Desire is man's most intimate possession, the elemental force that gives his existence meaning. Longing is the most natural thing. But what should one long for, what is worth longing for? If three objects of yearning had to be named, it even sounds sincere on a young man's lips when he says: love, intoxication and music, but if his holy trinity is still unchanged later, once his vagabond outlook has run its course, that is a problem. Then what should the object of desire be?
Fame, esteem, glory? Prestige, adoration, distinction? Money, women, fame? Personal fulfilment, material intoxication, power? Or rather truth, knowledge and joy? Purity, beauty, goodness, or simplicity, chastity, humility? That last would not be a popular trio… Tradition speaks of three practices that are to be followed even by the enlightened. These are self-discipline, charity and self-sacrifice. All three are closely bound up with man's desires, with his longing nature. In the order named, the practices grow more selfless. Self-discipline benefits above all the one who practises it, charity is good for the recipient too, and self-sacrifice furthers the spiritual edification of everyone concerned. These practices define the principles behind the noble workings of earthly existence, and so prepare the way for spiritual perfection.
On the absolute plane we can speak of only three factors: existence, consciousness and bliss: Sat, Chit and Ananda. This is the ultimate triad, the holy triad. The secret teachings urge: That must be attained, by attaining which everything is attained! One must penetrate to the deepest, most elemental plane of existence, and in reaching it man has reached the root of the universe, where he has come to grasp the principle of being, universal existence (Sat).
That must be understood, by understanding which everything is understood! – the teaching continues. Understanding is nothing other than the workings of the intellect, the manifestation of consciousness. The aim of universal knowledge is not to count the grains of sand on the seashore, but to develop full holistic vision, full awareness (Chit).
If we know that three factors exist, and we have already listed two and supported them with quotations, should we then disregard the laws of logic and of nature at this point and end our search, or should we try to take a step further?
The question is rhetorical, but the problem is not, since no quotations from the ancient sources support going further. For the secret teachings speak only this far, speak only of this, and do not venture beyond this boundary. After all, the Absolute is that from which word and thought turn back, because they cannot reach it. And yet, using logic, let us venture further and declare: That one must be loved, by loving whom everything becomes love. This divine plane of universal love is bliss, the ananda principle, which is also the source of personal happiness. If we arrange these factors neatly in a circle: Being – Consciousness – Bliss – Being – Consciousness – Bliss – and so on, then there is no beginning and no end, and yet Consciousness stands halfway between Being and Bliss, though it is true that Bliss too stands halfway between Consciousness and Being, and Being between Bliss and Consciousness. This eternal golden mean, however, is no mediocrity.
Whichever factor we start from, if we leap over the next two in the circle, we always move on to the factor itself. Stepping over, however, is not bypassing but mastering, embracing, learning. If we start from Existence, we meet Consciousness and Bliss. If from Consciousness, then we come to know Being and Bliss. And if from Bliss, then we deeply feel Being and Consciousness. If we start from Bliss, then leaping forward we understand Being, and leaping backward, Consciousness. Perhaps this is the best method: starting from Bliss or Love, we can understand the secrets of Being and Consciousness too.
What, then, should one long for? For the holy principles of Being, Consciousness and Bliss? It is enough to serve the principle of Bliss, for starting from it everything can be understood. When the root of the tree of the universe is watered with love, every branch, twig and leaf receives nourishment, and the whole tree flourishes.