Hi Jason! Yes, our own pleasure is also an inseparable part of the purpose of life. But this doesn’t refer to the mundane pleasure of the senses. Nor does it refer to the pleasures of the mind, such as the enjoyment of fame, or fortune, or social position. The ancient Sanskrit scriptures of the far east put forward the idea that the individual spirit soul is inconceivably simultaneously one with God and separate from God. Acintya bheda-abbheda tattva.
Acintya means inconceivable to the mundane or material mind.
Bheda means to be one with, inseparable from something (in this context, God)
Abheda means individual, separate, having a separate identity.
Tattva means “truth” or the real nature of things.
An example is given in the Sanskrit texts:
All the leaves on the tree require water. (In this analogy, the individual souls in this world are like separate leaves on the tree of life, the tree being God.).Each leaf on the tree will try to water itself. But of course, this will not satisfy the needs of the leaf. Then, there are a few leaves that are moved to pour water on the other leaves. But of course, this does not serve to fulfill the inner needs of the other leaves. However, if one leaf on the tree pours water on the root of the tree, all of the leaves, twigs, fruits and flowers are benefitted, including, of course, the leaf that is watering the root of his existence.
In other words, there is a feed-back loop, so to speak. The leaf that waters the root automatically receives water. In fact, it is the only way in which the leaf can acquire inner fulfillment. This feedback loop exists because although the individual leaf is an individual, it is simultaneously, part of, or “one” with the tree.
Therefore, when the individual spirit soul, cultivates sincere feelings of love for God, the sense of reciprocation of spiritual love inundates the heart of the individual soul. In this way, sincere heartfelt devotional service to God affords the highest pleasure to the soul. This is referred to as spiritual pleasure, or spiritual bliss.
So…we have two categories of pleasure:
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Pleasure of the material senses, and the mundane ego, through the attainment of social status, a sense of wealth and/or social power, fame, social prestige, pride, etc.
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Spiritual pleasure: which consists of a living sense of reciprocation (spiritual feedback loop) of love with God, and His representative (His son).
Material pleasures are very fleeting. Also our ability to enjoy material pleasures is very limited. E.g., a food preparation can be delicious…but if we eat more than our body can assimilate, we soon become disgusted, nauseated, etc.. The sense of pleasure actually decreases. Similarly, the millionaire desires to become a billionaire, and the billionaire desires to become a trillionaire. And still he keeps expanding his sphere of influence…because he cannot attain a feeling of satisfaction. He becomes a political leader. Still he is not satisfied; so he wants to conquer other nations. This is the history of our planet.
The explanation for this lack of satisfaction is simple: We are not material beings. We are spirit souls, living within a material body. No amount of material attainment will give us the fulfillment that we are looking for. We require spiritual pleasure.
Spiritual pleasure, derived from a sense of loving reciprocation with God fills the heart with spiritual bliss. The history of the saints paints pictures of asceticism. But in truth, they are not ascetic. They are not austere. Their hearts are so filled with spiritual bliss, that all of their material desires seemingly evaporate. In fact, all of our desires are coming from the spirit. But because we identify with the material container, the material body, as “me”, we attempt to acquire satisfaction by pleasing the material body and the material mind. And because we are not this material body, we do not obtain the fulfillment that we are looking for.
So, my friend Jason, you have written:
"I would say that our own pleasure is also part of the purpose of life. God wants us to be happy too. But you make a good point that we were created to make God happy."
You are correct. Our own pleasure is also part of God’s purpose. As you have correctly asserted, "God wants us to be happy too." However, because we are part and parcel of God, God’s pleasure becomes our pleasure. When the hand feeds the mouth, the hand is simultaneously nourished. Therefore our enlightened self-interest is to seek God’s pleasure with every thought, word and deed. Jesus came to explain and to exemplify this orientation of “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”
So the question arises, “What pleases God the most?” Jesus gives us the answer. He says that the most important rule of all the rules in the scripture is to “love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, all of your strength, all of your might”. Why? Because God enjoys our love. And God wants our love. When we cultivate sincere feelings of love for God, we begin to sense God’s reciprocation of love. His love is ever-present. But it is only when we open our hearts to Him, that we begin to feel His love in return. This is real communion. Enlightened self-interest is understanding that God’s pleasure is our pleasure. A real servant of God desires only God’s pleasure. In this way he is simultaneously fulfilled, and declares, “Not my will but Thy will…”. Whatever God wants, we also want that. In other words there is no distinction between God’s pleasure and our pleasure. God’s pleasure is our pleasure. This is enlightened self-interest.
People like you and I…we are beginners. We are not ready perhaps to follow the example of Jesus and give our very lives for pleasing God, but we can begin to cultivate our love for Him in little ways. We can express our gratitude to Him in prayer for all the wonderful things that He provides us with day after day. We can tell Him in prayer that we appreciate His wonderful artistry in creating flowers, the beauty of nature. We can thank Him for bringing up the morning sun every day. We can pick a flower and place it on our little altar, as an offering to God. He needs nothing…but He enjoys our love. And as we cultivate our love for Him, our “cup runneth over”. (23rd psalm). We realize that “God’s pleasure is my pleasure.”
Thanks Jason for discussing with me. In this way you bring me closer to Jesus. “Where two or more are gathered in my name…”
Peter
I would say that our own pleasure is also part of the purpose of life. God wants us to be happy too. But you make a good point that we were created to make God happy.