Jadananda and cidananda
Recently went on a spiritual vacation to Navadwip. Spiritual vacations are little austere to the material body. We adjust with simple accomodation and pilgrim food. This austerity helps us to be rich in cidananda or conscious pleasure. Can Jadananda and cidananda coexist? I think before going to this question we need to understand the significant difference between the two. Jadananda is the ordinary pleasures of this world. Jadananda is the feeling of happiness derived from the interaction or friction of sense objects with the senses. When there is friction between good food with the taste buds of the tongue, jadananda is generated. Similarly all material gross pleasures are born out of friction. Jadananda is of 2 types - the gross and the subtle. The subtle Jadananda is experienced when we deal emotionally by giving meaning to material identities. Ananda due to the interaction between father and daughter is one of the examples.
Father and daughter are abstractions created by the mind in a limited time space. Both dont exist after certain time and applying the principle of reincarnation, they will be born as totally different individuals with separate identities. Jadananda is bound by time and addiction to it causes immense suffering due to its transient nature. The network of samsara is weaved due to various addictions to types of Jadananda. Jadananda has certain properties. One is its transient nature as already discussed and the other is it adheres to the law of marginal utility. The pleasure derived from friction decreases every subsequent attempt towards the friction. The 5th rasogulla tastes less compared to the 1st rasogulla. So a person optimistic about Jadananda keeps jumping from one pleasure to another variety in order to overcome Law of marginal utility. This is a vain attempt affirms the Vedas. The vedas are a body of knowledge which deals with providing the ultimate benefit or uttama sreyas for all living beings. When we aim at Uttama sreyas we have to tolerate immediate pains which is technically called tapasya. Srimad Bhagavatham introduces the sanskrit word called 'Nishreyasaaya' - the ultimate well being possible in the cosmos. In Human life we should aim at Nishreyasaya - attaining which there is nothing more to attain. Animal life cannot go beyond Jadananda and they do not have the reasoning power to understand Jadananda and also to perform Tapasya. Animals stay in the moment without concern and plan for the future. Only Humans have developed cognizance of past and future. This cognizance is wasted in worries. The goal of providing past-future cognizance to humans is to enable them to achieve eternity or state of timeless existance - also called as eternal present. Thougths and action in the present affect the future state of existance. How to think and to act so that we attain the goal of Nishreyasaya? The positive band of the ananda scale is the cidananda or conscious pleasure. Cidananda is born out of sanatana dharma or the service relationship between 2 eternal entities - the aatma and the paramatma. One of the most important property of cidananda is that it is the inverse of the law of marginal utility. When we constantly think and act in service to the paratama, we will be propelled towards the goal of Nishreyasaya. If we impartially observe the nature of thoughts in our mind, it is towards procuring Jadananda or self pleasure. Jadananda is a result of selfishness due to the gratification of ones own senses. Another negative effect of Jadananda is that the material senses are never satiated and it demands more. Hence it leads to increases hankering, anger, greed, delusion. (More to continue)
Father and daughter are abstractions created by the mind in a limited time space. Both dont exist after certain time and applying the principle of reincarnation, they will be born as totally different individuals with separate identities. Jadananda is bound by time and addiction to it causes immense suffering due to its transient nature. The network of samsara is weaved due to various addictions to types of Jadananda. Jadananda has certain properties. One is its transient nature as already discussed and the other is it adheres to the law of marginal utility. The pleasure derived from friction decreases every subsequent attempt towards the friction. The 5th rasogulla tastes less compared to the 1st rasogulla. So a person optimistic about Jadananda keeps jumping from one pleasure to another variety in order to overcome Law of marginal utility. This is a vain attempt affirms the Vedas. The vedas are a body of knowledge which deals with providing the ultimate benefit or uttama sreyas for all living beings. When we aim at Uttama sreyas we have to tolerate immediate pains which is technically called tapasya. Srimad Bhagavatham introduces the sanskrit word called 'Nishreyasaaya' - the ultimate well being possible in the cosmos. In Human life we should aim at Nishreyasaya - attaining which there is nothing more to attain. Animal life cannot go beyond Jadananda and they do not have the reasoning power to understand Jadananda and also to perform Tapasya. Animals stay in the moment without concern and plan for the future. Only Humans have developed cognizance of past and future. This cognizance is wasted in worries. The goal of providing past-future cognizance to humans is to enable them to achieve eternity or state of timeless existance - also called as eternal present. Thougths and action in the present affect the future state of existance. How to think and to act so that we attain the goal of Nishreyasaya? The positive band of the ananda scale is the cidananda or conscious pleasure. Cidananda is born out of sanatana dharma or the service relationship between 2 eternal entities - the aatma and the paramatma. One of the most important property of cidananda is that it is the inverse of the law of marginal utility. When we constantly think and act in service to the paratama, we will be propelled towards the goal of Nishreyasaya. If we impartially observe the nature of thoughts in our mind, it is towards procuring Jadananda or self pleasure. Jadananda is a result of selfishness due to the gratification of ones own senses. Another negative effect of Jadananda is that the material senses are never satiated and it demands more. Hence it leads to increases hankering, anger, greed, delusion. (More to continue)
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