WHAT IS ANANDA? THE ENERGY THAT NEVER REDUCES…🔗

I welcome you all with my love and respect. Let me first introduce the word Nithyananda Spurana to all of you.

Nithyananda - nithya is eternal, ananda is bliss. Spurana is flowering. Continuously, eternal bliss is flowering within us, happening within us; but we keep stopping it!

Ananda means the feeling or the energy that never subsides. The opposite of it is nanda, which means that which can leave you, which can be taken away from you. Ananda means that which never leaves you, which can never be taken away from you, which will never reduce. It can never be affected by a certain time or a certain space. It happens irrespective of time and space. Anything that changes based on time and space is nanda. Anything that will not change based on time and space is ananda. Right now, whatever you think of as ananda, is only joy; it is not bliss. And joy changes based on time and space.

At a particular time, we are blissful. In a particular space we are blissful. If we try to reproduce that same time or space, we find that we are not as blissful as before! That is what I mean when I say that the joy that we know is subject to time and space, and also inconsistent at that.

In each and every one of us, there is an energy continuously flowing, which never changes. There is an energy that can never be taken away from us. Of course, again and again, all the masters who appear on planet earth say that in every being, ananda is flowing. Apart from the masters saying it, even if we start searching inside, we will understand that if there is no Ananda sustaining us at the bottom line, we won't be able to move even an inch in our lives. Even the inhaling and exhaling is happening because of the underlying bliss. Our life continues because either we experience this bliss, or we hope to experience this bliss some day. The hope of bliss is what keeps us alive even if we are not aware of it.

It is only because of this ananda, that even our inhaling and exhaling happens. Either we experience it, or we have an idea that we will experience. It is the continuous flow of ananda that makes our life also flow. Otherwise, our life will not flow. That is why still we are alive. That is why still we are breathing. That is why our system is still functioning. This energy that we call ananda is continuously working within our being.

ALL MASTERS AGREE ON ONE POINT – THAT WE ARE BLISS

There is a beautiful saying in the Upanishad (*vedic* scriptures), 'If two rishis (sages) agree on some point, be very clear, one of them is a fake!' No two rishis will agree on any one concept. They will always have some conflict, because each one expresses things in a different way. All of their experiences are the same, but each of their paths and expressions is different. That is the problem.

If we ask about food, some of them will tell us to have only vegetarian food; some will say that we can have non-vegetarian food; some will say that we should fast unto enlightenment! Some will say that there are no food restrictions. Each one will have his own opinion about it.

If we ask about marriage, some will say, 'Don't marry, be a celibate.' Some will say, 'You can marry; being a householder is okay.' Some will say, 'You can marry even four or five times.' Marrying four or five times is the straight way to enlightenment! If we marry four or five times, we can't manage our life without enlightenment! It becomes a basic need then. If we marry once, enlightenment is an option. If we marry more than once, enlightenment is a basic need without which we can't live!

Anyhow, jokes aside, each of these masters has got his own idea, his own opinion on every subject. No two masters agree with each other on the same subject. But when it comes to this one concept 'ananda', all of them agree to the statement, 'We are bliss. Our inherent nature is bliss.'

There is no being on planet Earth that is not filled with bliss. In every one of us, bliss is flowing. In every being, bliss is continuously happening. As far as this one concept is concerned, there is no master who disagrees. If all the masters are agreeing on this point, it must be a fundamental Truth.

IN THE MYSTERY OF DEATH LIES THE ANSWER TO LIFE

In USA, 115 years ago, a young lady asked the great sage Vivekananda, 'What is life?'

He said, 'Come with me to Bharat. I will teach you.'

She asked, 'What will you teach me?'

He said, 'I shall teach you how to die.'

The question is about life but the answer is about death! It seems strange! What Swami Vivekananda is saying is, if you know the secret of death, the quality of your life will be different. Your very understanding and attitude towards everything will change.

Death is not a mere incident at the end of your life. It is a profound knowing. If you know how to die, you know how to live. Living and leaving are two sides of the same thing. Your life will be totally different once you understand death.

The NSP journeys you through your own life, simultaneously revealing the secrets of death. It makes your inner space pure and clean by unloading the baggage of emotions that you usually carry with you. It teaches you to live blissfully and leave peacefully. It puts death in the right perspective so that your life becomes more joyful and meaningful.