Why are we happy some times and sad the other times?

During the days of his earnest seeking, Swami Akandananda used to go and meet many Saints while touring all over northern India. Once he came to know about a Saint who simply lived under a tree in a remote village. Upon meeting a Saint, usually Swamiji used to initiate a conversation mostly by asking a question.

When he went to see the Saint, he asked, “Dear Sir, why do I vacillate between happiness and sadness most of the times? I am happy sometimes and sad the other times.”

The Saint began to smile and said, “Son, if you sit in a trash bin and wonder why you are surrounded by trash, then it’s your mistake. While sitting in the trash can, one should not complain about the trash. Similarly, you are still sitting in your mind and then it is but natural that the trash of the world in the form of happiness and sadness will continue to pour on you. Rise above your mind. Take a deep dive in the inner realms of peace, equanimity and true happiness. Establish yourself in your true Sat-Chit-Ananda (Eternal-Conscious-Blissful) nature and then you can rise above the worldly happiness and sadness.”

How to wake up the pious spiritual hunger?

A seeker went to the Saint and asked, “Dear Sir, when we are here with you, when we listen to your talks, we are at peace with ourselves and we realize the importance of spirituality. But, when we go back to the world, once again we get dissolved into the world. We know that you talk about the importance of spiritual hunger, but how can we worldly people invoke that pious hunger?”

The Saint closed his eyes, and then after a moment of silence, he said, “Dear son, a patient was suffering from a taste disorder wherein he lost sweet taste buds because of which he couldn’t taste anything sweet. When he approached a wise Ayurvedic doctor, the doctor advised him to keep sugar candy (mishri) in the mouth and continue to lick it. He took the advice and did as recommended. Initially, he didn’t get any taste from licking the sugar candy. But finally one day the patient regained the taste buds and began to enjoy the sweetness once again.  Similarly, the Saints also advice to keep listening to the discourses, keep chanting the holy name, keep doing meditation and continue the company of pious seekers even though you don’t enjoy it; even though you don’t have that hunger for knowing the Truth. A day will come soon when you will begin to enjoy the sweetness associated with the seeking of the divine Truth.”