Part 1
Have you ever wondered why every thought and action of yours does not always LEAD TO HAPPINESS?
Why you are in a cycle of PAIN and HAPPINESS?
Don't you wish that you see could see your actions and then have the choice to choose your thoughts and actions that will lead to a life of eternal happiness?
I was also intrigued by these questions and it lead to this newsletter. I found there is a way that can make life a journey of eternal happiness, filled with peace and joy. And this state is called Sanyog.
Let us first look at the two states of existence that are of importance, and then we will understand Ego and Karma.
Sanyog and Viyog
Made up of two Indian words - San (meaning "self") and Yog (meaning "union") - the term Sanyog was created to describe the state where our mind, body and spirit are all in alignment with the law of the creator. This ideal state has its polar opposite in the term Viyog which was created to describe the state of being cut off from unity within the self. The state of Viyog implies that there is a break from unity with the natural laws that the creator wants each of us to follow.
Simply put, we are not in sync with the laws of creation and thus we are a soul divided. It is in our opposition to the forces of creator energy that we create the disharmony in our souls that dominates our daily lives. If we were aligned with the force of the creation our lives would flow in seamless synchronicity with the flow of the creation's energy. We all know it is easier to flow with the current of the stream rather than to try and swim against the direction of its natural flow. Obviously swimming against the flow will take much greater effort to make any progress and we will eventually be worn out and exhausted, like a truck spinning its wheels in a mud puddle. When you look at life through this model you can see that a great deal of our stress and turmoil comes from trying to swim against the natural energy flow rather than using it to move us along.
The Hukam law of creation works in a similar fashion. A life that is aligned with Hukam becomes effortless and beautiful because of the state of Sanyog (union or alignment) with the creator. Whereas as life that is not in alignment with the Hukam is filled with pain and enters a state of Viyog (separation).
A divided (or misaligned) soul is one that has aligned itself with the ego, rather than the creator's flow of oneness. The ego is itself a blade that slices the self into many disparate fragments and prevents the soul from being unified with the natural order. A soul enters the state of Viyog (separation) through the five primary elements of ego: Kaam (Lust), Khrodh (Anger), Lobh (Greed), Moh (Attachment/bondage) and Ahnkaar (Pride). Alignment with these five leads to a state of Viyog. Sanyog happens when we follow the Hukam by becoming aware of ego in form of Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment/bondage and pride and set ourselves free from their grip.
To simply put Sanyog (Eternal happiness) is possible by following the Hukam and Viyog happens due to separation created between you and the creation by Ego.
What is EGO?
1. Ego and its nature?
Now we understand that EGO is the cause of our separation from the creation through our thoughts and actions that defy the Hukam and place us in a state of Viyog. Ego functions through the attachment/bondages creating Karma that keeps us in the cycle of life and death, pain and suffering. The key word is attachment/bondage.
Attachment/bondages can be both tangible and intangible too. We can see, feel or touch tangible attachment/bondages - such as material wealth and other possessions. Whereas intangible possessions are titles and rewards that give us power derived from these recognitions in the form of social stature, popularity and fame. Our mind acts like a magnet by attaching to these worldly things in one form or another. By striving for enlightenment we hope to transcend the bondages of these desires and be free from the pain the desire brings into our lives.
In many senses it is through death that we achieve freedom from these bondages or sufferings. It is important to note that leaving this world is not the solution to attachment/bondages. If we choose to remove ourselves physically from this world, we have only removed our body from the attachment/bondages of this world. Our mind which is the epicenter of thoughts through which we attach to the worldly matters, can still travel millions of miles without this physical body and live in a state of attachment/bondage. The death we seek is the death of the ego state of our lives - the part of us that is in perpetual pain of desiring. Once we are able to transcend these bonds in our minds we can physically reside in this world and make our mind a monk that stays detached and we allow ourselves to cherish what we earn in this world to live, survive and feed ourselves and our families. It is toward a state of gratitude that we strive as opposed to a state of servitude to our insatiable egos.
Click here for part 2
