The Key to Happiness: Oneness of Living

By His Divinity Shri Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati

O Reader, thirsting for peace and happiness! That Life, call It the Divine Being, or by any other name, which enables you to see, read, understand, which makes your existence possible on this earth, is in all, and It is the same Life in all. The Sages have told you to love your neighbour as your own self, for there is in him the same Life which is in you and in every other creature of this world. Even though you do not know that one Reality which is One Existence, you will know It when you wax in wisdom and grow in purity; and when you walk in the footsteps of the great Saviours and Saints of the world, you will realise the Infinite Life, the One Indivisible Homogeneous Consciousness that throbs in the hearts of all. It is your own ignorance that has caused these differences and imprisoned you in the sorrows of diversity.

It is your ignorance that has made you misunderstand yourself as separate from others and made you lead a life of isolation and separateness, replete with selfishness and making you a prey to the innumerable torments and agonies of individual living. Pity indeed!

All is but One Stupendous Whole. Nothing is except the Plenum of Being, the One Essence of Existence. This outer world is the manifestation of the all-pervading Life-Force: analyse this manifoldness of the external world, O Beloved one, and you shall inevitably come to the conclusion that it is only Pure Consciousness, the Awareness Supreme alone, that is appearing, and that It is One, besides and beyond which there is nothing and can be no reality truly existing.

O problem-vexed and puzzle-ridden Aspirant, know this spiritual Oneness of Living through a life of profound thinking, through a purified love for all beings and by invoking the favour of the Spiritual Being, and enjoy the happiness that is beyond all human comprehension.

Mental delusions have created this extensive, manifold world. Negate the names and forms; unite the diversifying forces of the mind and focus them to experience the One Life-Principle which is the only Truth underlying all there is and which is All-in-All. Steer clear of all petty quarrels and differences, meaningless disputes and distinctions, and tenaciously cling to the One Inner Self in the myriads of beings.

Infinite Bliss and perfect Peace rush into the heart of him who, even though being in the world of opposition and misery, sincerely exerts himself to behold the One Omnipresent Life in all. Assert this Oneness of Living, the One Uniform Reality, this spiritual Unity of all life, and feel It intensely with all your tremendous faith, and you shall not only never be afflicted by misery or pain but be yourself the abode of All-Happiness.