The last but extremely crucial sheath (5 covering layers of a living being) is the Bliss Sheath. When this sheath is uncovered, not only does the living being come extremely close to God but that it becomes God Himself. The soul is said to be a spark of God. Its ultimate form is Satya, Shiva, Sunder and God too is known as Sat (existence), Chit (wisdom), Anand (bliss). Both these states ooze with supreme bliss. The ultimate goal would be to make our lives happy, contented and blissful.
When the Bliss Sheath is purified, an individual awakens his soul wisdom and thus becomes God, from a good human being. Such a person’s glory is akin to that of God. This spiritual standpoint genuinely is nectar of immortality. On attaining it the divine glories of immortality, divine beauty, divine aura etc. gives us the nectarine taste of immortality each moment.
Ordinarily a living being experiences bondage. Its organs of understanding give a really limited taste and via the sense organs of action, it can amass really limited material wealth. Yet in the deep recesses of the inner personality of a human being lie such infinite potentials albeit in seed form that they correspond to the powers of the entire cosmos. The gross world is its body as well as the subtle world is its essential force. The important force is much more powerful than the gross body. In comparison to visible material objects, the invisible energy of heat, sound, light, ether etc. is much more potent. But when this invisible nature is compared to the subtle world, the latter is infinitely much more powerful. When one can enter that area or establish a strong bond with it, one’s limitations / bondage is cut as under and thus manifests limitless power. We have the example of Extra Sensory Potentials. At times we get rare experiences of their miracles. But if we can enter this region more deeply, if we can unearth and gain understanding of the utility power of these divine glories, their extraordinary nature can be compared only to realized saints (Sidhas). Only then can divinity manifest in human beings and that we can perceive God in mankind. This state has to ooze with supreme bliss.
The abovementioned sentences say that both the external and also the inner subtle world abound in infinite divine sensations. There’s no limit to its blissful feeling. This can be a reality. Naturally! It’s something entirely various that you did not benefit due to illusory notions. A musk deer fails to recognize that the fragrance of musk is manifesting from its own body and hence as a way to smell it, the deer runs about here and there. Ultimately it gets tired and keeps despairing, its “plight”. Thus 1 can not blame God for one’s erroneous thinking. The truth is God has filled us all with untold bliss, yet if we refrain from finding it within ourselves and run about furiously in the external illusory material world, who is to blame? The fault lies entirely with the 1 who aims for infinite bliss, while foolishly running after transient sense objects.
The Lord sent his eldest son i.e. princely man in this divine garden referred to as the world, to attain supreme bliss. Over here you will find indicates and probabilities of bliss. Yet if we face hardships, know for positive that it really is the result of our distorted and tainted thinking. Over here bliss is our nature and sorrow has been superimposed on it in an illusory manner. God Almighty sent man in this world to expertise bliss and not pain. If only man intensely endeavours to make this world far more advanced, wealthy and cultured, he can remain blissful by conjoining to divine bliss served by the Lord. For this attainment no gigantic step has to be taken. If only we shed our vile intellect and lowly activities can we attain infinite bliss. Bliss is our rightful inheritance. As accurate descendents of God, we already have it albeit in a covered manner. It really is most needed that we know the nature of these attainments and utilize them for sacred purposes. Those who fail in this endeavor will undergo strife and pain only.
The Lord is bliss manifest. Every single pore of a living being is an outlet of bliss. Mother Nature possesses the quality of beauty and giving us comforts. Everywhere there’s bliss and bliss only. Thus our life is known as bliss incarnate. Man owns this sheath in a natural, joyous and limitless manner. We all live in the world of bliss.
Yet our ill-fate is like the lines written by Kabir (excellent poet-saint of India).
“A fish swimming in water is thirsty. Hence I laugh aloud.”
Suppose a man locks up his home and leaves it. When he returns he realizes he has lost the key and hence sits out in the cold, experiencing a good deal of discomfort. Inside the identical way we have lost the key of the storehouse of bliss present in our own body. Thus we can not even lead typical lives due to hunger, thirst etc. The Bliss Sheath is extremely significantly within ourselves, yet we undergo pain and sorrow. How wonderful? What an irony! Aren’t we mocking our own selves?
Hence spiritual practices pertaining to the Bliss Sheath are meant for demolishing our ill-fate from the really roots. On its basis the lock of bliss storehouse could be opened to ensure that we get immersed in infinite divine joy. This is doable only when the individual soul (man) merges with the cosmic soul (God). After reaching the peak of spiritual practices pertaining to the 5 Sheaths 1 searches this very key and thus makes arrangements for opening the lock. The 1 who achieved this, never again said that I live a life of abject despair. Never does such a person expertise sorrow or pain.
One can only destroy all pain / sorrow by discovering the Bliss Sheath. Only when a living being enters this sheath can it satiate all its thirst for supreme divine bliss. Not only is this the true goal of a human life but that all creatures, knowingly or unknowingly are yearning for it. One can also say that a living being accepted the bondage of a body with the hope of attaining eternal bliss. It is said -
“All living beings exist with the hope of attaining eternal bliss.”
- Brihadaranyak (4/3/32)
“All creatures manifest from the ocean of divine bliss and live in the ocean of bliss. Ultimately it merges into pure bliss.”
- Taitariyopanishad (3/6/1)
“I can by no means describe that supreme divine bliss experienced by a Yogi.”
- Yog Rasayanam (114)
“When living beings are liberated from the bondage of sorrow they take pleasure in the ocean of bliss experienced by a Bodhi-Sattva (enlightened saint) in his bosom and this is sufficient. What can 1 gain from salvation that’s devoid of divine bliss?”
-Bodhicharyavatar (7/108)
“The Lord is nectar, manifest. When man attains this nectar he experiences untold bliss. Ere he was not really the fundamental bliss principle that pervades each atom of the cosmos (like space), who would get the expertise of bliss merely by living a life full of activities related to the vital force (Pran-Apan)? In reality this very principle will be the fount of bliss eternal.”
- Taitariyopanishad (2/7/1)
The Lord is known as nectar too. This nectar is spiritual and not material. It can be experienced as divine enthusiasm, contentment, satiation, peace etc. Its attainment is irrevocably united with inner greatness. The much more one’s soul becomes pure and magnanimous, the much more this bliss blooms forth. It depends on one’s exalted standpoint and high-level activities. But this eternal bliss can by no means be experienced if one’s thinking is lowly and activities are vile. Every individual aspiring for eternal bliss has to 1st enter the deep recesses of the Bliss Sheath, so as to drink that divine bliss from its mouth source.
Our material world does have taints and man also exhibits indolence (Tamas). So that you can reform and change it, there’s a requirement of creative action. Non-cooperation, opposition and punishment may be required under certain circumstances yet one need to be incredibly cautious that the underlying intention should be reformation and by no means need to be utilized with petty attitudes of likes and dislikes. Thus even though combating the distorted aspect of the world one can also simultaneously balance one’s internal greatness. No doubt there exists a great deal of greatness in the world, because there is higher light in this world when compared to darkness. In comparison to vileness, greatness exists in higher measure. Only if we search it, imbibe it and nourish it, can pure thoughts manifest in our intellect. When our individual vision of beauty augments we shall visualize beauty pervading in every pore of the universe. One can visualize Lord Shiva (divine beauty) by contacting fantastic qualities in material objects and all creatures of the world. It really is the Almighty Lord who will be the substratum of this whole cosmos. Those who understand this, attain divine truth (Satya). Those with a pious psyche visualize “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” each and every moment and expertise heaven everywhere.
Saint Emerson said, “If you send me to hell, I will convert it to heaven.” This is really a truth not worth ignoring. With the aid of a sacred view point, a lot of reformation might be induced in regions close by. Further we turn out to be capable sufficient to induce desired results from external circumstances. Heaven is nothing but divine vision and sacred thinking. Heaven isn’t some particular area, planet etc. in this material cosmos but is in reality, a divine standpoint at the mental level. Heaven and hell is nothing but great or poor outcomes of our high or lowly viewpoint. Every human being like Saint Emerson has the capacity to create heaven in his life by purifying his really thinking.
Further the Bliss Sheath can give us salvation (Moksha). Salvation means overcoming bondage of this material world. Bondage indicates bad psychic imprints, mental taints, sins etc. There is no other power that may bind a living being to this world. The biggest obstacle that a creature faces while walking on the path of progress is its own inner weaknesses and mental taints. A spider weaves its own net and gets entangled in it. Even silk worms develop their own net (bondage). Even so man is the creator of the bondage that he experiences and has thus chained himself to this world. Like a lion cub in a herd of goats, he has taken upon himself the veil of spiritual ignorance. 1 faces so significantly sorrow when 1 is experiencing bondage. This may be experienced even by birds and beasts.
The human species is a prince of God. His inner capacity is limitless. By aptly utilizing offered means, he can reach such an exalted state in this extremely life which is akin to divinity and Almighty God. Over here the major obstacle is our mental state and not external worldly circumstances. If we truly realize and imbibe all those indicates which glorify our lives, we can reach that state which is close to God/ divinity. This truly is salvation (Moksha).
Strange beliefs have cropped up like weeds, regarding salvation or Moksha. Some opine that it is the liberation from the repetitive cycle of birth and death. Some believe that a creature at the time of death leaves this world and enters an additional “world”. Some say liberation indicates not performing any actions and leading a really placid life. A couple of strange set of individuals imagine that God has some particular abode and that when 1 is liberated 1 becomes a door keeper of that abode. Our scriptures talk of 4 kinds of Moksha or salvation viz. 1) Salokhya – entering God’s abode 2) Sameepya – living in close proximity to God 3) Sarupya – attaining the Lord’s form 4) Sayujya – merging into God. Salokya indicates building a flat in God’s abode. Sameepya indicates to grow to be a doorkeeper, staff etc. of God’s abode. Sarupya indicates to turn out to be a “Xerox copy” of God’s form. A lot of dictators keep an additional man comparable in name and physical looks, for security purposes. When a hazardous situation arises, the dictator’s “Xerox copy” is sent to combat that peril. Sayujya means partnership. Meaning 1 is an equal partner as far as God’s wealth is concerned. In short these are childish dreams full of mockery. No doubt they’ve a symbolic meaning, but to accept them as bare facts can be a serious error.
The true meaning of Moksha or salvation or liberation is to look upon our soul as divine consciousness and not inert material i.e. we aren’t the gross physical body or name and form but that we are the underlying divine cosmic consciousness. This has to be experienced by every individual. 1 must experience that joy, happiness, success etc. aren’t the result of usage of external material objects (they are merely mediums/ instruments) but is a result of purification of the inner soul. 1 need to give up poor qualities of a beastly life so as to very first turn into an excellent human being and then expertise one’s accurate divine nature. Greatness is God. Close proximity to God or attaining Him means conjoining greatness to our hopes, aspirations and valid desires. A person is truly liberated from bondage when he attains that inner state wherein like a fish swimming against the ocean present, one swims against the current of widespread lowly trends, downfall etc. Salvation is said to be the supreme goal of human life. This is its true nature.
After death 1 might get the benefit of heaven or salvation. But 1 must strive for it whilst one is yet alive. Actually accomplish it right now itself. All this is dependent on one’s viewpoint and transformation of one’s mind. 1 attains liberation while yet alive. What one attains after death is merely a reaction of one’s action although yet alive. Thus 1 need to intensely endeavour in this extremely life to attain soul purification and hence true salvation / Moksha. This kind of salvation is called “Jeevan-Mukti” i.e. liberated even though yet alive. It is the gist of salvation. He who cuts asunder the bondage of limitations, vileness of mind etc. attains the eternal bliss of salvation. Following is what scriptural scholars need to say:
“A Jeevan-Mukta (liberated whilst alive) is one who is devoid of likes / dislikes, sorrow / elation and whose intellect is divine.”
- Mahopanishad (2/57)
“There are 8 types of bondage viz. hatred, suspicion, fear, shame, secretive attitude, pride of lineage, ideals, power. He who is tied up by these, is an animal and if one is liberated from these, one is God.”
- Tantra Kaustubh
“The one who renounces his ego, who is liberated from arrogance, jealousy etc. , who performs actions with out harboring likes/ dislikes, is referred to as a Jeevan-Mukta (liberated although yet alive) by wise men.”
- Mahopanishad (2/50)
“A individual who with equanimity shuns yet another person’s wealth despite living in this deadly material world is truly spiritual and due to the fact this individual experiences eternal soul bliss, he is known as a Jeevan-Mukta”.
- Mahopanishad (2/ 62)
“The space between bondage and liberation measures 2 feet only. Bondage says “this is mine” and liberation says “nothing is mine”.
- Mahopanishad (4/72)
In this manner when one’s viewpoint is purified, when 1 understands the nature, basis and region of bliss, one’s belief becomes steadfast. What does one attain by performing what? When this becomes definite, one’s spiritual ignorance is overcome and also the wisdom of this reality is called spiritual philosophy. This biggest issue of this world pertains to the soul. Thus one can genuinely solve worldly problems only if this problem is solved. This knowledge is also called Brahmajnana, Tattvajnana, Sadjnana etc. So that you can attain eternal bliss, one must endeavour to solve inner (mental) problems and give a correct direction to one’s thinking. This is also known as Samadhi (trance). This will be the very first step towards attainment of eternal bliss (God). No doubt Samadhi is really a really elevated Yogic state yet its beginning step is as mentioned above.
When 1 persists with expertise of Samadhi (trance), the scattered mind gets focused and thus 1 gets benefits of pure thinking and actions. Thus the first leg of spiritual practices pertaining to the Bliss Sheath is based on Samadhi experience. This can be a Samadhi in the waking state. Over here there’s no need to turn into unconscious and that cravings and agitations have to be calmed down totally. When the storm of desires is silenced completely, man clearly visualizes his objective. Without this it’s impossible to walk in a desired direction. Spiritual seekers of the Bliss Sheath are asked to concentrate and focus their minds. But this just isn’t a mental exercise where one thinks about one particular thought exclusively so as to concentrate the mind. Actually it indicates walking in a desired and definite direction. Such a mental state is known as Samadhi (trance).
“Samadhi is that state wherein the mental agitations are overcome so as to get focused on divine truth.”
- Bhoj
“Samadhi is that inner state wherein after renouncing craving / aversion towards fleeting material objects 1 steadies the mind and thus attains soul force.”
- Dakshasmriti (7/21)
“Just as when salt mixes with water, it takes up the form of water, within the same way Samadhi (trance) means the mind merging into the cosmic soul (God)”.
- Saubhagyalakshmyupanishad (14)
“When the will power of a living being and God marches ahead in one direction, it dispels the sense of separation from 1 another. This state is called Samadhi.”
- Yajnavalkya
“When a living being’s material desires come to an end, and the living being and God march in one direction, that state is referred to as Samadhi (trance). Samadhi is that balanced state of the soul wherein one’s agitations are nullified.”
-Saubhagya Upanishad (2/16-18)
The inner divine powers are destroyed if mental agitations augment. But if this mental turbulence is nullified, if the mind gets focused in 1 desired direction, one’s soul force augments as a result of obstruction of scattering of the mind. Thus several divine powers manifest in our soul. These divine powers have been described as follows -
“Due to continuous practice of Samadhi (meditative trance) the mind merges into the cosmic soul (i.e. God) and thus, 1 gets enlightenment.”
- Yog Rasayan
“Objects seen in a dream are illusory whereas experiences of Samadhi (meditative trance) are the absolute reality. Further one gets greater benefits apart from those attained during Samadhi.”
- Yog Rasayan
The nature of the spiritual practice pertaining to the Bliss Sheath is the state of union of a living being / creature and God. Normally we know God as His name only. We no doubt chant His name and perform worship rites. Yet we never endeavour to merge our individual soul into the cosmic soul (i.e. God). We can never imagine with our limited material minds, the experience of this super blissful state. Ordinarily God is thought to be that individual who is appeased by several prayers, eulogies, rites etc. Thus we try to satisfy our desires with God’s blessings. Thus vain worship rites are carried out which is nothing but mockery. Where can one locate a accurate devotee of God who willingly desires disciplining by God? Where is that devotee who will surrender his all (mind) to God? In reality this is accurate devotion (Bhakti). Under such circumstances nectar will absolutely manifest. Heavenly joys can be experienced. There will be zeal and zest for life everywhere together with accurate contentment and peace.
God is not an individual but can be a cosmic divine force. He can never be pleased with gifts, presents etc. just as we please other people. To be able to fully utilize electricity, its utility limits have to be studies carefully. The Lord can only be pleased by imbibing greatness of character. It is also referred to as faith in the arena of sentiments, spirituality in the field of thinking and righteous qualities inside the arena of actions.
The true nature of devotion / meditation is unification. The supreme goal of devotion is unification, oneness and surrender. Duality is replaced with non-duality (oneness). This may be known as marriage of a puppet doll with the fingers of a magician. It’s the bond between a husband and wife. This is establishment of discipline. By destroying one’s selfish / egocentric desires, 1 imbibes divine discipline and this is known as surrender. This sort of self-surrender has been prescribed by the Lord on the component of a devotee in the Bhagwad Geeta. Wood as well as other kinds of fuel turn out to be fire itself when thrown in fire. When water is added to milk it becomes milk. The Lord really should not be looked upon as a tool (indicates) of satiating our lowly desires but that we really should become 1 with His fantastic qualities. This state is referred to as Brahma Nirvan, vision of God or attaining God. This will be the non-dual spiritual practice of divine sciences (Brahma-Vidya). It’s on this basis that a human being (Nara) can grow to be God (Narayana), a Purusha can turn into Purushottama, a living being can turn into Brahman (all-pervading soul) and individual soul can merge into the cosmic soul (God).
Love is full of magnetic attraction. 1 adores the proximity of love and each individual yearns for it intensely. The quite nature of divine love which is really a result of devotion to God, demands that the wall between the individual soul and cosmic soul (God) be warded off. There should be eternal oneness between the two. Under such circumstances, either God acts as per the desires of an individual or that an individual acts according to the Lord’s wishes. It’s really clear that a river cannot merge into a pond since a pond just isn’t wide or deep sufficient to imbibe a huge river. Even so the Lord can never act according to an individual’s desire. Thus individual souls will have to give up selfish / egocentric desires and act according to divine (God) will. This is accurate faith and devotion. Thus 1 can enjoy eternal bliss of devotion.
Divine love can never be limited. The river Ganges emanating from the lofty Himalayan Mountains (in India) can never be obstructed when it’s flowing. Instead it satiates everyone’s thirst and by merging itself within the ocean, it gives up its limitations. Devotion means divine love. Love is really a result of sensitivity in the form of oneness of soul, compassion, generosity, science and good-will. When these sacred sensations go beyond the arenas of imagination and emotions so as to manifest in our day to day activities, it might be seen in the type of self-creation and world creation. One yearns to surrender and help others to surrender at the Lord’s feet by imbibing faith and divine energy. One continuously reflects on this aspect and then starts acting thus too.
This is that really state which might be called awakening of the Bliss Sheath. This will be the supreme state of devotion to the 5-sheathed Gayatri. 1 continuously experiences divinity. The Lord is subtler than the subtlest and thus 1 realizes /experiences Him as divine sentiments. It really is indeed extremely childish to try and visualize God as a toy in front of our eyes. When it’s a truth that we can not see air, cold, friendship, anger, joy, sorrow etc. with our eyes, how is it achievable to “see” God with our material eyes when He is beyond human thought and intelligence? Those who don’t visualize such images, merely give us a glimpse of the intensity of their meditative consciousness. Apart from day-dreaming, it can’t be referred to as anything else. Accurate vision (Darshan) of God is an experience of divinity within our consciousness. For that, one has to go on a lengthy journey with the 2 legs of faith and devotion.
The Bliss Sheath is the fount of faith and devotion. Over here one experiences the blissful union with God. Thus as a way to fulfil the goal of meeting God, Indian Rishis laid down the path of a high leveled 5-sheathed Gayatri based spiritual practice. In the emotional region, the result of this divine union is experienced as bliss or zest. Bliss indicates experiencing intense joy on seeing the divine aspect of this world. Zest indicates the valour and daring with which we overcome the vile, demonic aspect of this world. A firm resolution of God, wherein He will incarnate in this world so as to establish righteousness after destroying unrighteousness may be seen fulfilled by a spiritual seeker in his own psyche. Such a seeker feels that the Lord has incarnated in his psyche as bliss / zest and faith/ devotion. This is the sensitive aspect of the Bliss Sheath.
