All living beings love their life, from the smallest ant to the greatest elephant to human beings. All want to find happiness; all want to find their joy in life, their fulfillment in life. How that looks for one creature or another may differ, but Dharma is the way, the law of the universe, the way that each being finds their path towards the cosmic center.
That cosmic center, Purushottama, is the cosmic nucleus around which the whole universe is spun. All creation moves around that cosmic point of singularity and is drawn into that center, that vortex of cosmic energy. So, each being is drawn to this essence, this source.
Every person essentially loves their life, wants to be whole, wants to find their way to happiness. And so, you must ask yourself what happiness looks like for you. What does it mean to be happy? What is the joy of your life that you would like to fulfill before you leave this physical world? Think on it.
Think about what brings you joy and happiness, and how by following your Dharma, to do your work in the world, to find your joy, is also to find your source. It is finding that cosmic nucleus at the center of being that you are drawn to, knowingly or unknowingly, always searching for.
Some people search in material wealth, some in power and position, some in love of family and friends. All are searching, trying to establish that happiness which does not end, that happiness which is lasting. But if that happiness is achieved only in the material world, there is a fear of loss, a fear of death, a fear that that happiness can be taken away.
Only when that happiness comes from an eternal source, from that cosmic nucleus, can you find lasting happiness—happiness that is not governed by time, not governed by this thing or that thing, or this situation or that situation. Because it doesn’t depend upon anything external, it is lasting. The nature of the Self, the nature of your own essence, is eternal, aware consciousness, being.
All things change in your perception, but the knower, the perceiver, remains the same. Eternal being is unchanging. When you discover the Self within, the eternal essence that never changes and that is not only within you but within all beings, even rocks, plants, animals... All have this eternal essence, this vibrant life within. And when you discover that eternal essence within you, that awakened awareness, that consciousness that is alive, vibrant intelligence, knowing all of your experience but also connected to the same vibrant consciousness, vibrant awareness that is living in all beings, that is the essence of life.
When that essence consumes you, when you find that lasting source of happiness, even though tragedy occurs in your life or great success occurs in your life, whatever is does not really change the deep knowledge that you are eternal, immortal, infinite being, changeless and timeless. You are love divine. You are aware consciousness. When this realization is there and deeply embedded in you, then all the ups and downs of life, whether you are crying or you’re laughing, there is something steady inside of you.
The more this awareness grows, the more the steadiness grows, the eternal knowledge that though the body and the experiences of life vary—the body rises, grows, achieves adulthood, struggles to find happiness, and eventually begins to wear down into old age... People, situations come and go.
Yet when you recognize this aware intelligence within you, this infinite beingness, this divine love, it is always there, always. It doesn’t change. It is your own nature, immortal, eternal, and unchanging.
It does not come and go; you do not come and go. And when you sink into your deep true nature, you sink into the Self, which never changes. And though circumstances change around you, there’s a peace that remains within you. There is a joy that maybe doesn’t require laughing, but just is, a love that is, a peace that is.
And there is knowledge that though the body falls away, this essence of Self remains always, unchanged, unburdened, aware: truth, love, peace, being, consciousness. This is your home and your immortal nature.