nn 1,2

1.4.8 spir. in practice

Today, I will speak on the topic of internal happiness. Many people feel that happiness is acquired through the acquisition of objects of desire. They feel that if they had this possession or that possession, if they were in a position of power or influence where others would admire them, if they had a wonderful relationship or some children, or if they had wealth or some special capability, then they would be happy. So they strive lifelong to achieve these types of goals.

To do one's best in life, to exert one's all to do the very best one can, is a noble effort. But these desires, these goals which people feel must be satisfied in order to achieve happiness, become like a chain around the neck. Be it a chain of gold or a chain or iron, it is still a chain. If the person feels, "I must have this or that," be it wealth, power, relationship, home, family-whatever the object of desire needed to achieve happiness-that object becomes not only the source of one's happiness but also the source of ones' pain. There will be times when all of these desires will be met and the person will find happiness, but at other times there will be bitter failure and the person will find suffering. So within the very process of seeking happiness in material objects lies the seeds of suffering, for all of the objects, even the people and relationships, are temporal. Their existence is dependant upon the passage of time. They are impermanent and so, ultimately, they bring suffering.

There is only one way to achieve lasting and permanent happiness: to look very deeply into all that one desires, perceiving the essence which lies within all objects of desire, and then to focus one's passion, one's heart and soul upon the essence, rather than upon the objects which embody the essence. Thus when the heart is properly placed, the love for this Divine essence, which is quiescent within all beings as well as in all objects, will become the proper object of one's desire. One will love another, but in the sweetness of the other, one will see the Divine Being. In the charm of the other, one will know the charm of the Divine Being, and the object of attachment will become the Divinity which lies in all living beings. One will begin to think, "I love my children with all my heart; I love my mother, my father, my husband, my wife; I love the work that I do in the world. But what do I love? I love the Divine Being in all of the sweet forms that it has taken around me. So I do not lessen my love, I do not lessen my affection. No, no, no. My love and affection will grow broader and greater. With clear eyes, I see to what my affection is actually given. I see that in the child whom I love, there is Lord, come in the form of child. I see in the work that I love, Lord has blessed me with good work to do for Him. I see in the simple enjoyments of life that I so value, Lord has given me pleasurable activities to fill my worldly life. In all these things, it is Lord with whom I am always associated. They are simply the manifestation of the Divine Entity."

A person who has acquired this inner perception of divinity in all around them, who will see the will and guidance of the Divine Entity in all of the circumstances of life and who will form attachment, not to objects, which come and go, but with the divinity which is expressing so delightfully,in this form or that, is a person who will begin to break the fetters which bind the human being in the perpetual throws of alternating pleasure and pain. Such a person will find happiness which is beyond duality. They will find happiness which does not have a beginning or an end, for they have attached their desires-and thus their well-being, their welfare, their security, their life force-to that which is lasting, to that which is eternal,to that which is not bound by time and thus will not fade with the passage of time. For such a person, the fetters, the chains begin to break, and a freedom comes, a freedom from the tide of attachment which causes suffering.

When we say a person is freed from all attachments, does it mean they love nothing? Does is mean that they desire nothing? It means that their desires are fulfilled. It means their love is so resplendent that it is self resplendent. It requires no object for fulfillment. All of the people of the world, all of the creatures of the land, all of the beings are the manifestations of the Divine Entity coming and going, going and coming, but ever united with someone whose eyes are open. There is no blindness in such a person. There is no outside and inside, so there is no loss because there is nothing to lose. That which you love in one form will be in another form and in another and in another and in no form at all. You cannot lose it because it lies within you. This whole universe lies within you, there is nothing to be lost. Change is only a surface appearance. That which is beneath the surface is quite changeless.

If you begin to live life in its depths, rather than on the surface, you will find that there is nothing to lose, nothing can be lost. All that you love lies within you and will ever be your own. You do not become deceived by the ever-changing flickers of the outermost manifestation of this universe. You know the substance from which it is made, and you know that you are not a little person confined within a small body. You are vast, you exist in all the stars and all the people who exist, who have ever existed and who will ever exist. You are not a little person who will rise on the waves and then crash again in the ocean. You are the ocean itself, rising in a little wave, many, many little waves, then crashing again into itself. When this realization comes, happiness that is deep and impenetrable will come-happiness that is not followed by sorrow, happiness that is enduring.

So seek that perception which brings you lasting happiness and do not seek that which will bring you suffering. Love with all your heart and gain knowledge that is deep and abiding. I am finished.