Old Age-Realisation of Ananda-What is?

Letter to Sri Ravi Kumar Sistla:


Ravi Sir,

Every living being struggles for survival throughout. Life is after all a pursuit of ‘ananda’. Every one at every stage of life seeks ananda, joy, and desire it eagerly since happiness is necessary for sustenance of life. Happiness follows after some bitterness just like day follows the night. With some maturity of thought, one can never find fault with all this worldly struggle with fellow beings in nature. All this is natural in creation of God. 

In child hood it is natural children desire for chocolates and play with full liberty. In youthful days it is again

natural to immerse in sweet dreams without concern to the outer world. After marriage, the samsara has its own requirements which are must to be fulfilled. Samsaram is an ocean. New experiences come in the same way of life always at every stage. The tastes and likings also change from time to time. One may think old age starts with the infirmities of body and mind. Some in old age turn towards some thing other than this oceanic life. In old age also there is pursuit of some unknown thing which is difficult to be defined.

At every stage it is the mind that is distorted and spoiled more. Day by day the mind is loaded and burdened with many things and one cannot delete the unwanted stuff out of it. The things are so bad that are strongly bonded with the mind. The mind is the muddy part of the body and by the by the same is the only filament connected to divinity too. The mind is the only part which inspires every particle of the body and the mind is the only thing that illuminates the personality of any one. That is also responsible for every material and eternal success too in life. 

If we observe at people who are after ‘ananda’ we find them they are in need of food, water, air, money, gold, women, drink, nature, temples, health, wealth, what not every material object and invisible ‘moksha” too their requirement on this earth. 

Life need some thing for ananda..which thing gives permanent ananda?..
Is there any permanence in these objects of life for sustenance? Life is not permanent, Even planets are not permanent. The beings are permanent as long as they exist only. But beings have no such knowledge about that. They have no time also to know. As long as one exists it is proper for him to struggle. As long as one exists it is natural for him to desire all the material things in the name of ananda..

It is said life is not permanent. Nothing is permanent. Pursuit of ananda too may not continue for ever. Old age starts at that point where one exhausts all his physical energies in pursuit of his happiness and ananda. Old age is that where one may desire some thing but cannot get any thing more in life. It is not physical thing that is required then. There is certain limit for giving. God gives ananda by providing one with powers in childhood to eat sweets and play, youthful powers to sail and glide with sweet dreams. Again god provide samsaram to one with a wife, children which is altogether a new thing of life and obligation, bondage and a new experience where man desires again and again and undergo lot of happiness and unhappiness too. All this is simply like a day and a night in view of the eternity.

The God’s creation is no doubt perpetual. But it is not like a continuous physical thread or wire to identify it continuously. The nature blooms, blossoms, turn into flowers and fruits, thrive and flourishes with in the god given nature and later is obliterated. It may not be said nothing remains later. Again new things come into existence in the place of old ones in natural process. The playing, dreaming, struggling, suffering of a being goes but only to return in new beings into existence. The pursuit of knowledge continues. The pursuit of desires and happiness, ananda continue.

There is immortality. There is permanent ananda also. There is ever lasting things in nature too. There are never ending things in god’s creation. There is perpetuity in it. It is endless. The creation is infinite. Ananda is also ananta-infinite. The creator is very happy with his creation. The subjects of God’s creation are to know the knowledge of that ananta ananda of God. If one enters into that realm of god in partnership to share it as a partner (of course without any capital) then the ananta - ananda would become one’s profit (experience) in that successful venture.

There are two types of sadhakas, one who seek all happiness, the other one seeks moksha. Happiness is the object of the both. But, temporary one? Or? Permanent? is the question. One prays god for happiness and also with god’s anugraha is bestowed with the joy. The other simply lives and waits for moksha i.e., for release from this jail (loka) to enter into the kingdom of God. For Moksha one has to sacrifice every thing. Foregoing every thing itself is moksha. There is no difference between sorrow and joy for him. Everything appears as one thing of life that is as ‘prasadam’ of god. 

However, it is said the two types of sadhakas reach the same place of realm of god. The first one reaches late and the other one reaches early. The first one may return after the death and the second one may not return after death unless there is some work entrusted to him by god for the purpose of fellow beings. 

God gives and takes life. God gives life to first type of sadhaka again and again with gunas remaining to satisfy the desires only. But God may not give life to another sadhaka who has no desires and whose gunas - desires exhausted and who is only for moksha.

The infinite ananda lies in staying with God rather than to stay in this material world. But the ultimate choice and fate where a particular one is to be placed - with this world? Or with him (god)? lies with the manager - god and he decide. 

Now Old age is that thing to realise all this effectively and plan it for next janmas (not in one’s hands) with the sanction of that God.

With regards,

K.Subrahmanyam.

Reply from Sri Ravi kumar Sistla:

Dear sir

As you rightly said, nothing is permanent and everything is being driven by nature. I always feel that, the said Ananda and Dukkha, both are the outcome of individual’s perception on the issues they experience and result of the happening. As you rightly said the ananda is temporary and the result of the next or immediate event will overtake or replace the joy. Though we all know the said ananda is temporary, we always struggle to survive and enjoy both happiness and sorrow. I too don’t find any fault in doing so.

For every one, the desire starts from birth itself and it should be properly driven to right direction is my opinion. For the earlier younger generation, fortunately the elders used to correct/direct them by so many ways and their desires were made understood properly by them and automatically they develop to think in a proper way. Thanks to our parents and Gurus who taught us the right path. Surprisingly now a days, parents are not directing the child in right direction and the education is also not adding values to the youth.

Unfortunately, neither the parent nor the guru is preaching responsibility to children at right age.  This is leading to generate substandard youth and he will be the next generation parent and guru as well. How can we expect standard citizen from present deteriorated situation?  Added contribution is from the present media and network, which is distorting more, is a great concern of the day. I know anything excess or unwanted will be curtailed is the history, like Krishna tested Sisupala and subsequently he controlled everything. Any way now government is planning to control media is good news. It is true that mind is the connecting point to divinity. For our mind the environment and the surroundings should be clean and our eyes should experience or grasp good things from the society, though bad prevails everywhere.

We will experience real ananda only when we are placed in good environment and with good beings.  To have ananda remain as a wishful thought of our mind only without the correct surroundings. Once we experience ananda, then the thought of real anandam. It is generally accepted that there is no permanence to anything.  I personally feel that there is no permanent anada and if at all it is there, only god will have it by observing all of us as part of his Leela.

Any way for moksha sadhaka there is no joy and sorrow as he is above all. So his ananda is different and his ananda may be called as real anandam to him as long as he remains physically. That means it is also temporary till he lives only. So where is the permanence? I know this real ananda can’t be seen by out siders and it should be experienced only with sadhana by individuals. Does a moksha sadhaka experience this real ananda by reaching moksha? Then the soul should get the real ananda and not the sadhaka. But soul is above all and sadhaka is also above all so there is no anandam for the soul. Then where is the permanent ananda. I am little bit confused sir.

I can draw answer from the following statement of yours in simple terms and understood that working towards Moksha will give real anandam and it is a process to reach ultimate moksha may be in few janmas  and one should aim at is the gist.. Really good sir and we all will try to be in the right path sir..

The infinite ananda lies in staying with God rather than to stay in this material world. But the ultimate choice and fate where a particular one is to be placed - with this world? Or with him (god)? lies with the manager - god and he decides.

Now Old age is that thing to realise all this effectively and plan it for next janmas (not in one’s hands) with the sanction of that God.

Thank you sir

Regards

Ravi sistla