a. What is Ananda?

Ananda is a state of causeless bliss and joy. 

The Hindu tradition teaches that this is our original state, not a destination to be achieved through effort and strife. We are caught in a web of ignorance and greed that deludes us about our true nature and causes us to be happy or unhappy on account of external events.

A fish does not strive to be in water, it already is. We already swim in the Ocean of ananda, but behave like a fish out of water, helpless and distraught. Realizing the truth of our original state, we can go about naturally in this world.

This is also the reason why many Indian holy men have the suffix “ananda” in their names. They have dropped their ignorance and now live in a perpetual state of causeless bliss.

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Contributor: Gaurav Rastogi

Location of this post (32a): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/what-is-ananda/