THE JOY YOU SEEK IS YOU

(The Lion, the Sheep and the Lake of the Heart)

Rajiv Kapur

Most on the spiritual journey find themselves dealing with two very important factors:
pain and suffering on the one hand, and bliss on the other. The latter is obviously most
desired and welcomed, and many times it is the goal of the whole spiritual search. The
former is avoided, feared and very often also the reason for the spiritual search, which is
looked upon as a means to somehow escape pain and suffering. I feel it is important to
throw some light on these two because an aspirant will always come face to face with
both of them during their spiritual pursuit.

In the first part of this article I would like to address Bliss and Joy. So, what is this Bliss?
Is it permanent? How can I attain and achieve this state? Is this bliss real, or unreal?

Here it would be wise to bring up an old Hindu story from India about a lion cub who,
through unusual circumstances, was raised by a herd of sheep instead of his own mother.
The sheep were very kind and raised the lion cub (we will call it the “sheep-lion”) as their
own. The sheep-lion cub grew up among them, believing he too was a sheep. He slept
with them, played with them, ate grass with them, and bleated when they did. He became
as fearful as they at the appearance of a potential threat.
Years went by. One day an enormous lion leapt out from behind some trees and
threatened the pack of sheep. They huddled together, terrified. That's when the lion
noticed the sheep-lion shaking and hiding in middle of the herd. The sheep-lion was
bleating instead of roaring. The lion asked, "Why are you bleating instead of roaring?
Why are you living among sheep? You're a lion."
The sheep-lion didn't believe this at all. He had been a sheep all his life. Frightened, he
tried to run away. But the larger lion caught him and dragged him to a lake, where he told
the sheep-lion to look at his reflection in the water. The sheep-lion leaned over and saw
his face for the first time. He saw that he wasn't a sheep; he was a lion after all.

From this moment everything changed for the sheep-lion. He roared instead of bleating
and became who he was meant to be. He wasn't meant to live a fearful life, following the
herd of sheep and doing what they did without question. He was a lion. He was powerful,
noble, and strong.

This analogy provides us a very deep insight into the spiritual journey and puts a few
misconceptions surrounding our spiritual life to rest.

First of all, bliss is NOT an attainment. It is our own reflection, our own inner nature.
The lion was always a lion. He was never a sheep. The sheep-lion cub had wrongly
identified himself as a sheep… similarly, we too have wrongly identified with the herd
mentality, which is that “I am so and so” – the body, the mind, the intellect, the energies.
We have failed to look into the lake of our heart. Once we see our true selves clearly, the
false identification drops completely. The memory of the herd is no longer predominant.
Bliss takes over completely. We have only to “look” inwards deep enough, and then we
will see the reflection clearly. This Bliss is what you’ve always been, so there is no
question of it coming and going. What comes and goes is only a state of mind. This bliss
is often referred to as SAT-CHIT-ANANDA. This means that the bliss stays forever, never
to leave. SAT-CHIT-ANANDA may merely seem like three separate words meaning
EXISTENCE-CONSCIOUSNESS-BLISS, but together they denote a very important
deeper meaning, which is “The Consciousness which ever exists as Bliss.” Once we see
it, we will know that we were always that bliss. It stays forever. How can it ever leave
me? It is known that it never did leave me in the first place.

A few key components and features of the Bliss of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA and my own
experience regarding it are mentioned through the following points:

1) It is what you already are, so it is not a question of attainment or of becoming that

Bliss.

2) It is continuous, ever flowing and ever new Joy.

3) All it takes to realize it is an intense looking inwards (towards the lake of our
inner heart) and away from outward sense gratifications (the herd mentality.) The
journey the sheep-lion makes towards the lake represents the inward journey
every sadhaka (spiritual practitioner) has to undertake. It is not enough merely to
assume that we are already that “lion” and so nothing needs to be done, as Neo-
advaita declares.

4) Without looking at one’s reflection in the “lake” (Bliss flowing from the heart)
any knowledge is mere mental knowing. Doubt will always persist. The sheep-
lion has to take the journey to the lake to see its true reflection. This is a must.
Without firm conviction derived through direct experience, no matter how hard
the sheep-lion tries to roar he will only be bleating. Most on the spiritual journey
don’t take the inner journey as a discipline (formal meditation,) and many of them
who do are easily distracted midway along the journey, or drop the journey
altogether. Many go “guru shopping” and read various books, trying to seek a
technique or an insight which can reveal the “Truth” to them in a very short
period of time. They mentally grasp various different concepts and try to find the
Truth through these mental concepts. This is like trying to find fish in a pool of
piss. Fish can only be found in a lake. Therefore it is of vital importance to limit
reading and rather dive within, into the lake of one’s heart. All doubt vanishes
when the lake is reached (when the life energy is stabilized in the heart.) Only
then can the spiritual journey be called complete, not before.

5) Two sure signs that one has reached the “lake,” which is the end of seeking, are:

a. Firstly, there must be a moment when the “sheep” memory (body/mind/ego) is

completely gone and the lion consciousness (pure uninterrupted bliss) takes over.
This means that the knowledge I EXIST cannot be of both the lion and the sheep
 (body/mind/ego). In that knowledge BOTH CANNOT CO-EXIST TOGETHER.
There must be a time where one finds a new reality has emerged INDEPENDENT
of the body/mind/ego. This means the experiencer is not this body/mind/ego.
Many talk about bliss arising and falling, oneness experiences, alertness and
mindfulness experiences or a background SELF (often another mental concept;)
but none of these constitute real awakening because they are experienced through
the normal waking state, where the experiencer is still the body/mind/ego. This is
another flaw of the Neo-Advaitins and of those who shy away from formal
meditation. They haven’t gone deeper than waking and dream to see their true
reflection.

b. Secondly, seeking will automatically come to an end when there is no abidance

by you. Rather, Bliss will abide in you, captivate you and possess you. It will
hold you so close to itself that the outer sense gratifications will lose their charm
and effect on you. Nothing outer or inner will enchant you. All forms of practice
and searching will drop automatically.

6) The bliss which comes and goes (as a glimpse) is nothing but a state of mind. The
temporary joy and bliss which appear take place when the mind gets purified
through sadhana (formal meditation and inquiry). But they disappear too, as they
come from the mind. Many aspirants chase this joy and bliss, and feel dejected
and de-motivated to pursue their sadhana when the joy and bliss elude them, but
this is a big mistake. It is here that a teacher advises his students not to worry
whether bliss is manifesting or not. The student is asked to let go of whatever the
mind brings in – sorrow or joy, and to identify with neither of them; simply to
dive deeper without worrying about any results appearing in the form of joy and
bliss. However, there will be no question of letting go the Bliss of SAT-CHIT-
ANANDA, because it won’t allow you to let go. You will be powerless. Can a
drunkard remain in his senses and let go of his intoxication by his mere willing it?
I know it’s a bad example, and obviously it is not to imply that they are similar in
any way, because the state of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA (Divine intoxication) is a
highly alert state unlike that of any drunkard, and the joy far exceeds that of
drinking or any pleasures of this world.

BEYOND THE BLISS OF SAT-CHIT-ANANDA:

Once a sadhaka establishes him or herself in that Bliss (the Divine intoxication)
which holds them uninterruptedly and continuously, they will intuit and know that
they are beyond that, too. It is outlined in my book with my Master Edji
[“Autobiography of a Jnani” by Edward Muzika and Rajiv Kapur] how that certitude
is established. It is “known” when a timeless existence/non-existence “state” visits
you. It is a well established fact that it is impossible to describe it in words. It is then
known that you are the One, prior even to SAT-CHIT-ANANDA. The reflection was
not ME. I was still the witness. However, as long as Consciousness remains, the
purest form of intoxicating bliss engulfs your entire being. Knowing that you are prior
to this Bliss doesn’t mean the bliss stops flowing from your heart. It only expands
further and further, and makes its way into the hearts of many forms of
Consciousness, transforming the lives of others into great joy and happiness.
Everything transforms into love. The lake of the heart (SAT-CHIT-ANANDA)
transforms into an ocean of bliss and love, feeling great joy in the joy of others and
tremendous pain in the suffering of others.

In my next talk I will address why we can’t separate ourselves from experiencing the
pain and suffering of Consciousness, and how it transforms into love.