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Index Page
by Jayaram V
Ananda means happiness or bliss. Literally, 'aa' means from
all sides and 'nanda'
means happiness or joy. Thus literally
speaking, 'ananda' means joy from all sides. In spiritual
context, ananda is
an eternal aspect of Brahman which we experience when we are united with
Him. When there is no distinction between the knower and the knowing,
the object and the subject, one becomes immersed in immense bliss. The
scriptures describe Brahman as ananda itself (anandobrahma).
In the material world ananda is pure joy attained through the
fulfillment of desires or some material gains. In the spiritual world it
is the pure and unqualified bliss attained through union with the
Highest Self.
Hindu scriptures describe God as a combination of sat (truth), chit
(consciousness) and ananda (pure bliss). In their ordinary consciousness human beings are incapable of
experiencing pure ananda because of the interference of the mind and the
senses and the attachment of the ego with the sense objects. The Bhagavadgita tells us
from the activity of the senses arises attachment and from attachment comes
anger and from anger comes delusion
and from delusion suffering, which is opposite of ananda. The purpose of
religious and spiritual activity is to turn the mind away from the
sensory objects and inwards so that both the mind and the ego can be
dissolved in an endless state of ananda or bliss.
Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism recognize suffering as an inseparable
aspect of human life. However, each religion attempts to address it in
its own way by suggesting distinct solutions. Whatever may the means
they prescribe, the goal of all these religions is always the same,
release from the cycle of births and deaths, disease, attachment and
suffering. Buddhsim does not describe the state of liberation as pure
bliss. But Jainism and Hinduism do. According to them, the natural state
of soul is pure bliss, which become veiled by the activity of the senses
and the development of a physical personality. When the soul regains its
pure state of joy it overcomes its limitations and becomes one with
itself or with the highest Brahman.
Suggested Further Reading
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