Who Wants To Be Happy

“And she has been found by me, for with respect to her appearance, her complexion, and her beauty she is just as I heard from Rama.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 31.15)

yathā rūpām yathā varṇām yathā lakṣmīm viniścitām ||
aśrauṣam rāghavasya aham sā iyam āsāditā mayā |

Download this episode (right click and save)

“If you want to be happy, you have to be God conscious.” The Vaishnava, the person who is always thinking of God, offers this instruction. Wherever they are, in whatever situation they find themselves, they can immediately call to mind the wonderful features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The form conjured up in the mind is identical with the original person. As His attributes are spiritual in nature, the Lord automatically becomes all-pervading. He can appear at any time and to any person. And just as His features give pleasure to the mind of the devotee, so too does the vision of those dear to Him, such as Sita Devi.

“You are following such and such sect. That may work for you, but it won’t for me.” This is the retort of the less intelligent, who understand not the true purpose to the human life. There is a mission, and it is the same for every individual. Just like the founders of a non-profit organization will craft a mission statement to let others know what they are about, about why they are different from a profit venture, the human being distinguishes itself from the other species through the mission of life. This mission is the same for other species as well, but they don’t have the cognitive power to understand.

In this human form of life, the time is ripe for understanding Brahman, which is spirit. You need this understanding to be happy. So in other words, the mission for the human being is to seek out the happiness that has thus far been elusive. The previous birth could have been in a human species as well. This means that the mission wasn’t met before. Never mind, though, as all the mistakes of the past get erased through the spiritual understanding.

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

There are different paths for fulfilling the mission. There is jnana, or knowledge acquisition. There is karma, or fruitive work. There is meditational yoga. Each has its strong points, and depending on the nature of the person one path may be ideal while another may not. There is also bhakti, or devotion. Bhakti stands apart because it is the stage of culmination. All others reach bhakti eventually. If you start with bhakti, however, you save a lot of time. You don’t need the qualifications of the other paths, and you don’t have to wait as long for your result.

And what is that result? What can the spiritual understanding do for us? It gives us a divine vision. From that vision we get energized to continue working in bliss. Think of it like getting a boost of energy from the morning bagel with cream cheese. Think of it like waking up refreshed from a long night’s slumber. The soul, the animating force within every living creature, is by nature blissful. It is for this reason that the human being seeks happiness. Eternal bliss only comes in devotion, or bhakti, and in the advanced stage there is never exhaustion. The enthusiasm to serve continues.

Case in point Shri Hanuman. He is always in bhakti-yoga, always linked to the supreme consciousness. He does not require rehabilitation. He does not need to have his mind made right. If we disagree with a particular political party, and if we are a person of influence, that party may send leaders to visit us to get us to change our mind. They will try every which way to convince us that we are wrong. Such are the ways of the material world that what we think is right isn’t always, and what so many others say to be true may not be so.

In spiritual life, the truth of the supremacy, kindness, and unmatched opulences of the Supreme Lord remains valid at all times. Denial of the fact means falling into the material ocean, the land of duality. Shri Hanuman knows God. He knows Him because he has met Him. Hanuman met Him in the Kishkindha forest. Immediately, Hanuman took up devotion. He accepted Rama as His guru, which is in fact the Lord’s position. He is the param-guru, the supreme teacher from whom all other spiritual teachers get their shakti, or potency.

The param-guru Rama told Hanuman about Sita, who is Rama’s wife. He told Hanuman what to look for when conducting the search for her, a search in which many other eager servants were also involved. In this verse from the Ramayana, Hanuman says that the woman in the Ashoka grove is the very Sita for whom he has been searching. Hanuman knows this because her beauty, complexion and overall appearance are just as Rama described.

In the same way, know that the benefits of devotional service are just as the Vaishnava describes. There is happiness in serving the Supreme Lord. It is true, despite what we may think at the outset. Hanuman worked very hard, and in the end he found Sita. He maintained faith in Rama’s words despite every obstacle thrown his way. The Vaishnava’s words are originally Rama’s, just presented in a specific way to suit the time and circumstance. So when the guru asks us to always chant the holy names, we can take it with confidence that the practice will benefit us. We will fulfill the mission of life through the sound of the holy mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Features of lady completion to spell,

Just as to him Shri Rama did tell.

 

Like words from Supreme Lord true,

To bring success also instruction of guru.

 

Though at first see the end we can’t,

Still advised for holy names to chant.

 

Like when Hanuman Rama’s wife seeing,

Devotee in bhakti always happy being.