Wednesday, Dec 25 2024  

HAPPINESS - 15 MARCH 2004

My Humble Pranams at the Lotus Feet of our Divine Mother Sai. Sai Ram Uncles, Aunties, Brothers and Sisters.

Many times in our life, we question ourselves, "Where is happiness?", "Why am I not happy?", "Why is there suffering?", "Why does happiness not stay with us permanently?"

Swami gives us a simple example to illustrate this point. An old lady was searching for a needle under a street lamp. A young man came along and asked, "Grandma, what are you doing?". She replied, "I lost my needle and I am searching for it here in the light". The boy then asked her, "Where did you loose your needle?". For that, the Grandmother replied, "I lost it in the house but in my house there is no light, therefore I am searching for it here."

Similarly, we have to understand that the world and objects around us are just passing clouds. We should not delude ourselves into believing that happiness can be found in worldly objects. We must realize that happiness is within us. We should not therefore search for happiness in other objects. Instead, we must search for happiness within ourselves.

Swami says, "Man is very intelligent. If I keep happiness in the sea, man is so great he will take a submarine and go deep under the water for it. If I keep happiness on a mountain, man will climb Mt. Everest also and get it. If I keep happiness in the corner of the world, man will go take pictures with a satellite and get it there. My man, whom I created is trying to outsmart me". God has not kept happiness on the mountain top or in the sea. God has placed that diamond of happiness, that gold mine of bliss within us. So let us all search for happiness within ourselves and not in material or wordly objects.

So now we know where happiness is. So then, why is this happiness not permanent? Professor Anil Kumar explains to us. " Why are we happy sometimes and unhappy at other times? How to be free from these two? Remember you cannot always be happy or unhappy. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. Unless there is darkness in the night, the value of light in the day is gone. Unless there is heat in summer, the value of cold in winter is not realized. Unless there is pain, pleasure is not noticed. So pain is also God's creation to make us enjoy pleasure better."

So what do we do when there is pain and suffering? Why fear when Swami is here right? Swami says, "Give me all your problems, I shall take them upon Myself and give you Bliss". So Brothers and Sisters, let us surrender our sufferings to Swami. Let us look for happiness within ourselves and be happy.

Jai Sai Ram

Sis Poorani
SSEHV Group 4