Happiness, Ignorance and Faith

By Dr. Bill Little

A fundamental concept of Hinduism is that human beings are meant to be happy.

They are not kidding, nor are they whispering sweet nothings. If we are not happy, we enter a downward spiral emotionally and eventually reach a level of just barely existing, and then not existing. 

The only reason we are not happy is that things are not going ‘our way.’ I.e., we have pre-conceived notions of what happiness is and then we use comparison (a form of judgment) to see if these notions are being met. Thus, we have set up an ego structure (a very common one) as to what happiness is and it's a very personal one in that it’s unique in each of us. The error is that we have never considered the idea that perhaps happiness exists independently of our personal designs. If it does, then our ego approach to happiness is doomed to failure; it simply misses the mark. 

In this time of global pandemic many lessons are being taught to us ALL. This implies that we all have certain traits that are self-destructive, and we had better cease functioning in these ways if we want to be fully alive. It’s easy now to judge our situation as being limited and frightening – almost like a caged animal. Thus, we have reason to be morose, and in some cases, we find ourselves grieving our loss of relatives, friends and ‘freedom.’ Obviously, none of this will lead to happiness. So how do we escape this self-imposed prison?

While our prison may be uniquely ours, breaking out of it requires some universal understanding and behavior. All human problems stem from one idea. It is the idea ‘I am a person who was born so many years ago, has these opinions, and will die at some point in time.’ This is so strong in us that it is unconsciously accepted by us all. What if this is not true?
What if we were never born?
What if we witnessed our birth?
What if we never die?
What if we witness death?
What if our real identity is this ongoing witness that cannot be changed by any circumstance?

Do you see how this changes everything? In this case, things happen, they are events, that’s all. No matter what they are, they cannot alter our real nature – the witness. We are, right now, an eternal being called consciousness or awareness, etc. 

Being awareness is a very happy state to be in. Watching the dynamic universe of the senses is fascinating. Life alters itself; we don’t have to have things ‘turn out our way.’  Whatever happens eventually changes because the universe is alive and evolving, not because we personally want it to. What we will find if we are brave enough to consider this, is that all events work out perfectly – far better than we could have conceived.

Yes, it takes courage and faith to release a manipulative identity, but life quickly responds with new experiences that demonstrate vast intelligence, total integration, and pure love. So, in many ways the whole purpose of being a mature human being is to cease being a human being and identify with the one watching this human being.

The event of a global pandemic is just another event. Turn it to your advantage in a spiritual sense by choosing real happiness – the happiness of who you really are; become the light of consciousness that illumines all events and therefore cannot be trapped in any event. 

Here's some highly recommended words that help accomplish this goal:
“The Father and I are one.” Christianity
“I am Shiva.” Hinduism
“There is but one Mind; this Mind is God; this Mind is my mind now.” Religious Science
“It is done unto me as I believe.” Christianity
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.” Tao te Ching
“If you realize all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.’ Tao te Ching
“Escape from the black cloud that surrounds you. Then you will see your own light as radiant as the full moon.” Rumi
“Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the worlds.” Rumi