You can experience happiness on three levels. Firstly, there is happiness in the society and environment. How can you bring about happy circumstances? How would you feel in a place where everyone around you only thinks about themselves? Would you like to live in a group where there is no sharing, no sense of belonging and no happiness?

The second level is happiness of mind. When one accepts things and moves towards knowledge, happiness arises in the mind. Sometimes everyone around you is happy and you are also serving others but you are not happy at heart; There is no satisfaction. Dedication brings another level of happiness.

The third level is happiness of the soul. This level of happiness occurs when the soul becomes one with God. When there is no duality, there are no two, when you are in deep meditation, then you experience this innermost bliss.

All three levels of happiness are interconnected. When you are completely united with God, you cannot help but be complete and you cannot help but serve because everyone is a part of you. You will get mental satisfaction when you start serving and stop thinking about yourself all the time. The mind will also feel happy and relaxed and such an atmosphere is created.

A wise person remains happy even in bad times. And a fool remains unhappy even in good times. You know, just like a farmer sows seeds in the soil and nurtures them to grow into healthy plants, similarly we should sow the seeds of happiness and success in our lives. Where do these seeds grow? Just as food comes from the earth, so joy and happiness grow from the place above us—heaven. Space is the area where happiness takes root.

If you look, in various religions, prayer often involves the act of projecting thoughts into space. When Muslims pray, they raise their hands with their wishes in the space above. Christians do the same thing—raising hands in prayer. This is the space element at work. Good ideas are sown there and they yield positive results. Our happiness grows from this place.

Every night before you go to sleep, notice the last thought that comes to your mind. Usually, it is about failures, negativity or worries – this is what we sow unconsciously before sleeping. And then, when you wake up in the morning, you feel tired, exhausted, depressed or negative.

There’s an old saying in English: Say your prayers before you go to bed. Schools teach it, and families encourage it at home. But what does prayer really mean? It means gratitude. This means consciously planting the seeds of positive thoughts before going to sleep. And when you do, you feel refreshed, energetic, and ready for the day ahead.

The secret to a fulfilled and successful life is simple: keep sowing positive seeds in the space. If you throw a seed in a desert or on sandy soil where there is no water, it will not grow. You have to water it, till the soil, and then plant the seeds for it to take root and thrive. Similarly, meditation and breathing techniques are like cultivating the subtle space of the mind.

There is nothing outside the spiritual world. There is no division between that which is spiritual, and that which is material. To attain the spiritual level simply means to recognize that there is life everywhere, there is spirit everywhere. What happens when you go beyond happiness? The mind expands, and at the same time it is not unconscious or unaware. Usually when you’re happy, you drift off and get distracted. When you are sad you are very focused. But a beautiful combination of being happy, alert and focused at the same time can be experienced in spiritual life.

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