Often, people say that the world is filled with suffering and not happiness and that true joy is found only in God. This isn’t the case. The world isn’t a place of suffering; it is God’s creation. Would God create a world that brings suffering to His children? The world was created out of divine grace so that our bodies could thrive on its resources—earth, water, air, fire, and nutrients—and so that we could engage in spiritual practices to achieve our ultimate goals.
The Vedic Concept of Creation and Joy
The Vedic scriptures, like the Brahmopanishad (2.22), state that if the world were inherently sorrowful, then saints and sages would also experience suffering. However, they live in constant bliss. The scriptures clearly say, in the Satyayani Upanishad (25) and the Bhagavad Gita (2.71), that if one relinquishes all desires, they can find bliss in this very world. The Vedic texts like the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.4.7) and Bhagavata Purana (7.10.9) suggest that it is our desires that bring us sorrow, not the world itself.
According to the Vedic philosophy, the world is full of joy. The Gopis saw Lord Krishna everywhere they looked, and similarly, those who worship the formless Brahman feel a sense of ‘I am’ everywhere. Devotees, as mentioned in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (3.15) and the Bhagavata Purana (2.6.15), see God in everything.
The Saints and Sages: Living Proof of Joy
Great devotees like Tulsidas, Meera, Tukaram, and Surdas did not experience sorrow in this world. Thus, it is not the world that causes suffering; it is our ignorance. This ignorance, as described in the Vedas, is desire. We have mistaken ourselves to be the body, and thus, we have attached ourselves to bodily pleasures. This attachment leads to desire, which in turn leads to either joy or greed if fulfilled, or sorrow and anger if not.
Desire: The Root Cause of Suffering
The Taittiriya Upanishad, a Vedic text (3.6.1), proclaims that bliss is the source, sustenance, and ultimate destination of the world. This is because Brahman, the ultimate reality, is itself bliss, and thus, God is inherently blissful. Hence, in this world, there is only bliss. As the poet Surdas says, ‘Like a washerman standing at the riverbank, yet thirsting for water,’ we fail to see the bliss that surrounds us. We shall discuss why we do not always perceive this bliss at another time. Hail to the Lord, the consort of Uma, Mahadev!”
