Ānanda (Sanskrit: आनन्द) literally meansbliss or happiness. In theHinduVedas,Upanishads andBhagavad Gita, ānanda signifies eternal bliss which accompanies the ending of therebirth cycle. Those who renounce the fruits of their actions and submit themselves completely to the divine will, arrive at the final termination of the cyclical life process (saṃsāra) to enjoy eternal bliss (ānanda) in perfect union with the godhead. The tradition of seeking union with God through loving commitment is referred to asbhakti, or devotion.[1]
Ānanda is a Sanskrit word regarded as a verbal nounnanda prefixed withā.ā indicates the place where the verbal action occurs; for example,āsrama, where one toils,ārama, where one enjoys oneself,ākara, where things are scattered, etc. The wordānanda thus implies a locus, that in which one finds bliss, be it a son, the fulfillment of a wish, the knowledge ofbrahman, or theatman.Ānanda is not just a free-floating unfocused bliss, it has an implied object.[2]
In theShatapatha Brahmana (10.3.5.13), ānanda is defined as the knowledge of Brahman, which transforms a person into a divine being. Verse 10.3.5.14 emphasizes that ānanda, when understood as knowledge, is connected with the fulfillment of wishes, echoing a verse from theRigveda (9.113.11), where attaining all desires (ānanda) is a prerequisite for immortality.[3]
Perhaps the most comprehensive treatise on 'ānanda' is to be found in the Ananda Valli ofTaittiriya Upanishad, where a gradient of pleasures, happiness, and joys is delineated and distinguished from the "ultimate bliss" (ब्रह्मानंद)- absorption in Self-knowledge, a state of non-duality between object and subject.[4] This essential description of 'ānanda' as an aspect of the non-dual Brahman is further affirmed byAdi Shankara's commentary[5] on theBrahma Sutras, Chapter 1, Section 1, Shloka 12, आनन्दमयोऽभ्यासात्.
Taittiriya Upanishad verses 2.3.3-9 describes the self (atman) as self-luminous and covered by five sheaths, with bliss (ānanda) as the innermost and subtlest layer.[6]
According to theVedanta school ofHindu philosophy,ananda is that state of sublime delight when thejiva becomes free from all sins, all doubts, all desires, all actions, all pains, all sufferings and also from all physical and mental ordinary pleasures. Having become established inBrahman it becomesjivanmukta (a being free from the cycle of rebirth).[7] The Upanishads repeatedly use the wordĀnanda to denoteBrahman, the innermost Self, the Blissful One, which, unlike the individual self, has no real attachments.
Based on a reading of the Bhagavad Gita, Dvaita vedanta interpretsananda as happiness derived via good thoughts and good deeds that depend on the state and on the control of the mind. Through evenness of temper and mind, the state of supreme bliss is reached in all aspects of one's life.[8]
Abhinavagupta viewsānanda as integral to spiritual realization. He speaks of liberation through the union ofShiva (the non-dual absolute) andShakti (the totality of existence). Abhinavagupta also identifies bliss as one of the five fundamental aspects of the supreme (Shiva).[9]
According toRamanujacharya of theVishishtadvaita vedanta school, true happiness arises through divine grace, which becomes available through the surrender of one's ego to theDivine. The practice ofprapatti (unreserved submission to the Lord) allows the soul's bondage to the delusions of independence to be transcended in the supreme bliss of devotion to the Divine.[10]
According toSwami Vivekananda, the one great idea common to all religions is that every soul is connected to the divine, that divinity is our true nature:[11]
We are one with Infinite Existence, we are one with Infinite Knowledge, and we are one with Infinite Bliss. TheSat-Chit-Ananda, the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, is the nature of the Soul; and all things and beings that we see in the world are Its expressions, dimly or brightly manifested.
Sri Aurobindo, in his bookThe Life Divine, discussesānanda as the "delight of existence", an infinite delight of being that is the essential nature of consciousness, and the reason and basis of all things:[12]
Delight is existence, Delight is the secret of creation, Delight is the root of birth, Delight is the cause of remaining in existence, Delight is the end of birth and that into which creation ceases. "FromAnanda" says the Upanishad "all existences are born, byAnanda they remain in being and increase, toAnanda they depart."
Ramana Maharshi proposes thatananda can be attained by inner enquiry, by following the thought "Who am I?" to its deepest level. 'I' is the unqualified substratum underlying all qualified states.Sat-Chit-Ananda (being-consciousness-bliss) is the Self, the residuum left over after discarding all that is not-self.[13]
Within the various schools of Hindu thought, there are different paths and ways of achieving Happiness. The main four paths areBhakti yoga,Jnana yoga,Karma yoga andRaja yoga.[11]
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