 
    NO MATTER

WHAT RELIGION YOU BELIEVE IN...

GOD

=

HAPPINESS

Realize God and discover

the Ultimate Secret of Happiness

by

    NO MATTER

WHAT RELIGION YOU BELIEVE IN...

GOD

=

HAPPINESS

Realize God and discover

the Ultimate Secret of Happiness

by

Copyright © AiR Institute of Realization 2019

AiR asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this book.

ISBN 978-93-5361-928-2

All rights reserved.

No part of the content (of this publication except images) may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in India by Navya Graphics

No-8, 12th Main,14th Cross, Lakkasandra Extn., Wilson Garden, Bangalore-560030

Publisher: AiR

Kemp Fort Mall, No-97, Old Airport Road, Bangalore-560017

We are all seeking Happiness...

at most of us don't find.

We search in the wrong places...

When Happiness is Inside.

Realize God within 53-67

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 115-127
    PREFACE

We all want to be happy and we struggle to remain in a state of peace, joy, and bliss. Some of us are busy trying to achieve something that will make us happy, while others are blissful, just content with what they have. Most of us, who believe in God, go to our God for happiness. We pray when we have problems that are beyond our control. But have we really understood the connection between God and Happiness?

We understand what it means to be happy, especially when we compare it to those times when we are miserable and unhappy. But how exactly is our state of joy or sorrow connected to God, remains a mystery. Yes, we pray thinking of God as someone in heaven who has a magic wand with which He controls our Happiness. But is this true or is there something else that we are ignorant about?

What is the connection between God and Happiness?

As the Happiest man on earth, I wrote several books to
    share my realization that gave me peace, bliss, and joy. After writing an initial book on Happiness and revealing the 3 Peaks of Happiness, I have just nished writing my third book on Happiness – Be Happy in the NOW! I also wrote a book about God – Who is God? Where is God? What is God? It was then, that I realized that people didn't know about the deep connection between God and Happiness. This connection seems to be a secret, unknown to man. While we all pray to God and we all seek Happiness, we have not realized a profound Truth, GOD = Happiness.

God controls our Happiness! This may sound strange in the beginning but when we realize the Truth, we will not only understand it but also enjoy the joy and bliss that is beyond any Happiness that we have ever experienced.

We all have some vague understanding about God, life, and Happiness. We don't realize that what we live by is largely mythological, not the actual Truth because as kids we have been told various fairy tales. We continue to believe in them even after we complete our childhood.
    I decided to ask questions and investigate to nd out the Truth.

In my quest to discover who I am and what my purpose is, I found answers that liberated me from misery and sorrow. I also realized that people didn't know where to search for Happiness.

There was once an old lady who had dropped her diamond earring and she was frantically looking for it right outside her house. She attracted the attention of her neighbours who joined her in the search for her lost treasure. As they all looked for the earring, a smart neighbour came up to her and asked her, "Where did you drop the earring?" She answered, "Oh well, I dropped it inside the house." "Then why are you looking for it outside the house?" he questioned in wonder. She answered, "You don't understand, there is no light inside, so I am searching for it outside!"

Sometimes, we too are like the old lady, not knowing where to nd Happiness due to the darkness of ignorance that we live in. I realized that we have a body but we are not the body. And we seem to have a mind, but we are not the mind. Then who are we? To achieve
    ultimate Happiness, we have to realize the truth about God. We all pray to God, but do we know the real Truth about God? We may believe in any religion but that hardly matters because God is beyond religion. Every religion is good because it helps us to start a relationship with God by making us believe in God.

But religion is only the kindergarten to spirituality. While we evolve in life, we don't evolve spiritually to realize that God is far more powerful than what we imagine. This book is not about religion. It respects all religions but asks us to go beyond. If we truly love our Lord, then we must seek God and realize the Truth. For when we realize the truth about God, we will also discover Happiness that we have never experienced before.

Come, let us start the quest!
    01

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

Happiness is not a destination, it is the journey itself

You can't have Happiness, it is not something to possess

You can't go to Happiness, it is not a place

You can't be with Happiness, it is not a person You can't buy Happiness, it is not a product

You can't achieve Happiness, it is not a transaction You can only be Happy, it is a state of being

1
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

What is the real meaning of Happiness?

If we try to look for the denition of Happiness, we will nd that it is a state of being happy and while we all talk about 'being happy' frequently, sometimes, it is difcult to dene it. Even a child knows what Happiness is! It is exactly the opposite of being sad. When we are happy, we smile, laugh, we celebrate. It is a feeling of goodness and well-being, just as it is a feeling of being positive and optimistic. In fact, everybody in this world wants to be happy. It is probably the rst and most basic instinct of a human being – we all want to be happy.

Who doesn't want to be Happy?

Everybody in this world lives by the pleasure-pain principle. We are attracted to pleasure and we stay away from pain. It doesn't matter what our nationality, religion, gender or age is – we just want to be happy!

But what makes me Happy may not make others Happy. Different things trigger Happiness for different people. Once we are happy, it most likely puts the same smile on our face. The symptoms of Happiness are not very different though the causes are. While Happiness

2
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

seems to be a very simple subject, it is like a shadow and eludes most of humanity. The more we go behind it and try to chase it, the further it goes away. The only way to be happy is to stop and be happy NOW!

The rst peak of Happiness

Generally, people believe that Happiness only comes from pleasure. In reality, Success and Achievement is just the rst peak. It creates name, fame, money, and pleasure and these make us happy, but it never quenches our thirst. Although it is said to be the rst peak of Happiness, we never reach the top. Still, most of humanity, probably 80% of the human race, is seeking Pleasure and Achievement – the rst peak of Happiness. Sometimes, such people are glad and sometimes they are sad. People on this peak desire Happiness and sometimes achieve bliss and joy, just as they also get disappointed and miserable going around like a merry-go-round, passing happiness and misery in circles.

Evolving to the second peak of Happiness

About one-fth of us are lucky to evolve to the second

3
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

peak of Happiness, which is not momentary.

Doshi was a very rich man. He had millions in the bank. He had property, he had gold, he had everything that he wanted but he was not happy. His neighbour Kishan, on the other hand, didn't have much but was very happy. Why? Because Doshi was never content. He was an achiever but sometimes he achieved what he desired and sometimes he didn't. Therefore, he was always unhappy. Kishan was a man of humble achievements and though he had little money, he was a very happy man. He was always smiling. Doshi would often go for a walk when he was under great stress and Kishan would always greet him with a smile. Doshi used to wonder, "How is this man, who is so poor, happier than me although I am a multimillionaire?" He didn't realize that achievement was just the rst peak of happiness. Kishan had evolved to the second peak of happiness, contentment and fulllment. Doshi seriously thought about it and started making efforts to transform his life to get a life of contentment and fulllment.

Those who evolve to the second peak of Happiness live a life of contentment and fulllment. They experience the rst peak of Achievement but discover that Happiness on the rst peak is momentary. They learn

4
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

to transcend their greed and live happily, fullling their need. Not only are they fully content and satised, but they also build a universal connection with God, praying with faith and hope. They live with meaning and purpose. Their life is not just about dreaming and making their material dreams come true. Their inspiration and faith lead them to noteworthy success that is built on a foundation of positive emotions. They live with love and laughter, making a difference in the world, rather than just making money. Most importantly, they live a life of tranquillity and peace as they enjoy freedom from the desire and craving for achievement. People who are content live a far more fullled life and this Happiness is more intense than the kind of Happiness we get from pleasure. It is a combination of pleasure and peace. But unless one takes an exit from the highway of Achievement, it is very difcult to evolve to the second peak of Happiness – Fulllment.

We are happy, but...

While most of us are happy, whether we live on the rst peak - Achievement or second peak - Fulllment, we all

5
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

experience misery, unhappiness or sorrow. Of course, we are happy, but like a yo-yo, sometimes we go up and sometimes we go down, sometimes we are glad and sometimes sad.

What is it that makes us miserable and can we overcome sorrow as we live? Most of us believe that there is no way to eternal joy and everlasting peace, but in reality, there is. This belongs to the third peak of Happiness, a peak called Enlightenment, that comes with Liberation or Realization. It is a state of joy, bliss, and peace that has no suffering. Less than 0.00001 percent of humanity discovers this third and ultimate peak of Happiness.

Difference between the 3 peaks

People on the rst peak of Happiness become happy. They live a life of excitement, smiling and laughing as they enjoy their life journey. However, they are not content and satised. They enjoy pleasure, but they do not have peace. Why? If we analyze their Happiness, it is all about fullling their desire. Some of their desires are fullled and some are not. What happens to people who are on this journey? They achieve immense

6
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

pleasure but they soon start feeling a sense of incompleteness and desire something else. They become agitated and start moving towards their next achievement. Sometimes they are happy and sometimes they are unhappy.

The life of those on the second peak is slightly different. They transcend this game of desire and disappointment, peace and agitation and replace achievement with contentment as the key to making them happy. They bust the myth that only success, achievement, money, name, and fame give Happiness. Instead of chasing their greed, they are content fullling their need. But one thing is common in both the aspirants of achievement and fulllment - both suffer misery and sorrow as they experience fear, worry, regret, anger, hate, jealousy, and revenge. They live without experiencing eternal and everlasting peace, tranquillity and Happiness.

Only the conquerors of the third peak transcend misery as they are enlightened with the Truth. They are liberated from misery and sorrow as they realize who they truly are.

7
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

Happiness belongs to the NOW!

While we may be happy through achievement or fulllment, one thing is certain, Happiness doesn't belong to yesterday or to tomorrow. The past is gone and the future is not yet born and those who want to be happy, ultimately realize that Happiness is all about NOW. Happiness is all about this MOMENT. We can either be glad or we can be sad and that is a secret known, enjoyed, and experienced by a very few of us. We swing like a pendulum, living with regrets of the past and letting the fears of the future steal our Happiness. Achievers rarely enjoy the NOW because they live for tomorrow. Those who are content and fullled, enjoy the NOW, but they let the suffering of the body and mind steal the present moment. A realized being on the third peak enjoys life moment by moment, living in surrender and acceptance, liberated from sorrow and enlightened by the Truth.

We go to God for our Happiness...

All of humanity has one thing in common – all seek Happiness and seek it from God. Apart from atheists

8
WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

who don't believe in God and do not seek happiness from God, most of us largely go to God to fulll our wishes. Even the non-believers, sometimes have no choice. When their life is attacked by terminal illness and their suffering is beyond human control, they break down in tears and with folded hands, ask God to save them from their misery and problems.

The cover page of the Time magazine of April 27, 1970, shows a picture of astronauts praying to God for their safe return. Even scientists, when faced with certain death or unbearable disasters, are helpless and have no choice but to pray to God.

Those who truly believe in God don't pray only when they are faced with a disaster. They go to God constantly, not only for the elimination of their misery but also to request God to shower them with peace and happiness. Those who ask God to fulll their dreams by special favours are believers in God and they know that GOD is the Giver Of Dreams, the Giver Of Destiny. They believe that their Happiness is in the hands of God.

Those who have scaled the third peak of Happiness or

9
    WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

are on that journey, do not pray because of their problems or for pleasure or peace. They pray for the Realization of the Truth, Liberation, and Enlightenment. Whatever be the reason for prayer, one thing seems certain – we go to God for Happiness.

Happiness is a state of mind,

But we search for it in the wrong place.

If we want true joy, peace, and bliss,

We can attain it with God's grace.

10
    CHAPTER 1 SUMMARY

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

  * The rst and most basic instinct of a human being is, "We want to be happy."

  * Everybody wants to be happy, but different things trigger Happiness for different people.

  * The Happiness that comes from pleasure is just the rst peak – Success, Achievement, Name, Fame, Money, and Pleasure. Probably 80% of the human race, is seeking Pleasure and Achievement – the rst peak of Happiness.

  * About one-fth of humanity is lucky to evolve to the second peak of Happiness. They live a life of contentment and fulllment.

  * Less than 0.00001 percent of humanity discovers this third and the ultimate peak of Happiness – a peak called Enlightenment, that comes with Realization and Liberation.

  * While most people are happy, whatever peak they may be on, they often experience misery and sorrow, and sometimes they are glad and sometimes sad.

  * Those who want to be happy, ultimately realize that Happiness is all about NOW, this MOMENT.

  * While all this about happiness is known, there is one common Truth - we go to God for our Happiness.

11
    02

UNDERSTANDING GOD

Most of us go to God and with folded hands, we pray...

We mumble a few words in prayer,

but we don't know what we say.

Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

First this we must understand... Then He will fulfill our wishes, everything is His command.

12
    Understanding God

Most of us pray to our God

Most of humanity has a religion and a God. We consider this to be very important. A few people who evolve beyond religion sometimes, underestimate its importance. Religion is the kindergarten to spirituality. It helps us build a relationship with God.

Imagine growing up without religion. Who would teach us about the Creator and creation? Who would guide us to live with morals and values? How would we be able to create a good life philosophy without a guiding theology? Every religion plays a part in connecting a child with God. It doesn't matter which religion we belong to and to which God we pray to, as long as we pray and do it with sincerity. That is the rst step to our well-being and Happiness.

Why do we pray?

As little children, we are taught to pray, just as we are taught many other things. We are made to believe in a God with a name and form. We are made to read a religious scripture and we grow up believing in our religion.

13
    Understanding God

As children, we pray to God for our Happiness and the well-being of our family, our grades in school and for God to fulll our dreams and wishes. Depending on the grace of God, our relationship with God and love for God grows. If God grants all of our prayers, some of us become staunch believers in God. When our desires are left unfullled, some of us lose faith and drift away from God. Whenever children face a problem, they are taught to go to God and pray as God will solve all their problems. This also builds our respect for the all-powerful Creator. As children, our understanding is limited and we pray to God to solve our problems and grant us our pleasures.

As we grow older, our prayers change. We now pray to God for our peace of mind as well as for our family and dependents. Our prayers become a medium of intense communication rather than fervent appeals. Some of us learn to remain silent and listen to God's voice in our communication through prayer.

Religion is the kindergarten to spirituality

Every religion is a pre-school to know about God. It

14
    Understanding God

doesn't matter which religion we belong to, as ultimately, the God of all religions is one, the all-powerful Creator of this earth and cosmos. All religions teach us to have faith in God, to believe, to pray and to build a connection with God. In fact, the word 'religion' itself comes from the root words 'religare' and 'religio' which mean reverence for God or even to tie a bond with God.

All religions are based on theology or the study of theo – God. Did religions come rst or the earth? Obviously, religions evolved over time and those who study theology realize the fact that the major religions – Christianity and Islam sprouted from the Abrahamic religions along with Judaism. They had one source, just like in the east, it started with the Hindu faith which led to Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. All these religions believe in a God, the same God, but give God a different name and form so that their followers can easily relate to their God. We are not trying to get into comparing religions but just trying to understand the point that all religions are good as long as they make us believe in God. However, religion is just the starting point. If we truly love God, then we will go beyond our religion to realize the God we believe in and pray to.

15
    Understanding God

God is beyond religion

God is the centre point of all religions. All religions believe in God. God is the Creator and the preserver of this universe. Unfortunately, while we all pray to God, we don't really know God. God is beyond human comprehension. God is a power, a universal power that is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (knows everything) and omnipresent (present everywhere).

It is unfortunate that most people misunderstand the concept of God and think that only 'their' God is the real God! Our inclination towards differentiating 'our' God from 'their' God itself acknowledges our ignorance about God. Is it possible that the Christian God created the land, the Muslim God created the skies and the Hindu God created the oceans and the seas? Anybody with a little common sense will understand that God is one universal power that is believed in by different religious groups, who gave different names and titles to their God. To know God, we need a religion, but we must go beyond our religion to realize the truth about God. We don't need to change our religion, but we must go on a quest, in search of God if we truly love our Lord.

16
    Understanding God

We human beings are made of esh and bone. Who made us? Obviously, a Power, a Universal Energy that is beyond birth and death, created us. All religions believe that their God is alive and immortal. Different religions may differ in several points of view. Our challenge is not to get caught in these differences but to go beyond religion to the God that we love and we seek, the Creator. When we let our religion limit us, we can become fanatics by blindly believing a scripture without using our intellect to correctly interpret the same. Whatever religion we belong to, our goal is one – God.

Do we really know God?

While we all seem to know who our God is, how many of us have gone on a quest, a search to nd out where God is? We go to several places of pilgrimage just as we visit temples, mosques or churches to pray. But does God live there? Can we meet our Lord in these places of worship? We know we can't. The Bible says, "The kingdom of God is within you". The Quran says "Wherever you are, I am". The Hindu scriptures say, "You are the Divine Spirit, the Soul." While all religions primarily speak of God inside, within us, we search for

17
    Understanding God

God outside. Unfortunately, we really don't know where God is.

What is God?

God is not a statue, God is not a saint, God is not a picture that anyone can paint. God is a power beyond human comprehension. God is the Creator of the earth and all the life on it. God is the Creator of the skies and the planets, the entire cosmos and the universe. To dene God is to deny God. God can't be proved. We have to believe in God. Do you believe that you have eyes? You don't need to believe this because you know it. You can touch them, feel them and see with them. But you can't touch God. You need to believe in God. Our very existence is proof of God's existence.

An atheist once went to have a discussion with a spiritual preacher. They argued for several days. The atheist prescribed to the belief that this entire universe originated from one big bang. The saint tried to make him understand that such an intelligent universe could not be caused by a chemical burst. This beautiful earth with beautiful skies and clouds, amazing sunrises and sunsets, the mountains and the oceans, the

18
    Understanding God

rivers and the seas, the gardens and the owers, the birds and the bees...how could all of these amazing creations just happen out of a big bang? Some intelligent power must have caused all this to happen. Stuck to his own convictions, the atheist refused to believe this.

The next day, the atheist visited the saint to say goodbye, still oblivious of God's existence. As he was leaving, he saw a beautiful globe on the desk of the saint. It was made of dark blue marble inlaid with gold, "Where did you get this beautiful globe from?" asked the atheist. The preacher replied, "I don't know. One morning when I came to my ofce, I just found it here." The atheist got upset and said, "How can the globe just appear on your table? If you don't want to reveal the secret of where you got it from, just say so. But don't tell me it just appeared on your table!" The saint grabbed the opportunity to explain and said, "All these days, you argued that this entire earth, the universe and everything on it just appeared out of nowhere! But you are unwilling to accept that this tiny globe on my table must have a Creator or a source." The atheist realized the Truth in a ash!

There are many things in life that are beyond human control. Our birth, our death, laws of the universe, the

19
    Understanding God

earth's rotation and so many other things that are 'God-made' prove that there is a Creator that exists, who not only created all these wonderful creations but also manages and preserves it in a way unknown to man.

Who is God?

Now the question is, "Who is God?" If God is such an amazing Power, if God is everywhere on earth, and if God controls our birth and death, how can we be ignorant and limit God to our religion? God is the God of the entire universe and if there were many planets like the earth, then the same God is the creator of such planets. We, human beings are ignorant, we don't really know who God is, where God is and what God is.

In all the above reections, are we trying to put down any religion? Absolutely not! It may be repeated that all religions are good but we must go beyond religion to realize God. Our religion is the starting point of our relationship with God.

God is the source of Happiness

If God is the Creator of this universe; if God decides

20
    Understanding God

when we should be born, where, in which family, in which city or country, rich or poor, male or female, if everything is decided by God, then is it difcult to believe that God is the source of our Happiness? Unfortunately, we have a very limited and narrow perspective of God. We accept certain beliefs about God that are narrow and limited. We believe in rituals and superstitions. But we don't think big enough to make God real in our life!

Once there was a sherman shing near a river bank. Every time he caught a sh, he measured it and if it was smaller than the size of his palm, he put it into his bag. If it was a big sh, beyond his measure, he threw it back into the water. A passer-by questioned him about this strange behaviour, to which he replied, "You don't understand. In my house, I have a frying pan that is only the size of my palm and so I am throwing away the big sh".

We too retain all the small ideas about God, but we don't use our intelligence to realize the mega truth, the source of creation. God can do anything. God can make the impossible possible. God can make miracles happen.

21
    Understanding God

Jim never really believed in God. He believed in working hard and often used to criticize his religious friends. To him, life was all about success, achievement, and money in the bank. He had a lovely daughter and she was very dear to him. One day, doctors diagnosed her with a terminal illness. All of Jim's success and money could not save his daughter. Helpless, he turned to God.

Are we so ignorant that we don't realize that our Happiness or grief is controlled by a Power that is beyond human comprehension? Some people seem lucky, gifted or blessed. Everything they touch, seems to turn to gold and they attribute it to their good fortune. Little do they realize that this is because of their faith and their relationship with God. God is a source of Happiness. There is no doubt about this. Unfortunately, we don't understand the concept of God, we don't realize that God is the Creator, the Controller of everything that happens on earth.

Those who love God, live their life with peace and bliss

While Happiness is experienced by everybody who

lives, we know that life is like an ocean of waves. There

22
    Understanding God

are splashes of joy and waves of sorrow, both coming and going in cycles. However, most of humanity hasn't discovered the secret of peace and joy. The simple secret is GOD = Happiness. While the majority of mankind argues on this and continues to suffer, only a very few who love God, experience everlasting peace, tranquillity, and eternal bliss and joy.

We all want to be happy. We also pray, but we don't realize the strong connection between God and Happiness. We are so busy that we just zoom from our womb to our tomb. We don't realize who God is, where God is and what God is, nor do we discover that God is the source of all Happiness. Come, let us discover the secret, GOD = Happiness.

23
    Understanding God

God is the Creator of the Universe, He manifests as everything on earth. We can be blissful if we realize...

God is the cause of our birth.

24
    CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY

UNDERSTANDING GOD

  * Religion is the kindergarten to spirituality. Most people believe in a religion and in God.

  * It doesn't matter which religion one belongs to or which God one prays to. This is the rst step to one's well-being and Happiness.

  * Prayer is 'communication with God,' either asking God for something or listening to God's voice

  * All religions teach people to have faith in God, to believe, to pray, and to build a connection with God. But God is beyond all religions

  * God is beyond human comprehension. God is a power, a universal power that is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (knows everything) and omnipresent (present everywhere).

  * God is the Creator of the earth and everything on it. To dene God is to deny God.

  * God is a source of all Happiness. The simple secret is GOD = Happiness. Those who love God, experience everlasting peace, tranquillity, and eternal bliss and joy.

25
    03

GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

What is the connection between God and Happiness?

He is the Creator of the Universe,

He controls our Peace and Bliss.

26
    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

By now we have understood the meaning of Happiness. Whether it is Happiness from pleasure or fulllment, it needs Divine Grace. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we are just unable to be happy. There are times when we are showered with miseries that we don't seem to deserve at all. If we look at this intensely we will realize, that both Happiness and misery are beyond our control. They are controlled by a power beyond common understanding, a power we call God. Let's try to understand the connection between God and Happiness.

Before proceeding further, let us be conscious of the fact that we normally think, "How can God have any connection with Happiness?" It seems weird to even consider that God is in charge of our Happiness. But once we discover the secret and realize the Truth, we will change our paradigm.

Why do we pray for Happiness?

Isn't it true that we go to God to fulll our desires? Why? Because despite man's best efforts, the results are not in our hands. We just go to our God with folded

27
    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

hands and fervently pray for God to bless us to achieve our dreams, wishes, and goals.

Isn't it common to see a team of footballers say a prayer before starting their match? Haven't you seen school children going to pray before their exams? Even in ancient days, kings would go to war after performing several rituals as a prayer to the almighty. Man doesn't doubt that God has a role to play in our Happiness, but we don't understand the connection.

Understanding Universal laws like Karma and the 4th Factor

The world is controlled by the Creator through a set of Universal laws. Obviously, God, the Creator has set such laws in motion so that the world can be managed in an auto mode. While there is no proof of these laws, we know many of them by inference. The Law of Gravity can't be proved but we know that if we throw our mobile phone up in the air, it doesn't y away. It is pulled back towards the earth and we infer that this is due to the Law of Gravity.

There are many such laws, including the Law of

28
    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

Opposites, the Law of Cycles and one such law that affects our Happiness is called the Law of the Boomerang. It is known around the world as the Law of Karma, the Law of Action and Reaction or the Law of Cause and Effect. This law states – as you sow, so shall you reap or what you give is what you get. We infer that this law exists because if we plant apples, we don't nd pineapples on the tree. Thus, when misery comes back to us, we infer that it is due to our own bad deeds done in the past. So also, we are rewarded for all our acts of kindness and compassion.

To understand this law a little better, one should also consider this – why do bad things happen to good people? People may seem good, but surely the bad things that happen to them are their own sins being redeemed. When we see a newborn child suffering from a defect in the heart or from blindness, how do we explain and justify this? Either the Creator is cruel or it is the consequences of the deeds of our past life that we are reborn with.

These are complicated laws and often, man cannot comprehend them. But there are some inferences to this

29
    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

law that we see happening in our day to day life. We experience the boomerang effect – what goes around comes around and in principle, we know that the Law of Karma works.

Man thinks that there are 3 factors that will give him Happiness. He, himself, his equipment or instrument to make any work happen and the action he performs. It may be a painter painting a sunset. It needs all the 3 factors – the painter, the paintbrush, paints, canvas as well as the act of painting. While all the 3 factors are present, there are times when the result is not as per his expectations. He then realizes that there is a 4th Factor that controls the results of all man's actions. We can do our best, but there is a power that controls the rest, a power that can make us happy or miserable. That is the reason why when two farmers who work equally hard to plough their eld or when two students study equally hard for their examination or when two businessmen work equally hard to win a business contract, one is rewarded with Happiness and the other with disappointment and misery. What caused this seemingly unfair result? It is the work of the 4th Factor,

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    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

the power we call God. While it seems that God is partial or has preferences, if we use our intellect, we will realize that God has several spiritual laws that cause Happiness and misery. God is not sitting and controlling every action of the 8 billion people on earth. However, our Happiness or unhappiness is controlled and governed by God's Cosmic Laws and thus there is a Divine connection between God and Happiness.

Can God really make us Happy?

Of course, God can make us happy, just as God can take away our misery. But this has to be understood at two levels. At the basic level, God is a power and if we pray sincerely and live as per God's laws with the right morals and values, it will fulll God's expectations, and Happiness will be showered on us through God's cosmic laws. However, if we advance in our realization, then we can realize the God-power within us and experience eternal peace and joy.

Can God make miracles happen?

For God, anything is possible. He has created the

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    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

Universe and has designed laws. What is a miracle? It is something that seems to be impossible for man, but God makes it possible! Often, we don't understand spiritual laws and how they work. Man has limited power to comprehend God's creation. Therefore, we cannot justify everything that happens and often we have to surrender to the Divine Will. Yes, we know that building a strong relationship with God, living with faith, hope, trust, and enthusiasm can make our life blissful. But there is something beyond, unknown to us, that connects our actions and what we receive, joy or sorrow.

Aren't Godly people happy?

If we look around, we will nd that Godly people are more peaceful and blissful. They trust in their God, they pray and live as per their God's laws. On the other hand, there are people who do not believe in God; neither do they pray nor do they live as per Universal Laws that create joy. Believers have positive expectations. They live with hope, trust, acceptance and surrender. The Law of Attraction works for them. They not only put in their best efforts, but use the power

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    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

of prayer to create the best results and be happy. Non-believers may be happy, but they may be troubled by doubt, by questions related to life, the meaning and purpose of life. They may be drifting with uncertainty, without direction, without any positive reinforcement that makes them truly happy.

What makes spiritual people peaceful and blissful?

To understand the real connection between God and Happiness, one must observe the life of spiritual people. They live with tremendous faith and hope in God. They trust God and they accept the Divine Will. Their entire philosophy of living with FAITH – Full Assurance In The Heart, HOPE – Having Only Positive Expectations, TRUST – Total Reliance Unconditional Surrender to The Almighty and their enthusiasm, born out of their ENTHEOS (En = in, Theos = God), their belief in God, creates a positive energy that gives them both peace and bliss.

Of course, this is just the beginning of the spiritual journey. Eventually, they realize the Truth about themselves, and they also realize God within. They are

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    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

blessed and graced with eternal peace and everlasting joy. Bot how is this possible?

Discover the secret, God = Happiness

Every religion talks about God being within. The Bible says, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17: 20,21). The Islamic scripture Surah 57:4 says "He is with you wherever you are". The Upanishads of the Hindus proclaim "Tat Tvam Asi," "Aham Brahma Asmi," and "Ayam Atman Brahman" as their principle statements. We can see that all major religions of the world believe that God is within but we still live in ignorance and seek God in temples, churches, and mosques. This book will bring you closer to God as it will open the door to the Truth making you realize God within, in the temple of your heart and this will ll your life with peace and joy.

We, human beings, live our life like the musk deer. Throughout life, it goes round and round in circles searching for the musk that has an amazing fragrance. It doesn't realize that the musk it is seeking lies inside its own navel. One day, while searching for the fragrance along the steep cliffs, it falls and dies. Hunters tear open

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    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

the pouch to retrieve the fragrant musk. We may laugh at the musk deer, but we are no better. Happiness is within us, but we search the whole world for Happiness. When we realize God within, then we will stop wandering outside and go deep inside to enjoy the everlasting bliss and peace of God's Divine presence within us. Yes, when we realize that God is within us, then that realization will make us experience peace and tranquillity, joy and bliss that we have never experienced before!

Spiritual aspirants go on a quest to realize the Truth about God. They discover a profound secret, GOD = Happiness when they realize the Truth of who they are. As they are enlightened, they are liberated from prisons of misery and sorrow as they are blessed with eternal joy and peace.

First, they realize the truth that they are not the body, nor the mind but the Soul. This realization liberates them from misery and sorrow. From self-realization, they go on to God Realization. They realize that the Divine Soul is the source of life, the very energy that

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    GOD AND HAPPINESS - THE CONNECTION

makes them live, is none other than God. Those who read this may or may not immediately understand how the Soul within can be God. Only those who realize the Truth can discover the secret GOD = HAPPINESS.

God is the very Happiness we seek...

If we discover the Power within,

then we shall reach the peak.

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    CHAPTER 3 SUMMARY

GOD & HAPPINESS-THE CONNECTION

  * Happiness and misery are beyond human control and common understanding. They are in the control of a Power, a Power we call God.

  * People go to God to fulll their desires because, despite man's best efforts, the results are not in their hands.

  * The Law of Karma states that what you give is what you get. Thus, when we experience misery or Happiness, it is inferred that it is due to past bad or good deeds.

  * Man often thinks that only 3 factors cause Happiness - He, his equipment or instrument and the action he performs. But there are times when the result is not positive because there is a 4th Factor that controls the result of all man's actions.

  * To understand the real connection between God and Happiness, one must observe the life of spiritual people. They live with tremendous faith, trust and hope in God.

  * Spiritual aspirants go on a quest to realize the truth about God. They discover a profound secret, GOD = Happiness when they realize the truth of who they are and who God is.

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    04

WHAT MAKES US MISERABLE?

Why do we wail and cry?

We suffer and wonder, "Why?"

Because we live in ignorance,

We are miserable until we die.

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    What makes us Miserable?

For one to be happy, one cannot ignore misery, unhappiness or sorrow that steal our Happiness. While there are many Happiness triggers that can make one happy, there are many joy stealers that can make us miserable. Therefore, to understand the equation, GOD = Happiness, we must nd out the cause of misery.

Don't we experience unhappiness?

All human beings experience unhappiness. We experience the pain of the body that makes us suffer, just as we experience the misery of the mind. The former is physical pain and is overcome by taking pain killers or through some physical procedures. Misery, caused by the mind, is mostly due to negative emotions that unleash poison in our life. As human beings, encapsulated in a body-mind complex, we experience unhappiness – it may be a feeling of sadness when we see suffering or it may be due to fear, worry, and anxiety. Death causes so much pain to us. It is very rare for a human being not to experience unhappiness. But there is some good news! If one discovers the secret, GOD = Happiness, one can transcend suffering and live in Ananda, pure bliss and peace. However, this is only for

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    What makes us Miserable?

those who realize the secret God = Happiness.

We desire and get disappointed

One major cause of misery is disappointment. What causes disappointment? It is unfullled desires. Man's greed overtakes his need. He wants more and more. He lives with passion and lust, with dreams and goals. As we desire, we are gifted with Happiness when those desires are fullled, and we get motivated to desire again. What we don't realize is that every time a desire is not fullled, we become miserable. Man seems to be a slave of desires and is unable to overcome or conquer it. Thus, while we experience pleasure, we also experience misery and pain.

We don't accept God's Will

What is the real cause of suffering? It is not so much desire as much as the inability to accept the will of God. Man is in control of his actions but not in control of the results thereof. Thus, as someone said – "Do your best, and God will do the rest" or "Man proposes, God disposes". If only we could live, desire, and act without being attached to the result expected, we would not

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    What makes us Miserable?

suffer. Unfortunately, we have not learned to accept the will of God. Therefore, every time the result is not as per our expectations, we become dissatised and miserable.

We hope rather than surrender

If we analyze misery, our stress, worry, anxiety, and fear grow further because we don't know how to surrender. If only we learn the art of surrendering to the Divine Will, we will not become miserable. We keep on hoping, wishing, expecting, and praying for something to happen the way we want it to happen. We don't even know if that is good for us but we don't trust the Divine Providence. If we just replace hope with surrender and accept rather than wonder, we would not be miserable. Instead of accepting whatever has happened, we live with regret. Together, regret of the past and fear of the future, make our life miserable.

We forget that it is a Divine Cosmic Drama

The seekers of Happiness learn a profound Truth – this world is a humungous theatre on which a Divine Cosmic Drama is being enacted. There are 8 billion actors in this drama. One tiny act by someone in New

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    What makes us Miserable?

York can make someone miserable in Tokyo. In any drama, actors come and go and so it is in this theatre called life. Unfortunately, while we think a drama or theatre is just a show, we think our life is real. We don't realize our life too is like a dream. It starts at birth and ends at death. We too come and go, on the earth stage, in God's puppet show. Because we don't realize that life is nothing but a cosmic drama, we get attached to other actors on the earth-stage. We become passionate about our power and possessions and this makes us miserable.

Ram was acting in a theatrical play. His role was that of a servant. When his master ordered him to wash his dirty donkey, Ram was startled and he retorted, "How dare you ask me to wash the donkey! Just a few minutes back I was Akbar the Great, and you were my servant." Ram had forgotten that the scene had changed as it does in every drama. Just like this, human beings too forget that the drama of life is transitory. Thus, we suffer.

Ignorance makes us desire and suffer

We don't realize but the major cause of our suffering is ignorance. Ignorance that we are not the body, not the mind. Ignorance that this is a cosmic drama. Ignorance

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    What makes us Miserable?

that nothing belongs to us. This world is governed by the Cosmic Law of Illusion or Maya, a phenomenon that has two powers. First, it hides the Truth and second, it projects the myth. With the help of our own Mind and Ego (ME), Maya hides the Divine Reality from us. It then projects the world and all the sense objects that we get attached to, people and possessions that we desire and nally, we become miserable. What does our ignorance do? It creates a sense of incompleteness and makes us crave, till it nally takes us to our grave, sad and miserable. Actually, we don't need to desire and be miserable, because we already enjoy a state of peace and bliss. But Maya creates this sense of incompleteness by attracting us with all its projections. Our ignorance lets us slip into desire which leads to disappointment and misery. If we want Happiness, we must overcome this ignorance.

We suffer because we don't have a Divine Connection.

Ultimately, our misery is because we don't realize the Truth and we don't build a connection with the Divine. If we did, we would not be miserable. If we realize that we, ourselves, are a manifestation of the Divine, we

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    What makes us Miserable?

could live a life of bliss and peace. Yes, GOD = Happiness is a secret that we are ignorant about. To discover Happiness, we must overcome ignorance.

Miserable are those

who believe in the myth,

Blissful are those

who realize the Truth.

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    CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY

WHAT MAKES US MISERABLE?

  * Human beings experience unhappiness, either physical pain of the body that makes one suffer or misery of the mind.

  * One major cause of misery is disappointment caused by unfullled desires. If one is not attached to the result expected, one need not suffer.

  * The real cause of suffering is the inability to accept the will of God and to surrender to it.

  * The seekers of Happiness, learn a profound Truth – this world is a humungous theatre on which a Divine cosmic drama is being enacted.

  * This world is governed by the Cosmic Law of Illusion or Maya, a phenomenon that has two powers. First, it hides the Truth and second, it projects the myth.

  * Ignorance makes man desire and suffer, the Ignorance that the world is a cosmic drama and that one is neither the body nor the mind.

  * The realization that man himself is a manifestation of the Divine and that GOD = Happiness, can lead to

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    05

OVERCOMING IGNORANCE

Are we the body, are we the mind? "Who are we?" this Truth we must find. Until we go on a quest and realize the Truth, We will never find Happiness till we get to the root.

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    Overcoming Ignorance

If we truly want to be happy, we must overcome ignorance and nd out who we truly are. Once we do, we can experience a deep sense of tranquillity and peace, the very foundation of Happiness.

Who suffers?

No doubt the body experiences physical pain and no doubt, the mind experiences emotional turmoil. But there is one question we must stop and ask ourselves, "Who really suffers?" It is ME (the Mind + Ego) which is enveloped in ignorance that suffers. Yes, we suffer because we believe that we are the body and mind that suffer. If we overcome ignorance, we will suffer no more and we will enjoy a life of everlasting Happiness.

The body suffers, but we are not the body

Very often we say, "This is my hand" or "My heart is beating fast." We inherently know that our hand and our heart is not us. But due to ignorance, we live and die with the belief that we are the body. Unless, we overcome this ignorance and realize that we have a body, but we are not the body, we will suffer as the body. Of course, the body, made of skin and bone,

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    Overcoming Ignorance

experiences pain but we can overcome the pain. It is only when we relate ourselves to being the body that we suffer as the body. We, human beings, are designed in a manner that we will age, probably decay, experience disease and nally die. Imagine the suffering if we believe that we are the ones who experience all this. In reality, we are not the body. But due to ignorance, we believe we are the body and experience the physical suffering.

The mind suffers but, "Where is the mind?"

Just like the body suffers, the mind also suffers, but it suffers far more than the body. It is a rascal, constantly producing thoughts, creating fear, worry, anxiety, regret, anger, and other negative emotions and thoughts that create so much suffering. As long as we believe that we are the mind, we suffer along with the mind. The moment we distance ourselves from the mind realizing that we may have a mind but we are not the mind, we start to observe the mind suffer, but don't become one with it. We have to overcome the ignorance that we are not the body and the mind to overcome misery.

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    Overcoming Ignorance

It is very strange, but if we try to nd the mind, we can't! We know the location of our eyes, our nose, and our mouth. We can touch and feel our hands and legs. We can even see images of our kidneys, our stomach, our heart, and our brain. But have we ever seen the mind? The mind is an imposter. In reality, it doesn't exist. Bundles of thought born out of brain activity, collectively appear as the mind and make us suffer. As long as we don't go on a quest and realize that we can't nd the mind, we remain part of the body-mind complex and suffer their misery.

We must kill the mind before the mind kills us

You may be surprised to read this! But it is true. Ignorance makes us believe that the mind includes the intellect and the memory when in reality, these 3 are separate faculties of the subtle body that we are unable to physically touch. The intellect is an important part of our software and it helps us to discriminate, differentiating the truth from the myth, just as it helps us to make the right decision by using our willpower. But this is not the case with our mind – the mind's constant rumble and mumble creates thousands of

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    Overcoming Ignorance

negative thoughts that make us suffer. The mind actually kills us with fear, worry, and anxiety. To be happy, we must transcend the mind. We must tie the monkey that is the mind, jumping from thought to thought and make it a silent monk. This is not easy because the mind rejects such an effort, as it will cease to exist if we succeed in taming the mind. However, with conscious effort and Divine Grace, we can do it.

Start a quest to realize the Truth

How does one realize the truth? One must go on a quest, asking relevant questions about who we are and why we are here. When we discover the truth, we will be able to eliminate misery and sorrow. Peace and joy belong to those who achieve self-realization. They are the ones who are liberated from all kinds of misery.

While we all want to be happy, somehow, we do not believe that we can overcome unhappiness. Due to our ignorance, we live life on a seesaw, going up and down, being glad and sad. Ignorance makes us miserable because we consider ourselves to be the body-mind complex. Our ignorance also stops us from realizing the

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    Overcoming Ignorance

Divine connection between God and Happiness and we continue to be miserable. If only we realize the Truth of who we are and where God is, then we will discover the secret, 'GOD = Happiness' and suffering can be a thing of the past.

If only we realize

who we are and who God is,

We will find everlasting Happiness.

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    CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY

OVERCOMING IGNORANCE

  * To be happy, one must overcome the ignorance of who actually suffers.

  * It is ME (the Mind + Ego) which is enveloped in ignorance that suffers.

  * When man overcomes ignorance and realizes that he is not the body but he has a body, he will not experience physical suffering.

  * The mind is a rascal, constantly producing thoughts, creating negative emotions of fear, worry, anxiety, regret, and anger that lead to suffering.

  * To be happy, one must transcend the mind. This is not easy, but with conscious effort and Divine grace, one can do it.

  * To realize the Truth, one must go on a quest to discover the Truth and to eliminate misery and sorrow.

  * When we realize the Truth of who we are and where God is, then we will discover the secret, 'GOD = Happiness' and experience eternal peace and joy.

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    06

REALIZE GOD WITHIN

God does not live on a distant planet, far above in the Skies, God is the very Soul within, at death we Realize.

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    Realize God within

Those who are on a quest to discover the secret, GOD = Happiness, have to realize one Divine Truth – that God, the Creator, the Universal Power, the Controller of all that happens on earth resides within our own heart. Until we realize this Truth, we can never experience the eternal bliss and peace that is so close to us, within us.

Who are we in reality?

If we pay attention, it is very easy to realize who we are not. We are not the body. It starts as a zygote, grows into an embryo and is eventually born as a baby. Then we start the journey on earth, till the body dies. When the body is dead, nobody considers the body to be us. It is just our body. In fact, we were never the body. But due to ignorance, we don't realize it.

Are we the mind? We tried to nd the mind, but we realized that the mind doesn't exist. It only has a subtle existence that is caused by our own ignorance. Therefore, who are we in reality? Although, we say "I," and we feel our physical and emotional existence, what is the real answer to the question, "Who are we in reality - Body, Mind or Soul?"

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    Realize God within

Body, Mind or Soul?

If we are not the body and we are not the mind, then there is no other option than to believe that we are the energy that gives us life. Can we doubt our own existence? We know that we are alive and when somebody is not alive anymore, we say that they are no more, they are dead. What happens at death? The Life Energy inside a person who is alive seems to escape into the vast Consciousness that is everywhere. We seem to be that Life Energy that gives breath, without which there is death. It is this Life Energy that is known as the Soul, some people call it spirit, Chi, Prana or Atman. We have no other choice than to believe that we are the Soul, that arrives at birth and departs at death. There is no doubt that it is very difcult to realize this because the ME (Mind + Ego) doesn't let us realize this Truth. The moment we do, the mind and ego cease to exist and the body becomes a mere vehicle in which the Soul continues its journey till it reaches its ultimate goal. There is no doubt about the truth of these facts. If we are fortunate, through our persistence and the gift of Divine grace, we can realize this Truth – that we are not

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    Realize God within

the body, not the mind, but the Soul.

What is the truth about the Soul?

The whole world talks about the Soul but do we truly understand the meaning of it? While people think of the body and mind to be an individual subject, they also think of the Soul as their Soul. In reality, it is not. Soul is nothing but the source of energy, the Life Energy that ows through us. This energy is beyond human comprehension. To understand the power of the Soul, one must step back for a moment to realize its true power. What we call the Soul, is the Life Energy that exists in each of the 37 trillion cells in our body. It is with this Life Energy that we are able to see, to hear, to smell, to taste and to touch. All our senses come alive because of the Soul or Life Energy. The moment the Soul leaves, our senses cannot sense anymore. It is not difcult to realize the Truth that it is the Life Energy that causes us to sense.

Even our actions are empowered by the Soul or Life Energy. We walk, talk, grasp, think, digest, excrete, and reproduce, only because there is the energy in our

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    Realize God within

body. If there is no energy, we can't do any of these. In fact, we wouldn't be able to breathe, the heart wouldn't be able to purify blood and pump it. Our entire body comes to a standstill the moment the Soul departs. This moment is death, there is no breath as we see there is no Life Energy in our body. Because we don't stop to evaluate the power of the Soul, we don't realize what all it does. In an average life span, the Soul causes us to do so many activities, that one will be abbergasted if one lists what all we do with the power of the Soul. Just to state one such activity, the Soul powers the brain to produce thoughts and the so-called mind is said to produce about 50,000 thoughts a day, practically a thought every second. Such a humongous power leaves the body in a fraction of a second and disappears into nothingness.

While the physical eye cannot see where the Soul or Life Energy departs to, the spiritual "eye" realizes that the Soul merges into the Cosmic Consciousness that is everywhere. If we take two pieces of dead rubber balloons, they are lifeless. The moment we blow air into them, they seem to bounce with energy. We can

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    Realize God within

identify with these two balloons – one is red and the other is green. They are two distinct balloons but now they are full of energy after we blow them up. When we deate both the balloons, they return to being two pieces of dead rubber, red and green. Where did the air go? Can we separate the air of the two balloons once they are deated? It is impossible. The air of the balloons merged with the air that is everywhere. So is it with the Soul! When the Life Energy or Soul departs from a living being, the consciousness from within us merges with the consciousness that is everywhere, the Cosmic Consciousness. The Soul that was considered to be an individual Soul, merges with the Universal Soul that is omnipresent.

Due to our ignorance, we don't realize this simple truth and we think our Soul is our Soul, that it will be reborn, that it can be classied as a good Soul or a bad Soul. The Soul in our body can be best compared to the electricity in a bulb. The same electricity powers our air conditioner, hairdryer, geyser and all the power sockets that give electric current to charge our laptops and mobiles. It is the one power source that energizes all our electrical

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    Realize God within

gadgets. So also, one universal Soul powers all human beings, animals, insects, plants, birds and sea creatures that have life. Such a simple truth, which can so easily be inferred, remains an unknown discovery because man doesn't realize the truth due to his ignorance. We must be sure beyond doubt that we are the Divine Soul, the power that is everywhere, not the body and mind that we imagine ourselves to be.

God is not in a distant heaven

While we have busted some myths of who we truly are, let us now realize the ultimate truth about God. We know that God is not a statue and God is not a human being with esh and bone. God is a Cosmic Power, a Universal power. Gone are the days when children were told a fairy tale about God as an old man with a white beard living up in the clouds.

Today, science has made it clear that while the cosmos seems to be a humongous play of God's Energy, we are ignorant about what lies beyond the earth. In fact, the earth seems to be just a grain of sand on the beach of God's creation. Therefore, it is ridiculous to imagine

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    Realize God within

God as a human being sitting in a distant heaven.When a human being himself is nothing but energy, then one can understand that all matter, every place of existence, including the imaginary heaven, is nothing but energy.

Let us understand a recent experiment. Scientists have proved the profound meaning behind what we all know as E=MC2, the famous formula of Albert Einstein. This formula states, that all matter has an equal amount of energy in it. It is very complicated to understand this with an ordinary mind. But today, the discovery of the theory of Wave-Particle Duality has simplied this complicated scientic formula. Earlier known as the Laws of Conservation of Energy and Conservation of Mass, these principles are now part of quantum physics and quantum mechanics that scientists are working on. When scientists were trying to study properties of the smallest particle of matter, not just a molecule or atom but still smaller particles – electrons, protons, and neutrons, they nally reached quarks. When such tiny particles were observed, scientists were abbergasted that the particle suddenly disappeared. They tried to understand the experiment - how mass could become

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    Realize God within

energy. Just as they were documenting their experiment, the energy particle reappeared as mass. So, they coined the scientic theory as Wave-Particle Duality, which in simple term means matter and energy are interconvertible and this is based on Albert Einstein's theory, E = MC2.

What has all this scientic explanation of matter and energy got to do with God? Isn't it simple to understand that you and I are not the body and mind but the Life Energy - the Soul that merges with the Cosmic Energy that is everywhere. This whole world that seems to appear as it is, in reality, is nothing but energy. It is trillions of energy particles which when put together appear as everything that we see. Then what is God? God too is energy, a Cosmic Energy, and a Universal Energy. Everything is energy. Thus, should come the realization, that God is not a person controlling everything from a distant heaven. God is the very Energy that is in you and me. God is a power that gives us life. God is the energy that makes everything happen in the universe. God is everywhere and in everything, but we are unable to realize this Truth.

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    Realize God within

The principle of cause and effect

When we show somebody a gold ring and ask them what it is, they will immediately say that it is a ring and so would they answer if asked about a bracelet or a chain. All these ornaments are made of gold but if we take out the gold, there is no ring, no bracelet, and no chain. Why then do we see the forms and not the raw material that they are made up of? This is because the human eye is more inclined to see the effect and not the cause. Gold is the cause, jewellery is just the effect. Mud is the cause, a pot, a plate and a statue made of mud are just effects. If you remove the cause, there will be no effect. If you remove the mud, there would be no pot. Unfortunately, we don't see the cause. We only see the effect. If we realize the truth about who we are, the Divine Life Energy and we realize that God is nothing but energy, we can then come to the realization that we are nothing but effects of the cause, God. God is the cause, we are just effects. To understand cause and effect, and to understand that we are not the body and mind that we seem to be, but rather, effects of God energy, we must understand the law of causation. It is

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    Realize God within

based on three simple principles:

  * Every effect has a cause.

  * The effect is nothing but the cause in a different form.

  * If you remove the cause, there is no effect.

The law of causation works in all the instances we have stated. Gold is the cause, jewellery is the effect – if you remove the Gold, there is no jewellery. Mud is the cause, the pot, plate, and statue are effects. If you remove the mud, there is nothing. You and I and everything else created by God, are just effects. If you remove God, or the Soul or the Life Energy, we become nothing.

If we understand that God is our cause, we are the effect, that we are not the body, mind, but the Soul, that God is the very energy that is within us, we will discover the secret, GOD = Happiness.

We are but manifestations

Whatever we see on earth may appear to be what it is, but in reality, we are all manifestations of the Divine.

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    Realize God within

This realization will give us bliss. But we are unable to realize that we are not what we seem to be. We are the very God that we are seeking. The realization of this truth is enough to eradicate all misery and to ll our life with everlasting peace and bliss.

What is our connection with God?

We are in reality a tiny particle of God energy. Therefore, if we realize the truth, we are nothing. Only God is. What appears to be us is actually God particles. The God particle in you, in me and in everything and everybody is the same. The effects are different, the cause is one. We are, therefore, nothing but a manifestation of God.

It starts with self-realization and goes on to God-realization.

The journey to realize God within starts with realizing who we truly are. The moment we realize we are not the body, we are not the mind, we are the Divine Soul – this is self-realization.

Self-realization is the starting point of God-Realization.

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    Realize God within

When we realize that we are nothing but manifestations of the Divine, nothing but Life Energy, where does this lead us to? It leads us to realize that the energy in you and me is the same. We are no different. Going one step further, when we realize that God itself is nothing but energy, then comes the realization that the energy we are is nothing but God energy. This is God realization. God realization is the realization that we are manifestations of the Divine, that God is the cause and we are just effects and without God, we are nothing!

The above realizations are beyond logic and proof. They start with inference, but unless we have the Divine grace, we will never be able to realize the truth. The mind and ego will stop us from such realization. Therefore, this is not something everybody can understand and imbibe. A small minority of the seekers of God are fortunate to realize that God is within. Those who do, experience a life of everlasting joy, eternal peace without the presence of any misery and sorrow.

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    Realize God within

God lives inside the temple of our heart,

God causes the heart to beat.

God is the very energy that gives us life,

And the power to walk and eat.

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    CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY

REALIZE GOD WITHIN

  * To experience eternal bliss and peace, one has to realize the one Divine Truth – that God resides within.

  * A question that man often faces – if we are not the body, or mind, who are we in reality?

  * The conclusion then is that man is nothing but the Life Energy or Soul that arrives at birth and departs at death.

  * When the mind and ego cease to exist, the body becomes a mere vehicle in which the Soul continues its journey until it reaches its ultimate goal.

  * Even scientists through their theory of Wave-Particle Duality, conrm that the whole world that seems to appear as it is, is in reality, nothing but energy.

  * What is God? God too is Energy, a Cosmic Energy, Universal Energy.

  * God is the cause, man is the effect. God is the very energy that is within man.

  * Our joy starts with self-realization and goes on to God-realization. When we realize God within, we experience a deep sense of joy and peace that is eternal.

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    07

REALIZATION = HAPPINESS

Happiness is already inside us,

But this Truth we do not know.

We search in stressful agony...

As the ignorant ego.

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    Realization = Happiness

Realization of the truth, starting with self-realization and going on to God realization creates ultimate Happiness unknown to man. Not only does it create everlasting bliss, peace, and joy, but it also eradicates all suffering and misery from our life. In fact, this is the ultimate goal of human life.

Ignorance makes us miserable

Because we are ignorant of who we truly are, we suffer. We think we are the body and suffer physical pain. We think we are the mind and suffer fear, worry, anxiety, regret, hate, revenge, and anger. The body and mind together make us suffer as the ego. We get attached to people and things and this makes us suffer. Don't we realize that all this suffering is what steals our Happiness? It robs us of our peace of mind and steals our smile and laughter. We must eliminate this ignorance and by so doing, we can extract all misery from life.

Realization of the truth liberates us

How will we eliminate ignorance? It is through realization. The realization that we are not the body.

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    Realization = Happiness

The realization that we are not the mind. When we realize we are the Divine Soul, then we are liberated from the prisons of misery and sorrow. This realization is very profound. Not only does it stop us from suffering as body and mind but the Truth also leads us to a blissful life that is everlasting.

God is within

When we realize that we are the Soul, the Life Energy, a manifestation of the Divine, then we realize that God is within us. The heart that beats is God energy. What more can we ask for? When God is within us, then the source of all Happiness is inside. The God within us will not only protect us from all dangers, but help us live as liberated Souls with joy and bliss. The key is, however, to realize that God is within.

While we have the knowledge that God is within, the realization is very difcult because the mind will refuse to accept such realization. The mind will question – what is the proof that God is within? It will, along with the help of the senses of the body and the ego, drift us into disbelieving the realization. If only we can use our

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    Realization = Happiness

intellect to discriminate the myth from the Truth, we can be blissful and peaceful.

We don't need to seek Happiness

We all go to God for Happiness. But when God is within, then where do we need to go? God, the very source of Happiness is within every cell of our body. This realization itself should give us joy that we are none other than the manifestation of the Divine. Those who realize this, don't need to seek Happiness, they become Happiness.

Being conscious of the Truth creates eternal joy

The challenge is that we should be conscious of the Truth that God is within. The mind and ego defeat us. They still make us crave and desire as the body seeks material pleasure. They make us forget the Truth of who we are by making us believe that we are, who we are not! If our realization is complete, and we are liberated then we will transcend ego, mind, and body and live with the consciousness of the Truth in a blissful state unknown to man. Yes, a few liberated Souls live

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    Realization = Happiness

blissfully without any worry or misery. Their life is an ocean of peace and tranquillity.

The Truth – everything beautiful is God.

When one realizes God within, then one's paradigm of life changes. Earlier one would look at a beautiful sunrise or sunset, at the mountains, the birds and the owers and appreciate God for creating all this. Post realization, the one who has realized the Truth, sees God in everything beautiful. One can see God in a beautiful rose, in a delicious fruit, in a gorgeous colourful sh or in an exotic bird. One sees everything beautiful as a manifestation of God. This creates a rapturous ecstasy and makes one's heart dance with joy and peace in the beauty of the Divine.

Yes, the realization of the Truth about God creates unparalleled Happiness, a joy that has no bounds, peace that sees no anxiety, and bliss that is eternal and everlasting.

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    Realization = Happiness

e moment we realize that we are nothing,

But the very God to whom we pray,

Joy and bliss will fill our life,

This day and every day.

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    CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY

REALIZATION = HAPPINESS

  * Self-realization leading to God realization creates ultimate Happiness unknown to man, and eradicates all suffering and misery.

  * The body and mind together suffer as the ego. Man gets attached to people and things and this makes him suffer. Suffering steals Happiness away.

  * Realization of the Truth that man is not the body or the mind liberates him from misery and sorrow.

  * When man realizes that he is the Soul, the Life Energy, a manifestation of the Divine, he realizes that God is within.

  * When God is within, then the source of all Happiness is inside.

  * The challenge is to be conscious about the Truth that God is within. The Mind and ego can defeat this.

  * When the realization is complete, man will transcend ego, mind, and body and live with the consciousness of the Truth, in unending bliss.

  * When one realizes God within, one sees God in everything beautiful. This creates unparalleled Happiness, a joy that has no bounds, peace that sees no sorrow.

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    08

LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

To be liberated we must be pure in heart, Then we will see the light. We will become one with the Lord, And live with a new delight.

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    LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

What is the key to Happiness? What is the principle behind GOD = Happiness? It is Realization. The realization of the Truth that leads to Liberation from misery and sorrow.

Realization reveals the Truth – God is within

Realization of who we are not, takes us to the ultimate realization of the self and God. The moment the realization is complete, we are liberated from all misery, suffering, and sorrow. The body may suffer from pain, but that is not us. The mind may experience misery, but we distance ourselves from the mind and watch it. We realize we are not the ego, mind and the body. We are the Soul, the Divine Life Energy that is nothing but God-energy. Thus, it is realization that makes us aware of God's presence within and along with it, we experience a bounty of Happiness that is everlasting and abundant.

It is not easy to overcome the illusion

While it is so simple to talk of realization, it is not an easy game. The illusion, Maya, stops us from

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realization. It makes us sink in the myth that we are the ego, mind, and body. Even after the knowledge of the Truth, we have to win the war within, a battle that defeats the ego, mind, and body. We have to overcome the illusion and live with the realized Truth.

Rituals and superstition stop us from realizing the Truth

As we grow up, we are made to believe in mythology, stories, and tales that are built on myth. Mythology creates so many rituals based on superstitious beliefs that we get caught in a vicious circle and sink in it. We perform many rituals that have no meaning and we believe in superstitions that make no sense. But we are helpless as we grow up with these habits and belief systems. Realization of the Truth, makes us undo all that has been done and this is not easy. A true seeker of realization and liberation works painstakingly to reach the ultimate Truth.

Purication, illumination, unication

The journey of liberation starts with purication. First, it is about destroying and deleting all the negative and

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    LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

wrong things that we have learned or been taught. We purify our lives by eliminating all the toxins. We remove bad habits, negative beliefs and as we purify our life, we are illuminated with the Truth. Illumination is realization. The darkness of ignorance is replaced with the Truth of light. We are no more blinded by myth. We are enlightened by Truth. But this knowledge is not enough. After purication and illumination, we need liberation that will help us with the ultimate step of unication. Unless we are liberated from ego, mind, and body, our Soul cannot complete the process of unication with the Divine. Once unication is complete, we can no longer be defeated by the ego, mind, and body.

There was once a king who died without any successor. Pandemonium prevailed as the ministers reached out to an old grandmother of the king in search of royal blood for the king's successor. The grandmother of the king revealed a secret – that the king's grandfather had a scoundrel nephew who fought and ran away several years ago. The ministers went in search to nd the royal blood. They were lucky to locate the distant royal blood relative of the king. They carried him to the palace. He had been living like a beggar for many

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    LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

years, near the city market, in a distant suburb. They cleaned, bathed him and shared the news. It took several months for the beggar who had royal blood to sit on the throne of the king after being tutored and trained. Several years after his coronation as King, his eyes one day fell upon his old beggar's clothes. He decided to go and see what was happening near the city market where he used to beg before.

Early one morning, he put on the beggar's clothes on top of the king's shirt and carrying his begging bowl, reached the destination. His old neighbours were surprised to see him. They had presumed that he had died or relocated as they had not seen him for a long time. The king spent the day acting like the beggar in his begging routine of the past. At night, he jumped back into the king's wagon, parked in the distance, hidden and unknown to the market vendors and went back to the palace. During that day, the king might have worn the dress of the beggar, but not for a moment did the king think that he was a beggar. Every moment that he was there, he was absolutely sure that he was the king with royal blood and he was acting as the beggar for the day to know what was happening at the market.

Just like the beggar had realized that he had royal

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    LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

blood, the moment we realize that we are not the ego, mind, and body, nothing can take us back to being that. However, this will happen only after the 3-step method is complete – purication, illumination, and unication.

I am not this, I am that

Liberation creates the consciousness that I am not this body, the mind or the ego. I am that Divine energy, God energy. It starts with a quest, goes on to gaining knowledge which leads to realization. But unless one is liberated, one will continue to feel they are the ego, mind, and body. The moment we realize that we are the manifestation of the Divine, we are transported to a paradise of peace and tranquillity, joy and bliss that we have never experienced before.

Realization liberates us from misery

What does realization do? When we realize that we are not the ego, mind and the body, then we are instantly liberated from all sorrow and misery. It is like a bird that is caged and let open to y in the sky. We no more worry about the past because we know it is like a

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    LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

dream. We don't worry about the future, because it doesn't exist. We live in the present moment as energy, a Divine manifestation, with the realization that we are non-other than the Creator, a tiny particle of God Energy.

The consciousness of the Truth creates bliss

While the consciousness of the Truth creates bliss and peace, it is most unfortunate that it is interrupted by the ego, mind, and body. As long as we are embodied Souls, encapsulated in a body-mind complex, we will be constantly disturbed by the senses of the body that will crave and the rumbling of the mind that will wander. This will try to disrupt our consciousness of the Truth. Our challenge is simple – once we realize the Truth and are liberated, we must be in constant union with the Divine, always being conscious of who we are, living without misery, enjoying the bliss and peace as the Divine Soul.

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    LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

If we realize the Truth

And overcome the illusion...

We will no more search for Happiness,

ere will be an evolution.

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    CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY

LIBERATION CREATES PEACE AND BLISS

  * The key to Happiness is liberation, liberation from misery and sorrow that comes from the realization of the Truth.

  * Realization is not an easy game. Maya stops us from realization.

  * Mythology creates many rituals based on superstitious beliefs and man gets caught in a vicious circle.

  * The journey of liberation starts with purication. We purify our lives by eliminating bad habits, negative beliefs and as we purify our life, we are illuminated with the Truth.

  * Illumination is realization. The darkness of ignorance is replaced by the light of Truth.

  * After purication and illumination, we evolve to the ultimate step of unication.

  * Once unication is complete, man can no longer be defeated by the myth of ego, mind, and body.

  * Liberation leads to the realization that - I am not this, I am that. I am that Divine Energy, God Energy.

  * The consciousness of the Truth and constant union with the Divine creates bliss and peace.

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    09

GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

God = Happiness is a secret, which most of us don't know.

If only we discover this Truth in life,

our peace and joy will grow.

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

Coming this far and realizing that we are not the ego, mind, and the body that suffers, realizing that we are the Soul, the Divine Life Energy that is a manifestation of God, this itself, should create an awareness of the equation GOD = Happiness. It is no more a secret. It is a principle that we have realized. When we realize that God lives within the cave of our heart, the very God that we go to for Happiness, what more can one seek? The challenge is to live the realization, to be liberated from misery and sorrow, knowing that we are the source of the very Happiness that we seek.

Bust the myth of achievement

We don't need to achieve success to be happy. This is a myth. The craving, the desire for success and achievement only takes us down the lane of misery and sorrow, not peace and bliss. It is a myth to believe that achievement gives us pleasure that is true Happiness. No doubt, achievement does give pleasure, but not true peace and bliss. This temporary phase of joy will soon burst into sorrow.

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

We are already happy, but we lose our joy

In the beginning, we are already in a state of peace and Happiness. Somehow, we are made to believe that we must desire, dream and make our dreams come true to be happy. We go down the path only to realize that it is a bouquet of roses and thorns. Why lose our initial state of peace by a sense of incompleteness? Why create a vacuum that converts our need into greed? How intellectual is this choice to lose our erstwhile state of peace for a future hope of pleasure? When we realize the secret, GOD = Happiness, we are liberated from greed, desire, and craving. Achievements no more excite us.

Being conscious of the Truth

When we realize that God = Happiness, we become conscious of the Truth – who we truly are, not this body, this mind, this ego! We become conscious that we are the very Life Energy that is a manifestation of the Divine. This consciousness is not easy and not everybody who reads this book can become conscious of this Truth. You can only become conscious if you rst realize who you are which starts from the realization of

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

who you are not. Then you are liberated from misery and sorrow as you become conscious that the very God who gives Happiness is within.

Just like a SIM card is constantly connected with its network, we must be constantly conscious and connected to God. The moment we start roaming, our SIM card starts searching for different networks. This is exactly what happens when the mind starts roaming. We lose consciousness of God's network; we disconnect from the Divine. We lose the realization that the God within us is the very Happiness we are seeking.

Living with a Divine connection

How does one live with the Divine connection? The only way is to live with an active intellect that controls the mind and ego, discriminating each thought. This is only possible if we live with dispassion and detachment. Living with a Divine connection needs the discipline of the senses, of the body and the wandering mind. It needs us to overcome our negative emotions as we transcend our cravings, living with peace and tranquillity. The only thing that keeps the living

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

connection alive with the Divine is the deep passion and love for the Divine and nothing else. That love for God will give us eternal bliss.

We don't need to seek Happiness. We are Happiness!

The moment we realize the secret, GOD = Happiness and the moment we realize God is within our heart, we won't seek Happiness anymore. We become the very Happiness that we seek. The simple realization that we are a God-particle, a manifestation of the Divine, fullls all our aspirations.

Why do human beings long for Happiness? When a desire is left unfullled, we feel a sense of incompleteness and start searching for Happiness thinking that only if that desire is fullled, we can be Happy. But when God is within us, what more can we desire? When we realize the oneness with others, we experience a deep sense of peace. Only those people seek Happiness who lack Happiness, but the one who is already happy, content and fullled, doesn't seek Happiness. The magic with realizing this secret is that not only does it let us live with contentment and fulllment, it also liberates us

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

from misery and sorrow. When we realize that everything is nothing but a Divine play, a theatre, a drama of God and we are mere actors, we become observers of the Cosmic Drama. Then no misery or sorrow affects us. Instead of seeking Happiness, we become Happiness.

The God within us is a fountain of joy

A person who has realized God within becomes a fountain of joy. Their life becomes a mirror of peace and Happiness because every heartbeat vibrates God energy. Thus the secret, GOD = Happiness is the ultimate secret of bliss and peace.

What exactly is this secret 'GOD = HAPPINESS?'

Let us put it all together. 'God = Happiness' is a secret that makes us realize and live with the consciousness that we, ourselves are the source of Happiness that we passionately seek. We are the very Happiness that we desire but due to ignorance, we remain unhappy. Until we realize that we are not the body and mind, we remain far from the realization that we are none other

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than the manifestations of God. Being a God particle, we don't crave for anything. We are more than fullled. In fact, the realization not only gives us contentment but it also creates in us a euphoria and ecstasy unknown to the common man. The feeling of bliss and peace is eternal and everlasting as the realization liberates us from misery and sorrow. We live without fear, worry, anxiety as we are conscious of the Truth that we are the manifestations of the Divine. We feel the Divine presence at all times in everything we see, feel, and touch. What more can we ask for? This feeling creates an exhilaration that is beyond common Happiness. Yes, 'God = Happiness' is that Truth that makes us become the very God we pray to. It is that secret that lls us with more Happiness than we need. Such bliss that we ourselves become a source, a fountain of Happiness and we spread this joy, peace, and bliss to all we come in contact with. Though we are embodied souls, the realization of the secret 'GOD = HAPPINESS' leads us to live a life that is not ordinarily human. It creates in us Divine dimensions that are beyond human comprehension. Our joy and bliss turns out to be beyond measures because we realize God within, in the

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

temple of our hearts and we transcend the desire to be happy. We become Happiness ourselves with the realization of God within. Thus this is the ultimate secret that one must realize... 'GOD = HAPPINESS'.

Seek God, don't seek Happiness

If one wants to be truly happy, they must realize God within and they will nd all the Happiness that they seek. But if one starts seeking Happiness, not only will they experience joy and sorrow in cycles, they will never realize the Truth. They will always live with the myth and remain unhappy. This simple secret, GOD = Happiness can change the complete paradigm of our life. If we realize God within, we will discover Happiness and peace beyond our imagination.

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    GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

We live and die without peace and bliss

Because we don't know the secret,

GOD = HAPPINESS.

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    CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY

GOD = HAPPINESS - REALIZE THE SECRET

  * Achievement does give pleasure, but not true peace and bliss.

  * Man should be constantly conscious and connected to God. When man loses consciousness of God and disconnects, he loses the realization that the God within, is the very Happiness he is seeking.

  * The only way to live with the Divine connection is with an active intellect that controls the mind and ego, discriminating each thought. This is only possible when man lives with dispassion and detachment.

  * The only thing that keeps the living connection alive with the Divine is the deep passion and love for the Divine.

  * The moment man realizes the secret, GOD = Happiness and the God within, he doesn't need to seek Happiness any more. Man becomes the very Happiness that he was seeking.

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AFTERWORD

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I prayed to my God in the temple

But found Him in my heart. God is an ocean of Happiness, I realized this at last.

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    AFTERWORD

While I have lived a life of faith and belief right from the time I was a child, it was only when I almost turned 50 that I truly discovered the secret, GOD = Happiness. I knew God was the Giver Of Destiny. But I always thought my God to be one with name and form. I prayed to Lord Shiva for 40 years. Only in the last decade I realized that God is one! Religions should unite humanity to believe in that one universal God, a God that encompasses all religions. It was only when I went on a quest to realize my purpose of life that I eventually discovered the secret, GOD = Happiness.

I believed in a personal God for 40 years

From the age of 8, I was made to believe that Lord Shiva was our God. He was a yogi and was always depicted as sitting in a yogic posture with a crescent moon over his locks and the holy Ganges owing from it. He had a snake coiled around his neck and he sat on a tiger skin in his abode, Kailash, in the Himalayas. To me, Lord Shiva was a sign of power and while I believed that God was the Creator of the Universe, as per Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva was said to be the destroyer. He

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    AFTERWORD

carried what is known as the angry third eye on his forehead, the opening of which would make the entire universe turn to ashes.

I loved my Lord, just like I see people today so much in awe of their God, their Lord. Like them, I too carried a pendant made of gold around my neck for several years. I even fasted every Monday for over 40 years, eating just one meal in 24 hours. I had tremendous faith in Lord Shiva and why not? Everything that I prayed for, he made it come true. I lived with morals and values and even used to serve the suffering humanity as part of my Dharma – Religious life philosophy.

I had so much faith in my Lord that I had a table called "God's table" in my ofce. I considered God to be my senior partner and I would set aside a share of my prot to do God's work. Whenever there was an unsolvable problem, I would write a letter to Lord Shiva, and put the problem in a drawer in God's table. One may not believe it, but every problem that I put in God's table, however impossible it seemed, as if by a miracle, was solved by Lord Shiva. My faith in Lord Shiva grew each coming day and I loved my God a lot.

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    AFTERWORD

I prayed for Happiness

I too used to pray for Lord Shiva to pour His grace upon me so that I could be happy. By and large, I have had a very happy life and I always count my blessings. Whenever there were problems, I would pray to Lord Shiva and either my problems were solved or He would give me the strength to face the problems and defeat them. Like anybody else, my prayers were prayers of gratitude, prayers asking for favours and some prayers sharing my fears. I used to communicate with Lord Shiva actively and I believed that He communicated with me through the superconscious mind. I would get ashes of inspiration and creative ideas as if they were messages from God. I even wrote a thousand Bhajans (Indian spiritual hymns) and each Bhajan it seemed was a direct transmission from Lord Shiva to me. I did nothing. It seemed as though He was doing it through me. I prayed constantly, in the morning when I woke up, before every meal, before anything and everything important and when I went to sleep. Whenever I used to write anything, I would start my writing with a chant Om Namah Shivaya.

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    AFTERWORD

My master led me on a quest

As I prayed to Lord Shiva, I developed a strong connection with my Guru, my spiritual master, and mentor, Dada J. P. Vaswani. He encouraged my faith and supported my belief. He even visited the Shiva Temple that I had built 25 years ago, several times. The temple has a huge statue of Lord Shiva – it's over 65 feet tall. It is not only a place of worship but also a popular tourist attraction.

After working for 25 years, my Guru inspired me to shut down my business and to do H.I.S. (Humanitarian, Inspirational and Spiritual) work. I did that for 8 years as I travelled the world, experiencing what God had created. One day, Dada laughed looking at pictures of Antarctica. He said, "You are a very happy man, but you must go on a Talaash, a quest to realize the Truth. It took me a year just to digest what he meant, but eventually, I went on a quest with 9 questions that had no answers.

  * We all know how a child is conceived and born, but how is a life created inside the womb?

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    AFTERWORD

  * What happens after death? The body dies but what happens to the one who was alive?

  * We all believe in God. What is the reality? Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

  * Most people believe in heaven or hell but where are they located? Can we go there?

  * Does the Law of Karma actually exist? A law that states that the actions of this life will be the cause of our rebirth.

  * Is rebirth or reincarnation real? Are we really reborn after we die?

  * We talk of a Soul. But what exactly is the Soul?

  * What is the purpose of life for us human beings who live on earth?

  * What is Enlightenment, Salvation, Liberation, Mukti, Moksha or Nirvana? All religions talk of this being our ultimate goal but what exactly is this?

After spending a couple of years in the mountains, in retreat, alone and in meditation, I found answers to the

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    AFTERWORD

9 questions. I contemplated the answers until I realized the Truth.

I realized the Truth

What is the Truth? I started with the realization of what I am not. Am I this body? Of course not! The body will die. It is just made of the 5 elements – earth, air, water, re, and space. Am I the mind? The mind is an illusion. It does not exist. You can nd your nose, your foot, your heart, and your brain, but you can't nd the mind.

If I was not the body and not the mind, then what was I? I realized that I was the Soul, the Divine Life Energy that gives us breath and without which there would be death. I realized that we are all a manifestation of the Divine. We are nothing, God is everything! Even science endorsed that we may appear to be the body that we look like, but in reality, we are trillions of energy particles put together that appear as you and me.

I further realized that everything beautiful created by God is nothing but God energy manifesting as the sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the animals, and the

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    AFTERWORD

owers. You and I and all of us are made of the same energy. There is one Divine Soul that energizes all. We seem to be separate from each other, but in reality, we are one, just like the ring, the bracelet and the chain look separate from each other, but are made of the same gold. God is the cause, we are the effects.

I further realized that we go to God for Happiness. But this has no meaning because God is within. We don't need to go to places of worship. Rather we need to go within. All this made me realize the secret that GOD is Happiness. The moment we realize God within our heart, we become conscious of everlasting bliss, peace, and joy.

The mind is a rascal

Somewhere along my quest, I realized that our mind is our biggest enemy. It is a rascal. It bombards us with thoughts that make us ignorant of the Truth. It swings from the past to the future and makes us suffer. It doesn't let us remain in the present moment, peaceful and blissful. It behaves like a monkey, jumping from thought to thought.

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    AFTERWORD

I decided to make the monkey into a monk. I silenced the mind. I made an effort to slow down my Mental Thought Rate (MTR) from 50 thoughts a minute to as few as possible. I realized that I had to kill the mind before the mind kills me, by transcending it, going beyond its rascal behaviour. It was my own mind that stopped me from the realization of the secret, GOD = Happiness. The mind would always portray God in a limited form, not the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent power that God truly is. It was my own mind that stopped me from realizing that the very source of Happiness, God existed within my heart. It was my rascal mind that made me wonder and wander, stopping me from the realization of the self and God.

Life is a cosmic drama

As I transcended my Mind and Ego (ME), I realized that we were all manifestations of the Divine. The earth was a humongous stage where God's Leela or the drama of God was being enacted. Everything was a show and we were all actors who come and go, performing our parts. Unfortunately, most of us don't know this. This is because of Maya, the cosmic illusion. The moment I

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    AFTERWORD

realized the Truth, I started enjoying the drama on the humongous stage of earth. As an observer, I realized that God was a producer, director of the show, and it was controlled by several universal laws. The moment we realize that everything on earth is nothing more than a cosmic drama, we will start celebrating and enjoying God within.

I will never die - why fear?

Most of humanity lives in constant fear of death. They fear the loss of everything that is known, our valuable possessions and beautiful relationships, just as we fear the unknown that lies beyond death.

I was blessed to realize that I am not the body, I am not the mind. The body will die, but I will not die. For a short phase, I believed that I was the mind, and I would be reborn in a new body based on my Karmas, my actions. It was only after complete realization that I realized that neither am I the body, nor the mind - I realized that I am a manifestation of God. Not just me, you too are a manifestation of God, just as everybody alive is. Have you ever thought where these millions of

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trees came from? They came from a seed, but where did the seed come from? The seed came from a tree. If one contemplates, it is not difcult to realize that everything is a manifestation of God. Everything is energy, God energy. From this realization, came the consciousness that God was within. I became conscious of God every moment as the fear of death disappeared. The body will die, but I, the Divine Energy, will become one with the cosmic energy, the universal God energy.

God is in command

All this made me realize that God, the power, the Creator that is beyond human comprehension is completely in charge of the universe. How else could the humongous earth rotate on its own axis, causing day and night, with such precision? How could the earth revolve around the sun? How could everything that happens on earth ever happen? The Lord our God is in total command of the cosmos and manages the cosmos through cosmic laws. Since God is in command of everything, He is also in command of Happiness. And more so, since the very God who is in command is within us, I started living a life of acceptance and

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surrender. I accepted everything that has happened as the Divine Will, and I surrender to everything that will happen, knowing that God knows best. I just live in the moment and enjoy the moment, with peace, bliss, and God.

I live in surrender and acceptance

What does it mean to say that I live in Divine surrender and acceptance? Most of us are unhappy because we regret the past and fear the future. In reality, the past is gone and the future is not yet born. Both past and future are present moments that have unfolded and will unfold as per the Divine will. Why would the Divine Will make me unhappy? Therefore, I live in Divine acceptance and total surrender, knowing that I am nothing, but just a manifestation of the Divine and knowing that life itself is a cosmic drama directed by God. Realization of God gives me Happiness.

Everything beautiful is God

What an amazing discovery! I had my "Aha!" moment one day when I realized that everything in this world that is so beautiful, the butteries and the bees, the

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mountains and the seas, you and me, all these are not created by God but are a manifestation of God. All this is God, appearing as God's creation. When I realized everything beautiful is God, I started seeing everything as God, not as a beautiful creation of God and this led me to evolve to a higher level of ecstasy and Nirvana. My discovery that GOD = Happiness was transcending to new heights.

I live in Divine consciousness

Every moment that I live, I aspire to do only one thing - to be conscious of the Truth of God and to do God's will in His Cosmic Drama. I am nothing, I seek nothing except God and to be united with the Divine when I am liberated from this body-mind complex. Therefore, I live in Divine consciousness of the Truth, in peace and bliss, without fear, worry, and anxiety, conscious of God's Divine presence within me. The realization of God within creates eternal peace and everlasting joy. What more do I need?

I am the happiest man in the world

When somebody asks me how can I be the happiest

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man in the world, it amuses me. To them, Happiness comes from money, pleasure, name, fame, and success. I saw enough of that and I transcended the rst peak, realizing that the richest man is not the happiest man. The happiest man is the richest man. I realized that success is not Happiness, Happiness is success. But the world lives with the myth, in an illusion and this ignorance makes them suffer. I am grateful, so very grateful to the Divine that I have realized the Truth and with it, achieved liberation from all misery and sorrow. Not only do I live a life of contentment and fulllment but I have also achieved noteworthy success and experienced the enlightenment of Truth. All this is enough to make me the happiest man on earth. I live every moment with peace, joy, and bliss, realizing God within and enjoying my discovery, GOD = Happiness.

I realize God is Happiness

I realize that I am actually not the happiest man on earth. I am nothing. It is the God within me that creates all the bliss, the ecstasy of joy, with peace and tranquillity, the Ananda and Nirvana. Anybody who realizes God within will also realize GOD = Happiness

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and will be transported to a domain of eternal peace and everlasting joy where there is no misery and sorrow. STOP! Go on a quest today. Realize the Truth. Experience liberation from misery and sorrow. Discover God within and the joy that comes from God Realization. May the Divine grace lead you to discover God within and by doing so discover an ocean of everlasting Peace, Joy, and Bliss.

God's presence inside gives me joy and peace,

Conscious of the Divine, all sufferings cease.

I no more live with worry and fear,

ere is joy and bliss because God is here.

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MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

  * For the rst 40 years of my life, I lived a life of faith and belief. I prayed to Lord Shiva as a God with a name and form.

  * I built a huge temple of Lord Shiva and believed that H e c o m m u n i c a t e d w i t h m e t h r o u g h t h e superconscious mind with ashes of inspiration and creative ideas.

  * I developed a strong connection with my Guru, my spiritual master, and mentor, Dada J. P. Vaswani.

  * My Guru inspired me to shut down my business and to do H.I.S. work (Humanitarian Inspirational and Spiritual).

  * It was Dada, my mentor, who guided me to go on a Talaash, a quest to realize the Truth. I went on a quest with 9 questions that had no answers.

  * After spending a couple of years in the mountains, in retreat, alone and in meditation, I found answers to the 9 questions. I realized the Truth.

  * Am I this body? Of course not! The body will die. It is just made of the 5 elements – earth, air, water, re, and space.

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  *     Am I the mind? The mind is an illusion. It does not exist.

  * Then what was I? I realized that I was the Soul, the Divine Life Energy that gives us breath and without which there would be death.

  * I realized that we are all a manifestation of the Divine. The earth is a humongous stage, where the drama of God is enacted.

  * I realized that the body will die but I will not die, so why fear.

  * God manages the cosmos through cosmic laws. Since God is in command of everything, He is also in command of Happiness. And more so, since the very God who is in command is within us, we ourselves are a source of Happiness.

  * Therefore, I live in Divine consciousness of the Truth, in peace and bliss, without fear, worry, and anxiety, conscious of God's Divine presence within me.

  * I realize God is Happiness and therefore, I am the happiest man in the world

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    POEM

GOD = HAPPINESS

We all want to be Happy We pray to God for bliss But where does God truly live This point we sadly miss

God is not on a distant planet

In heaven above the skies

The power within that makes our heartbeat

Is where God truly lies

When there is a problem that we cannot solve

We go to God and cry

Make me Happy, my dear Lord!

We beg as we question why

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    POEM

We know that God can do anything

He made Heaven and earth He is the giver of Happiness The one who gave us birth

But still, we look for Happiness Desiring this and wanting that Sometimes our wishes are fullled Otherwise, we become sad

And so do we live until we die Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry We miss to discover a simple secret God is the source of Joy

Instead of seeking God within

We are searching for Happiness!

Of course, we become happy at times But the source of Joy we miss

If only we change our search for God And look for Him within We will have everlasting Joy and Peace And a Blissful life will begin

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    POEM

But we don't know who God truly is In fear, we bow our head Instead of loving the Lord within We suffer until we are dead

We don't discover this Truth That GOD = Happiness We are looking for joy in so many places But within ourselves we miss

We are not body, we are not mind

This Truth we must realize

We are in fact God energy

To this Truth we must rise

Once we are conscious that God lives within We will suffer no more The giver of Happiness is part of us This Truth will make us glow

Instead of seeking Happiness

It's God we must search and nd

And once we realize the Truth, behold There will be joy and peace in our mind

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    POEM

But we don't know who God truly is We all believe in the myth We don't discover that God lives within We fail to reach the zenith

'God = Happiness' is a secret

We must discern and know

Then we will discover true bliss and joy As our bond with God will grow

If you want to be truly Happy

Then don't seek joy and bliss

Realize and nd God within

For that's where is Happiness

by

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR - AiR

AiR – Atman or the Soul in Ravi, is an embodied Soul whose only mission in life is to help people realize the Truth.

He was born in Bangalore on October 15, 1966. At a very young age, Ravi V. Melwani mastered the craft of business and became a very successful businessman who revolutionized retailing in India with the stores KidsKemp, Big KidsKemp, and Kemp Fort.

After making millions, he realized that life is not just about making money. He shut down his business at the age of 40, transformed his life to RVM, living by the RVM philosophy – Rejoice, Value Life, and Make a Difference. He started doing H.I.S. work – Humanitarian, Inspirational and Spiritual work. His mission was to 'Make a Difference' in this world before his journey was over.

As a part of the humanitarian initiative, a charitable hospital and charitable homes were set up with an aim to provide free medical treatment and care to the poor,

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    About the Author

destitute, and needy. Today, over 700 homeless and suffering people are served and cared for in destitute homes and provided with free shelter, food, clothing, and medical care.

A School of Inspiration was set up that inspired the lives of many people through motivating talks, inspirational books and videos, and thought-provoking quotes.

A Shiva Temple was built in the year 1995 in Bangalore, which is now known as the Shivoham Shiva Temple. AiR now believes that religion is just a kindergarten of Spirituality, and we all have to go beyond religion to truly realize God.

One day, his Guru provoked him to introspect: What is the purpose of life? Is life just meant to seek pleasures and to live and die without any purpose? What happens after death? Will we be reborn? Where is God? Several questions like these took him on a quest, a search for the Truth. He gave up his life of Achievement and Fulllment in search of the nal peak of life: Enlightenment.

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    About the Author

After a few years of intense search in retreat, deep in the mountains, he realized that we are not this body. We are the Soul, the Atman. He changed his name to AiR –Atman in Ravi. He metamorphosed to AiR and gave up his entire life as RVM and started living as an instrument of God doing His Divine Will. This led to several realizations that formed his new mission of life – to help people Realize the Truth.

Since then, AiR's life has been dedicated to reaching out and helping people to eradicate the ignorance that we live in. Truth is Truth but our mind does not realize that. With AiR's own realization, he has published several books, written bhajans, blogs, quotes, poems and taken up several other initiatives that can direct people towards the Truth. His vision, now, is to help people to Ask, Investigate, and Realize. He believes that unless people ask questions, they will never start a quest and even if they start the quest unless they really investigate, they will not realize the Truth. This Truth cannot be learned in a school, college or university, it must be realized. AiR has dedicated his life to helping people realize the Truth.

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    BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

1. Talaash

'Talaash' means Search or Quest. This book by AiR is his personal journey to realize the Truth where he shares his realization that we are not the body and the mind that we seem to be. We are a power. The Divine life force is known as Soul, Spirit or Atman. This search and quest by AiR made him transform his life. It is a quest that made him realize the Truth. It might be just that book that inspires you to liberation.

2. 3 Peaks of Happiness

3 Peaks of Happiness by AiR is a simple book that talks about the quest of all humanity. Everybody wants to be Happy. But is everybody Happy? No. The reason is we are stuck on the rst peak of Happiness – Achievement. 20% of the people are lucky to climb the second peak of Happiness – Fullment, which comes from contentment.

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    BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

But there is a third peak beyond. The third peak of Happiness will liberate you from the prisons of misery and sorrow and give you eternal Joy and Bliss.

3. My Guru, My Mentor, My God on Earth

My Guru, My Mentor, My God on Earth is a book by AiR in which he shares his experiences with his Guru who was not just his Guru and Mentor, but also his God on Earth. We all need a coach, a teacher to help us understand, guide us to live life and this book "My Guru" will inspire you to nd your Guru or to make your relationship with your Guru more fullling and meaningful.

4. I will Never Die. Death is not "The End"

In the journey of his life, AiR realized many Truths. One of the Truths was that he would never die. The body will die, but the one who lives in the body never dies. We are not the bodies that we wear; we are the ones who wear the body. Death is not the end. It is a

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    BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

bend to transcend. This book reveals the Truth about Death.

5. Death is Not "The End". Death is "Liberation"

Death is Not "The End". Death is "Liberation"

– the second book in the series of books on death by AiR – touches upon the secret of the Kathopanishad, which talks about what happens at death. One of two things happen

– if we think we are the body and mind as a doer, we are reborn. But if we think we are not the body and mind, but the Energy, we are liberated to eternal joy and peace.

6. I am not I. Who am I?

I am not I. Who am I? – is a very interesting book by AiR, which talks of his quest and realization that we are not who we think we are. We have a house, but we are not the house. We have a car, but we are not the car. We have a body, but we are not the body. We may have a mind, but we are not the mind. Who are we? Realize the Truth.

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7. The Mind is a Rascal

Can you believe that the mind is a rascal? You always thought that the mind is king – it is everything. But just try this. Sit quietly for an hour, and try to nd the mind. Where is it? You will nd the mind doesn't exist. This amazing book by AiR will teach us that the mind is our enemy. It is the one that makes us suffer. It is time to nd the rascal and to kill it. How do you do it?

8. A Cosmic Drama

This book authored by AiR challenges us to think that whatever is happening in life is not real. It is nothing but a drama. The earth is a big stage, and we are all actors who come and go. There is no need to worry and cry till we die. If we understand the Truth, we can enjoy the show called life.

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9. Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

Well, this might seem to be a simple set of questions, but nobody really knows the answers. We all know that God exists. We pray to a God as per our religion but what is the Truth about God? Has anybody seen God? Where is God? This simple book will change your perception and belief about God and bring you closer to this Power called God. It will help you realize God.

10. The A to Z of Karma

Most people are aware of the concept of Karma – the Law. What you give is what you get. But not everybody knows the A to Z of Karma, that we can actually transcend Karma, escape from it and achieve Moksha, Nirvana, Liberation or Enlightenment. This book reveals the secret – of eternal joy and peace - a life without any misery or suffering.

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11. Who Are You & Why Are You Here?

'Who are you and why are you' here is a simple book which challenges us to discover the secret of our life. Most of us think we are the body-mind complex, but in reality, we are not. The body will die and return to dust. Where is the mind, we cannot nd. Who are we in reality? And beyond that what is the purpose of life on earth. This book will give you all the answers.

12. The 4th Factor

Man thinks that he can achieve anything. He believes that there is nothing in this world he can't do. But, he doesn't realize that his efforts and equipment are not enough to decide the results of his actions. Sometimes, he does his best but things don't work out the way he wants. He then realizes the importance of the 4th Factor, a factor that makes the possible, possible and without its consent even the possible becomes impossible.

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13. Be Happy in the NOW!

Every human being on earth wants to be Happy. There is nobody who enjoys pain. People want to achieve Happiness but they fail to realize that Happiness is the journey itself, not the destination. Then, what is the secret of eternal joy, bliss, and peace? It is being Happy in the NOW. Every time we let the suffering of yesterday take charge of our

life, we destroy the joy of today. When our thoughts anxiously jump into what may happen in the future, we lose the tranquility of the present moment. We seem to be like helpless monkeys jumping from one branch to another, from yesterday to tomorrow. And in the bargain, we lose the gift of being Happy in the present.

With this book, AiR hopes to inspire people to live life moment by moment, if they really want to be Happy.

14. Questions you must answer before you die

Most of us live and die but we don't ask the question – Why? We just exist! We don't want to invest time in

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asking essential questions which are actually needed to lead a fullling and blissful life. There are so many critical questions that we must answer before our journey of life is over. What will happen to us after we die? Who created this universe? How can we be Happy all the time? Who is God, where is God, what is God? Like this, there are so many questions which we are ignorant about and somehow, we believe that ignorance is bliss. We blissfully live in ignorance till we die. Isn't it time to stop and ask questions?

15. Suffer No More

Suffer No More is a personal experience of overcoming anguish, anxiety, distress, and grief. We all suffer physical pain. Who on earth can escape from it? But while there is pain, can we do away with the suffering? What is suffering? While we all experience it, have we gone on a quest to understand what the primary cause of misery is? We live in this ignorance, this myth, that suffering is an unavoidable part of life.We can be free from suffering if only we

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realize that we are the prisoners of negative emotions that continue to make us miserable. Suffer No More is an analysis of suffering, what causes it and how we can overcome it. If one wants to truly live with eternal joy and everlasting peace, it's possible! This book will help you Realize the Truth and Suffer No More!

16. Success is not Happiness...Happiness is Success

Everybody wants to succeed. If one goes deep into the psychology of winning, one will realize that people want to win because this makes them Happy, just as failure makes them miserable. People want to succeed and they do everything possible to win because they want to be Happy. In fact, humanity, by and large, believes that

Success is like a cause, of which Happiness is the effect. In the present book the readers will discover the reality that Success equals Happiness is an illusion. No doubt Success creates a sense of gratication that makes us Happy but Real Happiness is beyond achievement. It is contentment and fulllment. It's time for us to realize

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    the Truth. Instead of chasing Success to be Happy, we should try to be Happy. That is true Success. We must realize that Success is not Happiness, Happiness is Success.

  17. God = Happiness Coming Soon

  17. Life! Realized!!

||Om Namah Shivaya|| ||Shivoham||

Visit | or Scan the QR Code | A.i.R.

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to download the AiR - Atman in Ravi App. | AiR Institute of Realization

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