Today Swami again explained part of the 26th shloka in the 5th chapter of the Gita, ‘Yontarsukhontararama..’ ‘Who ever has inner happiness, inner delight, inner light, he is a Yogi, and attains the Nirvana of Brahman.’
Today, we focused on the meaning of ‘antaramam,’ inner delight.’ This is a specialty of happiness that is eternal. All happiness gained from external objects is momentary. Even the status of Indra, king of the devas, is really only momentary, if compared with infinite time.
Because these pleasures are not eternal, there is no ‘rama,’ in these. This ‘rama’ or delight happens when we find happiness devoid of any external instrument. That happiness is not ‘attained’ – rather, it is unvealed. That is the difference between the happiness gained from objects, and the bliss of the Self.
Then, Swami said that in satsang, we experience happiness, and this leads us to the truth. However, that happiness is still dependant on an external object, the sound. Instead, the satsang should happen within us. That is real ‘antarsukha,’ inner happiness. There is an example of this.
A small child simply lies on its back, and spends most of its time in sleep. That is its greatest joy. The child will depend on the mother to sing a lullaby, for it to go to sleep. Sometimes, the child may cry for the mother to come and sing, but the mother may not hear. At that time, the child collapses, and falls asleep. That is when it hears the lullaby inside. That is how it falls asleep.
The same is true with satsang. The satsang should take place within us, not just externally.
Nov. 7, 2006
Piyush, USA