Part II - Discrimination

[Bhaskar]

It is a common misconception in the general public that spiritual unfoldment and enlightenment is very difficult. Many people think that it takes decades of living in a cave, eating subsisting on raw leaves and rainwater and meditating 20 hours a day.
In fact, enlightenment can be very, very simple for the person who has a disciplined mind. The maximum effort is required only to withdraw the mind from everything else and bring its entire attention to the task of self discovery. When such a singlepointed intellect is applied to the task of spiritual inquiry, the discovery of truth is almost instantaneous.
A pile of dried leaves in the sun do not catch fire by themselves. But when a converging lens is held over them, it does not take long for the fire to start. The sunlight by itself is too scattered to light the fire - it is only when the magnifying lens focuses the rays and makes them single pointed that it becomes effective.
Our thoughts, like the sunshine are quite scattered. They go everywhere - from the hermitage in the Himalayas to the casino in Vegas, from the polished halls of Congress to the deep interior rainforests, the mind races everywhere. A mind of such scattered thoughts can never come to realize the very subtle truth of the nature of the self.
So what causes our mind to wander? This is a very important question. There are many motivations ascribed to our actions and our thoughts by psychologists and philosophers. What the scriptures say, and it makes deep sense to me, is that there is one great motivation behind all action and thought - the deep need to be happy.
The quest for bliss is at the root of all our actions. We may say we do something because we love someone - but in fact, we do it because doing something nice for someone we love makes us happy. Doing something for someone in need makes us happy, so we perform charity. We do the things we do, desire the things we desire, cling to the things we cling to, all because we believe those things have the power to make us happy.
Please examine your own mind and actions to verify the truth of this statement. Most people will find that they constantly make the unspoken assumption that happiness lies in something, person, place or period time.

[Bhaskar]

This in itself would not be so bad, if it were not for the fact that not only do we seek happiness from these things, we expect that happiness to last forever. We may not express it in that way, and most of us would be quite swift to deny the fact, but it is true nonetheless. Our actions betray this.
When a relationship ends, when a cherished possession breaks, when a pet dies, when situations are difficult, we experience great agitation and sorrow. Why would we get so upset if we knew all along that these things cannot be a source of permanent joy? All objects, places and situations are temporary, and therefore they are at best fleeting sources of happiness. And yet we expect total joy from them permanently.
Let us examine this assumption. It is quite obvious that we can never get permanent joy from things since they are impermanent. But what about some joy, even if temporary? Is any object a source of joy?
Let us use the metaphor of sugar. Sugar is a source of sweetness. So anyone who tastes sugar, tastes sweetness, whether they like it or not. Sugar is sweet in Japan and in Africa, it is sweet at in springtime and in winter, it is sweet to children and to animals, it is sweet whether the person tasting it is angry or at peace. In all places, at all times and to all people, sugar is sweet. So sugar is a source of sweetness.
Same with the sun. To all people at all places and times, the sun gives heat and light. So the sun is a source of light.
Now, if things of the world were sources of joy, they would give joy to everyone who comes in contact with them, whenever they come in contact with them, wherever they come in contact with them. But this patently not the case.
Some, such as good food may give joy to everyone, but only in limited quantities. The 10 bowl of ice cream is not as good as the first and the 20th is positively sickening. And most people don't enjoy ice cream in when its already cold and snowy or when they are sick with the flu.
Money comes close, but money is not an end to itself. A man with millions of dollars is miserably wealthy when stuck on a desert island or afflicted with an incurable disease.
And quite often, when we have finally obtained something that we feel is going to make us happy, it is only a let down and before long we are seeking something else to fulfill us.
After much careful examination, generations of spiritual masters have seen very clearly that no object of the world can ever be a source of happiness.

[Bhaskar]

Yet we experience happiness quite often when we contact these objects. Therefore happiness is there. So where does it come from?
The masters tell us that happiness is in fact within us all the time, but we are unable to see it because of this fundamental misunderstanding of the source of joy.
As a result of this delusion we have millions of desires. Every time a desire is satisfied, the sheath is brushed aside and so we experience joy. But before long another dozen desires gush in to replace the one that has been satisfied. It is like the moss that grows on the surface of a quiet lake. It covers the water so completely you cannot see it at all. So you take a stick and you brush some of it aside and you can see the water. But before long it slides back to cover it again.
This idea is beautifully symbolized in the Ramayana. When Rama battles the 10-headed demon Ravana, he manages to cut off his heads over and over, but they keep growing back. Then his adviser Vibheeshana tells him to target Ravana's navel, where he holds a jewel that is the source of his immortality. So Rama destroys the root of Ravana's invincibility, the root delusion and then easily gains victory.
Viveka, discrimination, is this wisdom, the ability to tell the difference between that which is a true source of happiness and that which only appears to be so.
When through practice, constant reinforcement, reflection and vigilance, viveka and vairagya (which we will discuss in our next lesson) become steady and strong, then we will have come a long way in our march towards the truth. May we allow the Lord in our hearts to guide and protect us as we undertake this challenging journey.