Peace and Happiness for Believers and Nonbelievers

By Kandiah Sivaloganathan

Today humans are too busy working to gather wealth as a way of seeking happiness only to find that peace and joy are eluding them. They are resorting to chemicals for a moment of thrill in their active lifestyle. A highly-charged busy life does not provide any time to pause and gain in-depth knowledge of their life mechanism.    

This book explains the present-day misconceptions of the way society conducts its affairs regarding education, religion, environment and politics. It is written in a simple, readable language, with an astounding collection of facts and techniques usable by anyone interested in attaining health and happiness, and a wonderful new life of inner fulfilment.

It is a must-read book for people with a busy lifestyle, as it is found to be an illuminating and informative outlook on today’s difficult decisions on health and well-being. The readers will find much to intrigue them, compelling them to read until the final page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781528952255

Kandiah Sivaloganathan

Kandiah Sivaloganathan hails from a traditional family from Sri Lanka. He graduated in Engineering with honours, University of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, and a master’s degree in Engineering, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia. He has experience working as a consulting engineer with people in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Australia. During this period, he witnessed firsthand the experience of sorrow and joy of the wealthiest and most deprived people in these places. Kandiah Sivaloganathan is interested in spirituality and has devoted his life to spiritual pursuits. He is a devotee of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Kandiah has recently authored two books, titled: A Brief Introduction to Hinduism, and Understanding Hinduism.

Book preview

About the Author

Kandiah Sivaloganathan hails from a traditional family from Sri Lanka.

He graduated in Engineering with honours, University of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, and a master’s degree in Engineering, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia.

He has experience working as a consulting engineer with people in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Australia. During this period, he witnessed firsthand the experience of sorrow and joy of the wealthiest and most deprived people in these places.

Kandiah Sivaloganathan is interested in spirituality and has devoted his life to spiritual pursuits. He is a devotee of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Kandiah has recently authored two books, titled: A Brief Introduction to Hinduism, and Understanding Hinduism.

Dedication

Dedicated to

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Copyright Information ©

Kandiah Sivaloganathan 2022

The right of Kandiah Sivaloganathan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528946292 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528952255 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

My thanks to my friend Paul Ward-Harvey for providing comments on my initial manuscript.

Synopsis

Today we, humans, are enjoying the conveniences and comforts of the modern world more than any other generation in the history of mankind due to the unprecedented advancement in science and technology. However, we find that we are in an endless pursuit of material goods for peace and happiness. But this is not providing the necessary wellbeing we are seeking. This book, Peace and Happiness for Believers and Unbelievers, provides a brief insight into the present-day conundrum of human well – being and how to get over it.

The modern technological achievements, which were unimaginable and even considered superhuman centuries ago, are a daily occurrence. Humans, therefore, believe that science and technology could provide all their necessities for their well-being. This belief is bringing about a change in the concept of religion, and religious practice is becoming irrelevant. People are moving away from religious faith, and the number of people attending churches and temples is in decline.

As a last resort, humans are turning to chemicals such as drugs and alcohol for a moment of thrill to get away from the pressures of present-day busy lives. Few humans who are unable to overcome life pressures are moving towards spirituality, such as meditation and yoga, with the hope of gaining peace. It is a book to clarify these dilemmas and queries regarding peace and happiness.

This book provides insight into:

The Source of Creation.

Origin of the word GOD.

What Is Religion?

Concept of God.

Is There a GOD?

Is GOD the doer?

Science and Consciousness.

Seeing Unity in All.

Layers of Life.

Life Transformation.

Author’s Qualifications

As for me, I hailed from a traditional Hindu family from the village of Suthumali, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. I had my early education in Sri Lanka, at Manipay Hindu College, Jaffna, and St Benedict’s College, Colombo.

I graduated in Engineering with honours from the University of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, 1960, and obtained a master’s degree in Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 1981. I am a charted engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineers, London, UK, Hong Kong, and Australia.

I worked both as an engineer and as a consultant in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Australia. During this period, I was in contact with the poorest to the wealthiest people of these countries and witnessed first-hand their experience of sorrow and joy.

I had a keen interest in spirituality from my early years and have devoted my life to spiritual pursuits ever since. I am a devotee of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and was involved with the Sathya Sai Movement for more than 35 years and was an active member of the Sathya Sai Centre of Hong Kong. My wife Jeyaranjitham, sons Lavan and Soruban and I were fortunate to have interviews with Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in 1988.

I have authored technical papers and recently books titled – A Brief Introduction to Hinduism and Understanding Hinduism.

I am retired and live in Cremorne, Sydney, Australia.

You are seeking joy and peace in far-off places. But the spring of joy is in your heart. The heaven of peace is in yourself.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money – for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history did not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.

Pope Francis

(Reference 17quotes from Pope Francis)

Preface

Present-day humans are able to enjoy the convenience and comforts of the modern world more than any other generation in the history of mankind. This is possible due to the unprecedented advancement in science and technology over the last few decades.

Humans today can fly like birds, speak to people at the other end of the world as if talking to their neighbours. They can purchase any items they require from the comforts of their living room and get them delivered to their door. Advancement in medical science could enable them to even replace any damaged body parts and many more. All these achievements have given a certain amount of confidence to humans. They believe that science and technology could deliver all their life necessities for them to lead a happy and prosperous life. Humans, therefore, are in an endless pursuit of these materials conveniences and comforts to have a happy life. Some succeed in the collection of almost all the material goods that the modern world could offer. Those who are fortunate to possess most of these conveniences use them for enjoyment at times in their life. However, even these humans would accept they are not free of anxiety, worries, and sad situations. Why is it that with all the comforts and conveniences at your disposal that you are still not happy as you would like to be?

Humans are continuously looking outside in the material world for happiness. If you look at day-to-day life, joy does not come from the outside world, but it mainly comes from within us. For example, when we are healthy, our body is pleasant; when the mind is calm, we are in peace.

When you achieve worldly success in studies, employment, politics, and business, you are also happy around the time you are successful in these outcomes. This happiness only lasts for a short time, and then you become anxious about the result of the next adventure. The next adventure may be a success or a failure. It may even be a conflict with your family, associates, or friends, which may create sad emotions. If you experience failure, you will not only be sad but also bring out the negative emotions within you. Your collective experience is that you do not have success and a good relationship on a 24/7 basis. You, therefore, will be in a cycle of happiness, anxiety, worry, sadness, and joy, depending on the outcome of the success in worldly matters. This need not be that way.

Your peace and happiness are within you, and not from outside, in the material world. It does not even depend on whether you have faith or believe in the Supernatural Being. The Supernatural Being is commonly referred to as The Father, the Son of God the Jesus Christ, Brahman, Buddha, Allah, Waheguru, and many other names.

In this book, the author is trying to explain in simple language the reasons surrounding this paradox. Why there is unhappiness in the world with all the material comforts and conveniences at our disposal.

This book also provides a glimpse of the understanding and efforts necessary to achieve inner happiness, which will bring not only peace and happiness to you but also to the world around you.

I render my thanks to my friend Paul Ward – Harvey BA, LLM, for providing comments on the first draft of my manuscript.

1. Introduction

We, humans, live in our familiar world of five senses, but what lies beyond that, if anything, we are eager to know. Some of us may be content to be in familiar surroundings of our senses and are afraid to venture into the unknown beyond our senses. But there are others who are not content to spend their time in familiar surroundings of the five senses but wish to venture into the unknown.

It is human nature to expand and see what lies outside the physical boundaries and also beyond the senses. In the material world, humans have made a considerable effort in exploring the outer limits of the physical boundaries of the Universe. In exploring the physical world, humans have gone to the Moon, send probes to the planets, and even split the structure of the atom. But in the exploration beyond the physical senses, only a limited number of humans are interested. The adventure of seeking the unknown beyond the physical senses is not exploring the mountains, oceans, or even stars but Life and Consciousness itself.

In every nation and every period of history, men and women went on adventures beyond the physical senses. Right from the time of Krishna, Rama, Buddha, Muhammad, and Christ, and to date, few women and men have experienced beyond their physical boundaries, Universal Consciousness. Unlike the scientist of today, these women and men were not purely interested in the material Universe consisting of space dotted with planets and stars, but in the Universal Consciousness. The common thread that brings everything, humans, and all, together is Universal Consciousness. Men and women, who explored the unknown beyond the senses and experienced total bliss are revered by humans as enlightened persons and referred to them as seers, saints, sages, Buddha, and yogis.

Now and then, these spiritual giants verbally reported their experience and the resulting bliss enjoyed by them. Their encounter and experiences not only include what goes beyond the five senses but also of the material world. These recorded experiences of their knowledge are available in the form of spiritual-scientific literature. Popular ancient texts of this spiritual science are Vedas, Upanishads, Dhammapada, Holy Bible, Bhagavad Gita, and Koran. These spiritual texts provide us with a snapshot, a map, and a guide telling us how to conduct our lives effectively in a changing world. Although these texts are a few thousand years old, they are still relevant to our present-day situations. Jaggi Vasudev, known publicly as Sadhguru, is one of the present-day well known Indian yogi, who has spoken of his experience beyond the senses in several forms around the world (ref.16).

These enlightened humans even begged us to come and experience the breath-taking sounds, views, and bliss they experienced. They tell us that there is more to life than what we daily experience through our senses. We are here in this world to push our limits of human potential. Scientists today are pushing the boundaries of human physicality, senses, and intellect, to achieve the maximum result. With all their efforts, the incomprehensible nature of the Universe is puzzling the scientists. But the sages, seers, and saints pushed the human limits beyond the senses to realise human potential.

Most modern humans with the knowledge of the advancement of science and technology of the material world consider the sum of the experience, beyond the senses, of these enlightened humans as irrelevant in the modern world. However, the peace and happiness that the present-day humans are seeking are eluding them. Maybe there is some knowledge within the recorded experience of these enlightened humans, which would complement the present-day scientific understanding of the well-being of humans.

2. Creation – World Around Us

When humans were hunter-gathers, their main concern was survival and self-preservation. They spent all their time gathering food for their survival. As they progressed from hunter-gathers to a farming community, they settled down in locations and enjoyed periods of spare time, free of activity. Humans were then able to devote some time to contemplate and inquire about the beautiful world around them. Since then, humans have been asking questions, about who