Paper lace grace
flutters al fresco
a ticker tape parade
thousand happiness wish
-Sharani (July 2006)
I slowly moved forward in walking meditation, silent, reverent, linked in a seamless circle with others taking darshan from the teacher. With each completion of another time around in our circular passage, a rarefied and angelic feeling of happiness washed over my interior being, deepening with each step. My usual enchantment with beauty found mostly in nature stepped aside as the overwhelming beauty of this breeze of happiness dawning within fed my soul. What kind of fool must I be not to realise it sooner! Happiness is the best kind of beautiful. It feeds our myriad longings and banishes dissatisfaction. Now instead the centrality of abiding satisfaction bubbled forth from within into the bloom of a smile – or to be precise more like a wide and open grin.
Happiness is a complex and elusive wayfarer on my life road. It evaded me when I faced hardships as a child and as I wrestled with feelings of inadequacy. Now these many years later, unless felt as an authentic reality I am usually reticent to paint it on the surface of my life in some kind of superficial nod to its legitimate importance. If it doesn’t honestly dawn from inside up and outward, I shy from hastily donning this garment, however valuable it might be.
Therefore, the solid feeling of happiness that spontaneously graced this walking exercise in meditation struck me with its immensity and tangible power. One thing I know for sure – my meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy offered a very special gift this day with a blessing in the form of kindled happiness. I felt ever so ready to jump up on a soapbox and eagerly declare that happiness is the best kind of beautiful. Not to worry. Maybe my smiling eyes did the talking for me. They can serve as shining testament along with the sweet memory of this experience now imprinted on the tablet of my heart.
My heart’s dawn has come.
Inside my heart
I see only one thing:
The happiness of a God-intoxicated
Beauty-life.
-Sri Chinmoy
Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 9
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Sharani, thank you for this candid report of a sublime and delicate experience. I generally find myself at a loss when trying to craft a likeness of such things from mere words. You have done something remarkable.
Sumangali
Thanks so much for this kind comment Sumangali. I sometimes doubt myself after I write a piece like this which is so frank about inner experiences that are indeed hard to put in words. I ask myself if it is perhaps too personal to share on a blog but then feel almost compelled to openly acknowledge blessings as an attempt to articulate my gratitude in receiving them. I am touched that you appreciated my feeble attempt.
Sharani
Thanks for sharing a very special, intimate experience Sharani. I am often at a loss to put into words such experiences—just yesterday attempted to express a sudden, snowballing sunburst of joy by coining a few words of poetry, which I continue to attempt now and then under Sri Chinmoy’s own maxim “Never give up!â€â€”and am grateful to read your valient, worthy attempt at transcribing the inner worlds here.
Thank-you for sharing this, Sharani – appreciating the generous and courageous spirits of student and Master. Love, Beverly
Happiness runs in great big circle
Happiness runs,
Happiness runs!
-Donovan Leitch
Hi Beverly,
Well you introduced me to an obvious classic that I was not familiar with already. I put a Donovan music CD called Pied Piper with this song “Happiness Runs” on hold in our library network. Until it comes, I’m hearing the song as the background music for a YouTube Video which plays him singing it with the Beatles when they were in India.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM5hKXO1rus
Cool, thanks Beverly!
Hi John,
Thanks for your appreciation. Your blog http://www.sensitivitytothings.com is certainly one of my role models in the blogging world which I recommend as always worth a visit.