RADIO RUHANIYAT. 08-16-2014: Episode 358

INDEPENDENCE!     -Freedom of the Mind or Soul?                                                                                         _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Independence is so important to us. Pakistan Celebrated its Independence Day on August the 14^th and India celebrated it on the 15^th. Trinidad & Tobago celebrates it on the 31^st of this month. USA & Canada observed it last month. Although Independence does not necessarily mean Freedom, but in essence that is really what we all rejoice and celebrate. It is the material characteristics of freedom that give us a sense of joy and satisfaction. Our mind manipulates us to believe that it is something worth being happy about and we become happy.

If we really think about it, everlasting happiness comes from the soul, not from the mind. The mind bounces from moment to moment and is not a stationary element. It turns us into a slave, who is at the mercy of the mind for its happy moments, sad moments or miserable moments. Everlasting happiness is called ‘Bliss’ or ‘Ecstasy’. It is experienced more and more by people who have learnt the art of enslaving their mind to righteousness versus becoming a slave of the mind.

Our ultimate and eventual goal is freedom of the Soul. Our mind and body is merely a tool for the soul to achieve its goal. The supernatural Almighty power has drafted a game for the soul to go through a cycle of births and rebirths and it changes bodies like we change clothes. From the minutest of creatures to trees that last thousands of years, a soul goes through 8.4 million births till it eventually reaches the supreme birth of a human. It is only to this birth form, that the Almighty has granted the wisdom to realize God.

"Nidra bhojan bhog bhay, ye pashu purakh samaan, gyan adhik ik nar mein, gyan bina pashu jaan"

“The animals also sleep, eat, have babies and have fear: these properties are common in humans and animals. What is different in humans is the capacity and capability to understand God-Knowledge. Without the God-Knowledge, humans are comparable to animals”

 We hear about Nirvana, Mukti, Salvation, Liberation etc. These are all names given to the state of the soul when it is free. The soul spends thousands and thousands of years in bondage shuffling from body to body due to ignorance. It is longing to be one with the Super soul. When it is in a spiritual or holy environment, it is at peace. When it eventually receives God-Knowledge, God-Realization or Enlightenment, it gets freed from its material shackles and it learns to live with the divine.

It is this state of bliss and ecstasy that we are subconsciously looking for all the time. We often hear people saying: “I want PEACE” or ‘Peace of Mind’. In reality they are looking for bliss and ecstasy. It is this bliss and ecstasy that people usually mistake for ‘Happiness’. A blissful state neither comes from money, nor from material comforts. Happiness from the core comes from contentment and satisfaction. The ultimate happiness lies in contentment for the soul because eventually this body will perish and this mind will retire. What lasts forever is the soul. The soul never dies. It will either find a body to change into and continue the vicious cycle of births and re-births or it will become one with the Super-soul and live eternally as a part and parcel of the divine.

It is hence more important to understand the significance of nurturing the soul instead of the body or the mind. It is alarming to see that we all cater to the body-which will perish, and we deprive the soul-which is everlasting. It is time to wake up and realize the real purpose of life. The time to focus on the truth is now. Keeping ourselves spiritually inclined to know God and walk on His defined path is the only door leading to Happiness and Peace. No amount of material gain, pleasures or status recognition can ever match the bliss and ecstasy that comes from nourishing the soul. The sooner we realize it, the sooner we experience true happiness and peace.