All World
Gayatri Pariwar

How to Stay Happy?

instead of worrying about what others will say or think. It will be his great loss if he does not pursue his dream frightened of what others will think about it. Any worthy step that a person executes in a planned manner not only gives him / her happiness but also contentment. Positive thinking and diligent efforts are the keys to happiness. When we identify our core strengths and put in 100% effort, success is guaranteed in any field of work. However, it should be remembered that the path to success is not a bed of roses. There will be many challenges that will come our way.

Whoever has reached the pinnacle of success has gone through excruciating circumstances. That is why, whatever task we take up, must be done with complete dedication. Majority of us put in half-hearted efforts to do something and fall into depths of disappointment when we fail. In order to ensure that happiness stays for long, we must express our sincere gratitude to all those who have helped us in one way or the other. It is said that we can receive only two things from any incident or a person in our life – happiness or learning.

It is good to learn a lesson because it gives us a chance to start afresh. It is extremely important that we don't harbor any anger. It is best to resolve it with the concerned person. We should express clearly and always be ready to receive criticism and feedback. If we have any issues against someone, approach him/her in a proper manner and resolve them amicably.

Try not to let negativity and complaints breed for long. According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, "The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier....It's not just the number of friends you have, and it's not whether or not you're in a committed relationship. It's the quality of your close relationships that matters." Yugrishi Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya says – 'Expanding the horizons of love and affection is the only way for never-ending happiness. You cannot be happy by hoarding; you can multiply your happiness only by giving and sharing.'

Arjuna asks Lord Krishna — '0 Krishna! What are the signs of a person who has attained steadfast wisdom and has merged in the Supreme Spirit? How does he speak? How does he sit? How does he walk? (54/2) At this stage, Arjuna has realized that an irresolute person having many-branched and endless desires cannot achieve Samadhi, because the intellect of such a person leads him to attachment to materialistic pleasure and power. In fact, in order to liberate the masses from such a web of intellectualism, Param Pujya Gurudev presented thoughts relevant to our times so that the right kind of talent comes forward to lead the society.

Today there is too much of glitter; there are too many branches of education and science, but this represents only 'professional intelligence'. Unless this intellect takes the form of prafria, a person cannot attain Samadhi. Steadfast wisdom is very different form self-centered intellect. According to Param Pujya Gurudev, all the present problems of society have been created due to corrupt philosophy. He has given a single message that we should come out of this corrupt intellectualism and orient ourselves towards selfless activities; realize the value of sacrifice and also make the materialistic people realize its value. Gurudev often used to cite this Upanishadik saying — `tyagenaike amrtattva mans'utz' — it is the sacrifice that gives the elixir of life. How can a person indulged in endless materialistic pursuits understand the value of sacrifice or the joy of giving? Lord has explained this point in iloka 52/2 and is again saying the same thing but in a different way in the following iloka —

Who is Sthitaprajria (One of Steadfast Wisdom)? Prajahati yada kaftan sarvan partha manogatan I

Atmanyevat-mand twat, sthita-prapzastadocyate 1155/2 II 0 Arjuna! When one relinquishes all the desires arising in the mind, when one is satisfied in oneself with the Self, then one is said to be of steadfast wisdom (sthita-prapia). Lord Shri Krishna is saying again and again that by abandoning the desires and attachments alone can the eternal bond between the disciple and the Guru be established and that the door to achieving greatness be opened. Guru has been called Tha-varoga Vaidyaka'(the healer of the unending cycle of birth and death).

If we stop our deviation from the right path and our intellect gets merged with the Supreme Consciousness, then the light of the Self will go on increasing. As we progress on the path of sacrifice, our intellect too will go on establishing itself in the Supreme Consciousness — and we will go on becoming Sthitaprapia. It is said in Yoga Darshana — `tasya prafria rtambharaf That is, the intellect after getting established in the Supreme Consciousness is called rtambhard prapia. Arjuna is realizing that the Lord in the form of Guru has started the process of liberating him from the clutches of the false ego-self and opening the gate of unlimited possibilities of progress. That is why he is asking - after all what the symptoms of Sthitaprapia are. First thing, he never saw such a person; even if he had seen, he could not recognize him He is keen to know about the life of such a person

man has a natural curiosity to know about how a Prime Minister lives, what his daily routine is, etc. The youngsters are always keen to know about the actors / actresses they like. This is but natural. But how the councilor of God looks like? We should also have the curiosity to know about a person who has relinquished everything and achieved the ultimate bliss — the one who has established his thoughts and emotions in the Supreme Consciousness. If we want to know about Sthitaprajria from close quarters, then we should carefully study each and every aspect of the life of Pujya Gurudev. Param Pujya Gurudev lived the words he said or wrote. He realized that it is the person's thoughts that uplift him or become a cause for his downfall. Considering this as a central point, he inspired all his followers and disciples to practice the refinement of thoughts. If the intellect is oriented in the right direction and the thoughts are auspicious then it will be easier to understand how to achieve Yoga (union with Supreme Lord). As an accomplished teacher, he made us understand that all the techniques of yoga-sadhanas, tapa-sadhanas, dhyana-dharanas (meditation), etc are meant for refinement of thoughts.

On page 40 of August 1969 issue of Akhand Jyoti (Hindi) magazine, Pujya Gurudev writes — 'For a longtime we have forgotten that 'thought' is an important element and that it influences the human life significantly. The only reason for this oblivion is that we neither think, nor express nor read/listen about uplifting ourselves or the burning problems facing the humanity. Such a discussion appears to be as useless to us as the value of gems to a Adivasi Bheel woman. How can one take interest in the unknown I unheard subject? When no one told us about the value of superior thought - which is the supreme power

and an asset of human life, how could we know it? Therefore, we are totally unaware of the need for refinement of thoughts.' Tichar Kranti Abhiyan' (Thought Revolution) of Pujya Gurudev is revolving around the axis of teaching the art of developing righteous intellect, that is, the art of virtuous thinking. Along with this, if our attitude towards the objects of worldly pleasures is also refined, then the tendency of performing selfless action will be augmented. This, in turn, will liberate us from attachments; and then the highway of reaching the state of Sthitaprajria will be clearly visible. We have already read Lord's words in Roka 55/2 that only when a man completely casts off all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then he is said to be one of steadfast wisdom.

Arjuna is asking how to recognize or distinguish such a great man. Lord is saying — 'yo math vetti tattvatalY - that is, one who knows me by the consciousness force, knows my essence. In spite of knowing this, the query of Arjuna is worth analysis. We human beings see objects with our physical senses. Thus Arjuna is asking that with these senses how to recognize Sthitaprajtia? Any leader / volunteer can be distinguished from others by his external or physical appearance. Voice comes later. Pujya Gurudev too has emphasized the need for external disciplines for the social workers / volunteers of our Mission.

Lord Krishna's answer to Arjuna's query is really unique. He says — 'When the steadfast wisdom dawns, a person relinquishes all his desires. He is satisfied in the Self with the Self; and he remains in this state as long as he maintains this state of mind.' Vasudev Krishna started from this point and also ended at this point. In 71' gloka he says —

CPut your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success. The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

— Kent M. Keith to Share your bread with the needy; this is love-in-action to keep everyone happy. ) Vihaya kamanyah sarvan pumanikarati nilisprhaij 1 Nirmamo nirahankarah sa s'amithadhigacchati H That is - a person, who abandons all his desires and moves about without longing, without the sense of mine and without egoism, certainly attains peace (and is called a person of steadfast wisdom — Sthitaprajii a). This implies that there is only one pivot for attaining mental peace or balance in life - Vihaya lamanyalj - total abandonment of all desires. This is the sign of a true disciple and a balanced personality that he doesn't have any desires and hence he is always at peace. Another point is that such a person doesn't have any affection or attachment with anyone and he is also egoless. In fact, only such a person can become Sthitaprajna. Desire and devotion or desire and love cannot co-exist. The desire vacillates the intellect. Desire binds and devotion liberates. Where there are desires, the intellect will waver; and with unstable intellect, how can a person get established in Super Consciousness. Only a person of steadfast wisdom can become a devotee. When this happens, a person's mind loses interest

in the worldly matters; he gets established in the center of this creation. It appears to him — 'I am the center of all the activities, I am away from the intellect, the insidiousness of the world cannot deceive me.' Petty things like 'why didn't I get name and fame, why I was not praised, why I was blamed, etc?' do not bother him. A small child after losing his toy starts weeping, but when he grows older the toys are insignificant for him. In the same way, an unstable person, on not getting his desires fulfilled starts fretting, gets agonized and becomes mentally upset; whereas a mature person remains steady.

The nephew of Thakur Ramakrishna Paramhansa died. When this news arrived, his reaction was — 'It appears that the cover of the pillow has been removed.' A Sthitaprafria like Thakur blew up such a sad news by a simple comment. This state of steadfast wisdom is achieved when one liberates oneself from the materialistic desires and gets established in the Self [To be continued]