Intellectual knowledge is only a superficial & shallow form of knowledge, because our intellect is only a function of our Mind, which is itself just a superficial & shallow form of Consciousness. Our delusion that makes us feel that Happiness comes from things outside our self & not from within us is, on the other hand, deeply rooted in our mistaken identification of our self with a physical Body, which is in turn rooted in our lack of clear Self-Knowledge.
In fact, the delusion that makes us feel that Happiness comes from things outside our self is the same delusion that makes us feel that we are something that we are not. This fundamental delusion of ours arises only because we do not clearly know what we really are, & hence it can be destroyed only by a clear & correct knowledge of our own real nature. No intellectual knowledge, therefore, can destroy this deep-rooted delusion of ours. The only knowledge that can destroy it is true experiential knowledge of what we really are.
When by true experiential Self-Knowledge we thus destroy the Delusion that we are anything other than the fullness of absolute Happiness, the fire of our desires will automatically be extinguished. Though no amount of intellectual understanding can destroy our deeply rooted delusion, a clear intellectual understanding of the Truth is nevertheless necessary, because without such an understanding we would not know how to discover what true Happiness is.
A clear & correct understanding of the true nature of Happiness will enable us to know not only where we should seek Happiness, but also how we should actually endeavor to seek it. Let us therefore analyze more deeply how our delusion that we obtain Happiness from external objects & circumstances arises.
Let us suppose that we like chocolate. In our Mind we associate the bittersweet taste of chocolate with the feeling of pleasure that we are accustomed to experience whenever we taste it. But does the taste of chocolate necessarily create a feeling of pleasure ? No, it creates such a feeling in us because we like it so much, but it will create no such feeling in a person who is indifferent to it, & it will create a feeling of disgust in a person who positively dislikes it. Moreover, if we eat too much chocolate & thereby make our self sick, we will begin to feel an aversion for it, at least temporarily, so if we eat more of it at that Time, it will not create any feeling of pleasure but only a feeling of disgust.
Therefore it is clear that the Happiness we think we derive from eating chocolate is determined not by the actual taste of chocolate, but only by our liking for that taste. The same is the case with any of the pleasures that we experience through our 5 Senses. Our Senses can only tell us the impressions created by a thing, for example the taste, aroma, texture & color of chocolate, & the crinkling sound of the silver foil in which it is wrapped, but it is our Mind which determines whether or not we like those impressions. If we like them, we do not even have to taste chocolate to feel pleasure from it. Even the sight or smell of chocolate, or the sound of its silver foil Existence opened, will give us pleasure.
In fact we often seem to derive more pleasure from the anticipation of enjoying something, than we do when we actually experience it. Therefore even the thought of some object of our desire can give us pleasure, though that pleasure will always be mixed with a restlessness to experience it actually. Only when we actually experience it, will our desire for it be fully satisfied. However, since that satisfaction is usually experienced only momentarily, we may sometimes appear to enjoy more pleasure from the cumulative build-up of our anticipation for it than we actually enjoy when we experience it.
Moreover, if our Mind is distracted by other thoughts, we may not feel any particular pleasure when we eat chocolate, even though we have so much liking for it. Only when our Mind is relatively free of other thoughts can we really enjoy the taste of chocolate, or the pleasure of satisfying any of our other desires.
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"There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth."
– the "no creation" school of Gaudapada Nome – Ajata Vada
for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see: www.ajatavada.com/
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