What is Bliss?
I am I
Be like the pure white screen of the cinema hall!
Bliss is not worldly joy we usually experience through the senses. The sensory pleasures are ephemeral. Like the lightening in the sky, it vanishes in a moment. Then what is Bliss? Bliss is the quality of the Self. The scriptures talk about the Self as "Existence, knowledge and Bliss". In fact, no qualities can be attributed to the Self except pointing to it in an abstract way. Saibaba used to refer to the Self as "I". He used to say "I am I". Ordinary people can not grasp the esoteric meaning of this statement. For our understanding, we can say that the Self is in perennial Bliss! But the joys of the world vanishes in a moment. Joy and sorrow alternates in human life and it is inevitable. Hence it is said, that "Pleasure is the interval between two pains". This invariably indicates that pain is about to follow pleasure and hence none should remain complacent. We may indicate certain analogies for defining bliss. Every one sleeps after a day long work. There is a period of dreamless sleep or deep sleep. The peace that is experienced during deep sleep can be explained only after waking. We have seen people telling that they had a nice sleep.
Most of us might have enjoyed this deep sleep at least for some hours in the night. Though this experience is intercepted during waking or dreaming, yet every one enjoys this period of deep sleep without any dreams. First of all, the mind is absent during deep sleep. The mind will be active only during dreams and during waking state. Since thoughts constitute the mind, the absence of thoughts contribute to 'peace'. Hence the scriptures talk about the control of mind and cessation of thought process itself. With practice, we too can achieve this state. For that we have to practice the 'witness state' first. Yes, we have to witness the arising of each thought and simply observe it. When you do not react to the thoughts, they will subside on its own. Our cleverness should isolate us from the thoughts. Yes, observe the thoughts as though it arises to some one and not to you! We usually attach ourselves to the thought process thinking that they are meant for our welfare. If you start practicing witnessing them, the thoughts loose their momentum.
Here is a small example. A mother runs behind the child for feeding it morsels after morsel.. The child outrun its mother and go ahead of her. It does so with the confidence that the mother is following it. Once the mother stops and retrace her steps, the child become panicky and run behind her crying. This is how we have to treat the thoughts. Do not run behind the thoughts. Just observe them. Finding no response, the thoughts become weak and fade away. First realize that a thoughtless state is supreme peace. By watching the thoughts, they slow down and ultimately one day it will cease completely. But we have to remain as a witness forever. The real fact is that the Self is only a witness of the creation and cosmos. The self is not entangled in the creation. Only the individual egos are affected by the events around them. The ego is based on body; consciousness. Hence we should relinquish the ego by detaching ourselves from the body and the environment. We should remain "Free" in our consciousness without any concerns for the body or the world around us. Watch them as cinema show. The fact is that the Self acts as a pure white screen on which the cinema of life is projected. Let any type of cinema fall on the screen. It may be fire, flood and volcano but the screen remain absolutely unaffected. Remain like the pure white screen of the cinema hall amid the world of chaos watching them with unconcern and indifferent attitude. This is the way to remain in peace and Bliss by focusing only on the Self within.