Bliss in the sense of forever lasting happiness, as professed in mainstream spirituality, is impossible. The article is titled so only to attract people to come and read it.
The closest one can get to bliss is "perfect happiness". It is when one is feeling happiness, and at the same time is contented with the way things are.
Contentment, actually, is a state where there is neither suffering nor happiness. It's when a person is at ease in the mind, no matter what. Indifferent to one's circumstances, with no desires and expectations. This state can be attained by developing awareness about the existence and understanding the higher, indifferent reality beyond our human existence. But being in "contentment mode" always, is not a healthy way to live. It is not wrong, or bad; but staying in contentment is not living.
It's true, that the primary cause of all human miseries is that human life is driven by desires and expectations. And if one has to get rid of desires and expectations, one has to develop oneself beyond one's human existence and connect with the indifferent reality of the existence. Only then the desires-and-expectations-less state, contentment, can be reached. But then it is as good as death if one is not going to acknowledge one's human existence, with all one's human cravings.
Because human world is not always conducive to contentment, people who want to live in undisturbed contentment might choose to go live in some secluded place like the Himalayas. But as I said, pure contentment is not living at all, whether it is in the Himalayas or right here. Happiness is essential to make life, life.
Bliss, or perfect happiness, is happiness felt in presence of contentment deep on the inside. And I have worked out the way for myself as to how to live in the human world and still live in that way. In other words —
Have you ever played a video game? Let's talk about Super Mario, my all time favorite video game!
There's this main protagonist Mario whose aim in the game is to get to his princess, facing many enemies and obstacles in the world called Mushroom Kingdom. There are hazards on the way like falling in the pits, being hit by fireballs etc., and of course, a host of enemies with powers of different types and degree. As against these adversities, Mario also finds on his way some things to his advantage like a mushroom called "1-Up" which increases his life, "Fire Flower" which gives Mario a weapon in the form of small fireballs with which he can kill enemies. Then there's this power called "Starman" which makes Mario invincible to most hazards for some time. The idea is to smartly and diligently use these powers against all adversities and reach the goal.
Don't you think that our life is also somewhat like this video game? Our aims may be different but we all face adversities and have got powers – internal as well as external – to fight these adversities. Your happiness or pain depends on just how smartly and diligently you live your life.
Now consider your life as a game. You are the main protagonist in this game. There are innumerable stages in this game like childhood, schooling, adulthood, love, work, marriage, divorce, riches, poverty etc. Through all the stages in the game there are things like making friends and enemies; pain and pleasures; love and hatred. You earn points when you make friends. Lose points when you make enemies. Earned love, earned points. Lost love, lost points. Consider points as a measure of happiness. That's how a game works. Human life has endless possibilities of occurrences. All the things which happen in your favor add to your points and those occurrences against you reduce the points. When you succeed through the tasks you jump up in happiness with "Whoa!" and "Wow!" and when you lose you throw the joystick with "Oh fuck!" and "Shit!"
Should you get depressed if you lose in this game? Well, if it's a game then ideally, you shouldn't. It's right that when you are playing the game your aim has to be winning, but the problem with this game called "human life" is that there's no ultimate winning in it. Instead, the two ultimate possibilities are: Either you lose; or you just have to keep playing it until the time is up. However, there are successes and failures all through it which is fun to face with. Success would fill you with happiness and excitement. Failure may demotivate you; even make you feel like flinging off the joystick. But after all, it's a game, not the "real world". What you experience in the "game world" is left behind when you are done playing the game and return in your "real world".
Happenings of the "game world" can not affect your behavior in the "real world", unless you are so obsessed with the game that you have lost your mind and the realization that the two worlds are different. A sane person knows that a game was a game and a life is a life. The "game world" was simulated, illusory and fictitious; made just for some thrill and fun. Thus, as long as you are aware of the existence of the "real world", the "game world" can not rule your mind once you are away from the game.
Human life, the way you see it, is all illusory. You believe in the things which do not exist. You believe in friendships, relationships, God, love, soulmates etc etc. All of it, the way you perceive it, is simply inexistent in reality. They are like things of the "game world". This renders the seemingly real world nothing but a game. You are living under the false impression of all this being real. Furthermore, you think it's all you have. It's like being insanely obsessed with the "game world", where unreal things continually prey on your mind, giving you pleasures and pains, and absolutely controlling your life.
All you need for attaining bliss/perfect happiness in this world is the realization of truth. You have to know the ultimate reality of existence. When you start seeing the illusory things as illusions, you will automatically start dwelling in the "real world" – the world of indifference. When you start seeing existence in its actual form you will start taking it merely as a game. Then it's your decision whether you want to play it or not. Or how you want to play it. When you are playing it you might do everything what everyone else is doing. As it is, you can't just sit under a tree idling when you are living in the human world. You have to be active here. So, you might set goals. You might have desires and expectations, successes and failures, and consequently, happiness and pain.
With all of this, however, the most important thing which you will have is the knowledge of the reality. The realization that all this is a part of the play. Then nothing which happens in the game will affect your spirit. Because on the inside you know, and are living in the "real world". On the inside, you are already in perfect happiness. You are in bliss which nothing and no one in this "game world" can take from you.
Update: Note that "perfect happiness" is not absence of suffering (that is not possible), but there suffering is at its lowest minimum level. Also, I am letting go of the word "bliss" from my future writing, because bliss only means "forever lasting happiness", and the way I use it creates confusion in the readers. Forever lasting happiness is an impossible idea.
The closest one can get to bliss is "perfect happiness". It is when one is feeling happiness, and at the same time is contented with the way things are.
Contentment, actually, is a state where there is neither suffering nor happiness. It's when a person is at ease in the mind, no matter what. Indifferent to one's circumstances, with no desires and expectations. This state can be attained by developing awareness about the existence and understanding the higher, indifferent reality beyond our human existence. But being in "contentment mode" always, is not a healthy way to live. It is not wrong, or bad; but staying in contentment is not living.
It's true, that the primary cause of all human miseries is that human life is driven by desires and expectations. And if one has to get rid of desires and expectations, one has to develop oneself beyond one's human existence and connect with the indifferent reality of the existence. Only then the desires-and-expectations-less state, contentment, can be reached. But then it is as good as death if one is not going to acknowledge one's human existence, with all one's human cravings.
Because human world is not always conducive to contentment, people who want to live in undisturbed contentment might choose to go live in some secluded place like the Himalayas. But as I said, pure contentment is not living at all, whether it is in the Himalayas or right here. Happiness is essential to make life, life.
Bliss, or perfect happiness, is happiness felt in presence of contentment deep on the inside. And I have worked out the way for myself as to how to live in the human world and still live in that way. In other words —
How to attain bliss without being in Himalayas?
Have you ever played a video game? Let's talk about Super Mario, my all time favorite video game!
There's this main protagonist Mario whose aim in the game is to get to his princess, facing many enemies and obstacles in the world called Mushroom Kingdom. There are hazards on the way like falling in the pits, being hit by fireballs etc., and of course, a host of enemies with powers of different types and degree. As against these adversities, Mario also finds on his way some things to his advantage like a mushroom called "1-Up" which increases his life, "Fire Flower" which gives Mario a weapon in the form of small fireballs with which he can kill enemies. Then there's this power called "Starman" which makes Mario invincible to most hazards for some time. The idea is to smartly and diligently use these powers against all adversities and reach the goal.
Don't you think that our life is also somewhat like this video game? Our aims may be different but we all face adversities and have got powers – internal as well as external – to fight these adversities. Your happiness or pain depends on just how smartly and diligently you live your life.
Now consider your life as a game. You are the main protagonist in this game. There are innumerable stages in this game like childhood, schooling, adulthood, love, work, marriage, divorce, riches, poverty etc. Through all the stages in the game there are things like making friends and enemies; pain and pleasures; love and hatred. You earn points when you make friends. Lose points when you make enemies. Earned love, earned points. Lost love, lost points. Consider points as a measure of happiness. That's how a game works. Human life has endless possibilities of occurrences. All the things which happen in your favor add to your points and those occurrences against you reduce the points. When you succeed through the tasks you jump up in happiness with "Whoa!" and "Wow!" and when you lose you throw the joystick with "Oh fuck!" and "Shit!"
Should you get depressed if you lose in this game? Well, if it's a game then ideally, you shouldn't. It's right that when you are playing the game your aim has to be winning, but the problem with this game called "human life" is that there's no ultimate winning in it. Instead, the two ultimate possibilities are: Either you lose; or you just have to keep playing it until the time is up. However, there are successes and failures all through it which is fun to face with. Success would fill you with happiness and excitement. Failure may demotivate you; even make you feel like flinging off the joystick. But after all, it's a game, not the "real world". What you experience in the "game world" is left behind when you are done playing the game and return in your "real world".
Happenings of the "game world" can not affect your behavior in the "real world", unless you are so obsessed with the game that you have lost your mind and the realization that the two worlds are different. A sane person knows that a game was a game and a life is a life. The "game world" was simulated, illusory and fictitious; made just for some thrill and fun. Thus, as long as you are aware of the existence of the "real world", the "game world" can not rule your mind once you are away from the game.
Human life, the way you see it, is all illusory. You believe in the things which do not exist. You believe in friendships, relationships, God, love, soulmates etc etc. All of it, the way you perceive it, is simply inexistent in reality. They are like things of the "game world". This renders the seemingly real world nothing but a game. You are living under the false impression of all this being real. Furthermore, you think it's all you have. It's like being insanely obsessed with the "game world", where unreal things continually prey on your mind, giving you pleasures and pains, and absolutely controlling your life.
All you need for attaining bliss/perfect happiness in this world is the realization of truth. You have to know the ultimate reality of existence. When you start seeing the illusory things as illusions, you will automatically start dwelling in the "real world" – the world of indifference. When you start seeing existence in its actual form you will start taking it merely as a game. Then it's your decision whether you want to play it or not. Or how you want to play it. When you are playing it you might do everything what everyone else is doing. As it is, you can't just sit under a tree idling when you are living in the human world. You have to be active here. So, you might set goals. You might have desires and expectations, successes and failures, and consequently, happiness and pain.
With all of this, however, the most important thing which you will have is the knowledge of the reality. The realization that all this is a part of the play. Then nothing which happens in the game will affect your spirit. Because on the inside you know, and are living in the "real world". On the inside, you are already in perfect happiness. You are in bliss which nothing and no one in this "game world" can take from you.
Update: Note that "perfect happiness" is not absence of suffering (that is not possible), but there suffering is at its lowest minimum level. Also, I am letting go of the word "bliss" from my future writing, because bliss only means "forever lasting happiness", and the way I use it creates confusion in the readers. Forever lasting happiness is an impossible idea.
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