Well, one hundred times more happy than those in pitrworld, are those who have attained the heaven or devaloka by doing punya karma like charity etc. They are known as ajanajana devas.   And equally happy will be the one human being who is not smitten by worldly pleasure (akamahatasya) and well versed in the vedas and the upanishads (shrotriya). 

One hundred times more happy are those in the next higher world, the world of karma devas or those who have faithfully followed the religious works enjoined by the vedas, the scriptures. Equally happy will be the human being who is not consumed by worldly passions and well versed in the vedas and the upanishads

100 times more happy are the devas created, the 33 devas said to have been created at the time of creation. Equally happy is the person who is able to stay clear of the temptations of the world and also well versed in the vedas and the upanishads. 

Indra is said to be the Lord of devas, also known as devendra. He is said to be 100 times more happy than the devas themselves. But equally blissful is the one that has eschewed all desires of the world but well versed in the vedas and the upanishads (shrotriya)

Bruhaspati is the teacher of Indra, the divine guru. He is said to be 100 times happier than Indra himself as he has more room for happines like intellectual happiness. Equally happy is the one who is untouched by worldly temptations and also well versed in the scriptures and the Upanishad. 

Prajapati is the Lord of creatures. He is said to be 100 times happier than the divine guru, bruhaspati. Equally happy is the one who has complete mastery over his senses and also well versed in the vedas and the upanishads.

One hundred times more happy is the one variously known as hiranyagarbha, Brahma, Sutratma, or the creator of the physical universe. Equally happy the upanishad says is the one who is absolutely above worldly interests and well versed in the vedas and the upanishads. 

And beyond all is the immeasurable bliss of the one who has realized and is one with the Brahman the source of all happiness and bliss,--- the one who is not afflicted by limited by worldly or other worldly pleasures. He is the one who is able to see that the one inside his heart and the one in the yonder sun are one and the same, brahman. He becomes bliss itself the nature of brahman-- his real self.

Bhrugu the son of Varuna having come to know about Brahman from the Upanishads approaches his father and Guru,Varuna and beseeches him to teach him what Brahman is. Varuna asks his son to find out himself except to say that Brahman is the source of everything created , sustained and finally merges into the source itself. At the end of  five successive essays Bhrugu realizes the Brahman his self is beyond the five kosas of matter (anna), life (prana), the senses (mana), the intellect ( buddhi) and limited happiness (ananda). 

He is ecstatic. He realizes that he is the  embodiment of bliss, consciousness unaffected by time or space

Satyam. jnanam anantam Brahma

Read Anandavalli and bhrugurvalli, chapters II and III of  taittiriya  upanishad for more. the happiness

 

The bliss of Brahmananda is immeasurable, more than a trillion times-immeasurable-- that a human being can get from all the materials of this world. There is another classification of Ananda. The happiness we normally experience is through sensations produced by worldly objects. The happiness is not produced by the objects but comes from within, the atman/brahman as a small part of it. This is vishayananda, or pleasure produced by objects of the world, tasty food, sex, seeing my football team winning the superbowl. Then when one reads about the Brahman that produces intellectual happines which is said to be much more than the ananda produced by vishaya or objects or vishaya-ananda. This is called vidya ananda. When the practitioner is able to train the mind so that it could remain focused on the knowledge produced by the previous vidyananda, the atman or self it is called yogananda or ananda produced by ekagrata/yoga or one pointedness. When this yoga is directed towards the direct perception of the self or atman the happiness or bliss produced is known as atmananda. And finally when the sadhaka is able to see that the individual self or pratyagatma and the ultimate reality Brahman are one and the same and there is no difference between these, then that resultant immeasurable bliss is called Brahmananda or advaitananda.