live in such a way that you lose sense of time and are immersed in the present. Then you feel ecstasy; you slip into a state of deep meditation where your mind is free, writes Vastushastri Khushdeep Bansal
The experience of real joy comes from the soul, it comes only with fulfillment of the desire of the soul — the core desire. If we are in pain, it indicates that the direction of our karma (action) is incorrect. Pain occurs when we move away from our core desire and take the wrong path. For example, currently we are in Jaipur and we have to travel to Delhi which lies to the north of Jaipur. If we travel towards Mumbai, our consciousness will tell us that we are going in the wrong direction.
Here, the consciousness will indicate that ‘we are travelling in the wrong direction’ — through the feeling of anxiety or restlessness which is another form of pain that occurs at the mind level (Manas Shareer). The same rule mentioned above also applies to the human body. If it gets hurt at any point(any organ), or if some foreign particle or infection is entering the body, then the body has its own defence mechanism to get ready. It will first create a layer around that particle or infection; secondly, abscess (pus) formation will take place, which will throw the infection out.
The formation of pus and the pain or trouble is an indication that something is wrong here. The body intelligence works to drive it away. This can be termed as the karma of the body — removal of the foreign particles. In this case, how the body reacts is not wrong, but there is pain. The action and pain continues till the foreign particle is finally ejected out. Similarly, when we deviate from the manifestation of our core desire (for which we are here), it causes us pain.
This deviation also causes anxiety, as it is not acceptable to nature. So whenever, we are misaligned, we are in trouble — we feel pain and see the problem. When we are in the right direction, with all actions focused on manifesting our core desire and living ‘purpose of life’, we are happy and enjoy our lives. Then the rest of the world becomes immaterial, things keep happening, all the sources required become available and it feels as if the whole world is supporting our cause.
When an action of ours is connecting us with the Anandmaya Kosha, Vigyanmaya Kosha and the Manomaya Kosha, viz when all our five koshas are engaged in an activity, we are living our ‘purpose of life’, manifesting our core desire and enjoying it. The real purpose of life on the planet is living it in such a way, that you lose the sense of time and be immersed in the present moment. Then, you feel ecstasy; you slip into the state of deep meditation (samadhi) where your mind is free from all thoughts and there is no sense of time.
You are just doing your job, enjoying the job; people are coming closer to you, there is no question of money. If you are totally enjoying yourself — this is the true purpose of your life, nothing else. It doesn’t matter where and how. live your core desire and that will give you utmost joy. If you reflect on it, it always appears with clarity and it will be practical.
It will not be a long list. Do remember, the longer is your list of desires the longer will be your list of sorrows and sufferings. Also remember that pleasure is a relative word; some find pleasure in singing, some in dancing, some in a well-maintained home, some in sharing knowledge and some in making others laugh. There is no bigger sorrow than expectation of getting pleasure in a desire, which is dependent on some other’s behaviour. This has been termed the ‘relative pleasure’ (sukh) in yoga. This has been referred to as Klesh Vritti (quarrelsome tendency), which causes painful recurring thoughts. Removing it by effort has been termed as the first step of sadhana (meditative practice) by Sage Patanjali.
One who is enjoying — whether it is dancing, doing interior-designing, delivering the best training in the best language, or simply enjoying in making people laugh. (Making people laugh and sharing happiness is a great gesture of getting ananda.) Such people lose the sense of time. Patanjali has described this state as Kaivalya, meaning — ‘Kaival laya’ (only flow), Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi(author of Flow)) terms it as ‘Flow’. The two scientists, one, 5,000 years old and the other, today’s best, call the inner mind and consciousness as ‘Kaival laya’ and ‘Flow’ — there is no difference.
The purpose of meditation (dhyan) is to help your consciousness ‘be aware’ in order to recognise and live your core desire with ‘purpose of life’, so that you understand what true joy is. It is not the state which exists elsewhere; it is here right now. Whenever I am practising vastu, I have no clue about time. I can talk, discuss and practice vastu at all hours. I even skip my sleep and I would not know. I have no realisation of time then — this is because it is the only thing for which I am here on the planet. This is the only ‘purpose of my life’; there is nothing else. The rest is irrelevant; a play, an act for me. If I am doing vastu, I am living my own self. If I am not practising vastu, I am out of myself, which is painful.
Have you observed that it is painful when things get out of your control, like when you lose your temperIJ That is because you are not into your own self. Your home, work or relationships are not responsible for that. Most of the time you live in pain because you are not into your own self, which is because you have not identified your core desire.
What or who is stopping you from living your core desireIJ No one in the world is stopping you, but you yourself are not doing it, because you are not into your own self. And, this is because you are living the conditioned desires, not the desire of your soul, not the purpose for which your soul has assumed this life.
The writer is a Delhi-based Vastu expert