Happiness

I would like to put my thoughts down on "Happiness" today. The essence that is going to follow is wisely shared by my yoga master yesterday evening.

Everyone without exception seeks happiness. Each individual has his or her ways to obtain happiness.


Happiness can come in the form for acquiring and possessing material things including cars, branded handbags and watches, jewelries.

Happiness too can appear in the form of gathering of money and having lots of it.

To many, plastic surgery to defy aging and pursuit of beauty is happiness.

Happiness can be a reflection of having a title to one's name.


Happiness to many is how others see, appreciate and admire them.


Most of these gratifications are instant, materialistic, temporary and can be lost in an instant.

If the above are what happiness are to these individuals, it is perfectly fine.

Let's imagine what happens to these individuals, if they lost all their money, jewelries, admiration, conferred salutations, cars and beauty in an instance. These people would lose their individualities and destroy their own self-esteem that so much depended on these things. All the possessions and pursuits are for the satisfaction of their Egos. Once not there, they perceived that there is no longer any self-worth; there is no happiness left. To these individuals, there is no dependable support within themselves that they can fall back on once all those that they once treasured are no longer available to them. FEAR develops and destroys an individual.

Therefore, self-centered-ness is critically important to each one of us. We can build in a structure that centers happiness within ourselves without depending on those earthly possessions and external reference checks. As long as we are able to feel happy and know happiness is us to call upon and is inside us and it can appears each time we call upon it, we are going to be a very happier group of persons. Whenever there is pain, suffering, lost, misunderstanding, guilt, sadness we can immediately go deep within ourselves to seek that reliable happiness that can mitigate those negative feelings and thoughts. Gratification can be instantaneous.

The practice of the yoga processes including asanas, pranayama and meditation equips and lead ourselves to the attainment of happiness in ourselves . By being able to have that state of happiness, bliss and a positive fragrance glowing from within forms the foundation of being able to not FEARING.


Fear is defined as a false emotion appearing real. When we remove fear we get rid of the fear of death. We are then able to separate and detach our mind, body, and all properties we are aligned to externally.

Pursue meditation. It is not a cult practice. It is not only meant for a select group of weird individuals. It is not a unholy or religious concept. Meditation is about strengthening our mind, building balance and a centered-ness within us. Without these strengths, our mind fluctuates wildly and harms our body in the form of stress, diseases and hallucinations. With all the health food, supplements and exercise we do, it would be really of no use if our mind is not stable and strong to provide the clarity and wellness that we seek when we either feel lost or requires inspiration.

Yes...take that first step to at least know what meditation is. That would be a start to bring a little magic into us. It has done wonders for my BEING. Believe me.

CD on Yoga Midra - an interlude into the mediative process

Editorial Reviews

Book Description


"Yoga Nidra" means "Yogic Sleep". It is a deep relaxation in which you leave the waking state, go past the dreaming state, and enter into the deep sleep state, while remaining fully awake and alert. This state of awareness is extremely beneficial, both for releasing stress, and for experiencing the joy of subtler spiritual explorations or experiences.

The voice will systematically guide you to explore your physical body, then move through 61 specific points within the body, and then practice ascending breath awareness along the body and spine. Your attention will be brought to the space between the eyebrows, then to the throat, and finally to the heart center, where you will go deep into stillness and silence, beyond the activities of the mind.

Following the custom of the ancient sages, the depth of Yoga Nidra comes from inner awareness of the levels of your own self, including your body, breath, and the subtler mind, rather than diverting attention through music or inner fantasies. This inner exploring through self-awareness is a more refined form of meditation that leads you deeper into the stillness and silence of your own being, while remaining fully awake and aware. The Yoga Nidra methods bring you to a place of awareness where you are able to completely let go of any words, thoughts, images, impressions, or pictures in the mind. You are guided to allow your mind to "empty, empty, empty" though you remain fully awake and clear of mind.

The practices on this CD will gently train your ability to direct your own attention, which is the primary skill in the art of meditation. You will find that you are gradually able to use these methods on your own, without the CD, and the benefits will be with you not only during your practice time, but also during the activities of daily life.

The Yoga Nidra CD has five tracks. The first track is an introduction (8:02 minutes), describing the state of Yoga Nidra and the practices on the CD. The next four tracks move through four sequential practices that are listened to together, so as to form a complete practice of 57:24 minutes (CD is 65:36 minutes in total). These four tracks can also be listened to individually, as complete practices unto themselves, which allows you to have the benefits of practice when less time is available.

After some time of practicing Yoga Nidra, you will naturally find it to be a most enjoyable and spiritually inspiring part of your life.


About the Author

Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati is an American-born student and teacher of the ancient tradition of the Himalayan sages and is a monk of the Shankaracharya lineage, initiated as a dandi (staff-bearing) swami, a most honorific initiation of the monastic order.