Bliss - the Inward Journey

 

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Bliss - the Inward Journey

We can conquer the whole world and we will remain miserable; of course, our misery will become a thousand-fold – the misery of an Alexander is bound to be tremendous… but we never become happy. That is not the way of happiness at all. Bliss that comes out of conquering oneself - that is the only bliss there is.

We can have all the things and we will still be at a loss. One can pile up money, power, prestige. And the more we have, the more we become aware of the futility of it all and the more we feel an inner emptiness.

Only the rich come to know what inner poverty is, because they can compare; they can compare notes. They have a background and they can see their own inner poverty against it. He is rich as far as the outside is concerned, but the inside is simply starving.

Hence the paradox: the richer one becomes, the poorer one feels. The more knowledgeable one becomes the more ignorant one feels. The more we have, the more we become aware of how much we are missing.

The only bliss possible is that which comes through the inward journey – and that is called jaya. One has to come to one’s own self, to one’s own treasures. They are infinite… immeasurable. Once known, we are never going to be beggars again. We may not have anything of the world – still we remain as emperors. Our emperor-hood has an inner luminousness.

We are emperors – not because we have a kingdom, but because we are emperors. Our emperor-hood doesn’t depend on a kingdom. It is independent of all kingdoms. Then one is truly a king, because nobody can rob one, nobody can take anything away from one… not even death.

One has something which is eternal, which cannot be robbed, cannot be taken away. And only when we have something which cannot be taken away from us; does fear disappear – never before it. And in those moments, we start feeling  deathless.

Just be in the world but to give more and more energy and time to the inner search. Do whatever is needed on the outside, but don’t become too much occupied with it.

Outer things are needed, but they are not enough. Fulfil them, but don’t expect too much out of them. They are needs, and the inner life is something more than needs – it is a luxury. The inner life is always aristocratic.

So, on the outside we should just fulfil our needs – and they are the minimum; they are not much. And once they are fulfilled, don’t waste time. In fact, they are to be fulfilled so that we can have time to go in. One should work in the world so that one can work in one’s inner world. One should earn a little money so that outer things no more trouble one, don’t distract us anymore. 

One can close one’s eyes and go into meditation. If money serves meditation, money is good and one should use it. But if money becomes our meditation, we are going to be neurotic.