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The Pool of Wisdom
BY WHAT AUTHORITY
OMMEN CAMP FIRE TALK, 1927
In the same way man is searching everywhere for the fulfilment of himself, in all climes, in all places, under all skies. Through political, social and economic activity, he is seeking for the fruition, for the development of himself through Happiness. All people of the world, whether they be in the East or in the West, whether their skin is yellow, brown, black, or white, they are all seeking Happiness. Happiness is the heritage of all, Happiness is the goal for all, Happiness is the end for all -the Happiness that outlasts all touch of sorrow, that is eternal, that is permanent, that is the fruition of the accumulation of all experience. There is such a permanent, lasting, indestructible Happiness, but man must seek for it through the passing stages of unhappiness. Go where you will, there you will find man-seeking Happiness in perishable things. Whether it be in the East or in the West, all suffer alike, all have the same sorrows, the same afflictions, the same desires, the same agonies; and all are seeking for that Happiness which dwells ever within, which is eternal. Man seeks in trivial things for that Happiness which is everlasting, for that Happiness which is Liberation. If he were hungry, he seeks to satisfy his stomach; if he be sorrow-laden, his Happiness lies in forgetting himself. The Sannyasi, the man who has renounced the world and withdrawn into the secluded valley, seeks that Happiness; the creator, the artist, the genius seeks for that Happiness which will last, which will stand the test of time, which will give him strength, which will give him vitality to withstand the onslaughts of sorrow, of grief and of affliction. But in search of that Happiness which is lasting, they lose themselves in the impermanent. Of what use is the Happiness that can be destroyed? Of what use is it to be momentarily delighted when that delight disappears? Of what use is creation which gives momentary pleasure when that which you have created is destroyed?
Wherever you go, wherever you wander, there is a longing search to discover an abode where you can dwell peacefully and in tranquillity, where you can become one with that Kingdom of Happiness. There are many ways of seeking and attaining that Happiness, but the end, the goal, is the same for all, to whatever temperament or type a man may belong. Whatever his mode of activity in the world may be, the goal for him is the attainment of Happiness and Liberation. For when once you have perceived that end, to attain it you will throw aside all transient things, all those things which pass away with the touch of sorrow.
You will find that the man -under whatever clime- who is seeking for that Kingdom, which he knows dwells within, is like the butterfly, wandering from one flower to another, gathering honey. He is always looking outwards, always trying to find that Happiness, that beauty, that comfort, that Liberation in the outward manifestation. And while he is wandering outward in the world of shadow, he is caught as in a net in the world of the unreal, and hence he begins to create karma. What he sows he will reap; whatever his actions may be, they will bear their own fruit. He cannot escape, and so he is caught continually in that world of transient things: from one sorrow he goes to another sorrow, from great sorrows to greater sorrows, from little pleasures to greater pleasures. While sorrow and fleeting pleasure cage him and hold him, he cannot go into that Kingdom where lies eternal Happiness.
That Kingdom of Happiness lies not in the world of manifestation, where there are shadows and decay, but within each one of you, and it is there that you must turn and seek. As the flower contains the scent, as the flower hides divinity within itself, so within each one of you lies the Kingdom of Happiness, whatever be your stage of evolution, whatever be your griefs or afflictions. When once you have discovered it within yourselves, then you can wander forth from the real to the unreal.
I want, for the moment, to give you an image so as to make it clear to you that the goal for all human beings is Liberation and Happiness. Let us imagine for a moment the top of a mountain where there are the last rays of a setting sun, where the beauty of the past day is concentrated. On that mountain are various stages, various sheltering huts, and each shelter invites you to stop and worship the particular god that it holds. And so man, though he knows that there is an ultimate goal, stays in these huts, enjoying himself and wasting his time, hence creating unnecessary karma which binds him to the wheel of life and death. So he must pass through those stages, rest in every shelter, if he is weak and has not sufficient strength and sufficient will to climb to the top. To acquire that will, that determination, that purposefulness, he must go within and awaken himself to the Reality which lies there.
Most of you worship a picture, and when that picture becomes alive you wish that it had not, for that picture will tell you to go within yourselves, and not to worship that which is destructible, a mere canvas that can be torn. When that picture tells you to go within and there discover the Kingdom of Reality, the Kingdom of Truth, the Kingdom of Happiness and Liberation, you find it difficult because it requires thought, it requires training, it requires self-examination, self-criticism, which very few of you are willing to go through. You require some great miracle to transport you to the mountain-top. You are waiting for some Divine Manifestation to exhibit Himself miraculously, amidst thunder and lightning, and give you some medicine, which will transform you, purify you and give you strength, to leap to the mountain-top.
But, friend, the Truth lies in you; and because I have found that Truth, because I have identified myself with that Truth, and because my Beloved and I are one in my heart, I would tell you how to open those gates which will let you into your own heart, into your own mind, where you will find peace and tranquillity. But you must know what is sorrow, what is suffering, what is affliction, what are pleasures that are imperishable, what are pleasures that are lasting. Wisdom comes out of experience, and understanding out of a pure heart; and if there is no experience, if the heart is not willing to understand, you will remain long in the shelters on the upward mountain path. And because you have the Beloved with you, you can leave all those shelters and become the Beloved.
There lies the greatness of the moment, for there be very few days of summer, days when you can gather in your hay, when you can prepare your house and put all things in order, to welcome the Guest; because you will find that the Beloved is yourself -ennobled, glorified, yourself made perfect. And when once you have found Him within your heart and well established Him in your mind, then you have entered into that Kingdom of Happiness which is everlasting, into that Liberation which has no limitations.
So those who would seek Happiness and Liberation must wander within, must search out and find their own Kingdom. And when they have found that abode they will discover that it is the Kingdom for all -for all are searching, all are suffering and sorrow-laden. And those who have drunk at that fountain, who have developed that wisdom which is the outcome of experience, can go out and give to the afflicted of that lasting Happiness which is Liberation.