In the previous post, while discussing the question of morality Hazrat Inayat began to speak of the joy which every soul is truly seeking.
In the Vedanta this joy is called ‘anand’, a joy which is greater than all the pleasures known to the world, a joy which is independent of all things in this world. And this world, which is called ‘maya’ in Vadantic terms, has a tendency to tempt man at every move he makes in life, to make him feel that there is joy, but when he goes after it, he finds that the price he has to pay is greater than what he has to purchase. He finds that what seemed for a moment a joy was like the horizon – it seemed it was there, but it was not there. This shows that the outer life is merely an assumption of that joy, an illusion which promises that joy and at every moment breaks its promises. And the soul looking outward cannot find all that serves for its sustenance, since it [i.e. the soul] is joy itself and lives on joy. This is where comes in the whole tragedy of human life, that a person passes the whole life in the search for joy, and consequently he sees joy hiding behind one thing or another, and every time he tends to discover that illusion, to find it was not the thing he sought after, until he comes to realize that joy within himself, that he finds in himself a spark of that all-sufficient joy where the source of joy is hidden.
No doubt it takes some experience, it takes patience, many sacrifices and disappointments, before one arrives to realize the joy which is within. But at the same time, to distinguish what is good and what is bad, that is the best principle to know; that which leads to joy is dependable, that is virtue, and what leads to trouble and sorrow and suffering, even if joy were to greet one at the beginning, is a sin. There is no action in this world which can be stamped with sin or virtue. It is its relation to a particular soul which makes it sin or virtue.
Whatever the action, if it is productive of joy, how can it be a sin? If there is a joy which is everlasting, how can it be a sin? Everything that is joyful in its beginning, in its continuity, and in its result is certain virtue, and that which is the reverse in its beginning and in its continuity, in its result is a sin. In this way a man, by being thoughtful in life, by directing every thought, feeling and action with wisdom, can know for himself the secret of right and wrong, instead of depending upon someone else telling him, and it is this knowledge that will make him know and understand his fellowman better.
Q.: Is it better to give an outlet to one’s joy and sorrow or to suppress them?
A.: The expression of joy should not be extreme. The wise are never overjoyed, because there is no worldly circumstance that can give them great joy. And also they know that the extreme expression of joy will bring sorrow after it. You can see that in everyday life. If you make a little child laugh very much or enjoy very much for five minutes, in one hour or in two hours or before evening it will feel very unhappy. And if the wise person does not give an outlet to his joy, still less will he give an outlet to his sorrow. Because not only would that humiliate a person, but to be in extreme sorrow increases the idea of the self.
I have seen this with my Murshid. I knew him for years, and often there were circumstances which would have caused great joy but I never in all those years saw his even cheerfulness altered. The wise person is in the thought of God, and what is there in this world so great that it can move him much? Before that, I had seen the same thing with my father.
To be continued…