Ānanda (Hindu philosophy)

Ānanda (Sanskrit: आनन्द) literally means bliss or happiness. In the Hindu Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad gita, ānanda signifies eternal bliss which accompanies the ending of the rebirth 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 as bhakti, or devotion.
Ānanda is a Sanskrit word regarded as a verbal noun nanda prefixed with ā. 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 word ānanda thus implies a locus, that in which one finds bliss, be it a son, the fulfillment of a wish, the knowledge of brahman, or the atman,. Ānanda is not just a free-floating unfocused bliss, it has an implied object.
In the Shatapatha 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 the Rigveda (9.113.11), where attaining all desires (ānanda) is a prerequisite for immortality.
Perhaps the most comprehensive treatise on 'ānanda' is to be found in the Ananda Valli of Taittiriya 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. This essential description of 'ānanda' as an aspect of the non-dual Brahman is further affirmed by Adi Shankara's commentary on the Brahma 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.
According to the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, ananda is that state of sublime delight when the jiva 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 in Brahman it becomes jivanmukta (a being free from the cycle of rebirth). The Upanishads repeatedly use the word Ānanda to denote Brahman, 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 interprets ananda 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.
Abhinavagupta views ānanda as integral to spiritual realization. He speaks of liberation through the union of Shiva (the non-dual absolute) and Shakti (the totality of existence). Abhinavagupta also identifies bliss as one of the five fundamental aspects of the supreme (Shiva).
According to Ramanujacharya of the Vishishtadvaita vedanta school, true happiness arises through divine grace, which becomes available through the surrender of one's ego to the Divine. The practice of prapatti (unreserved resignation 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.
According to Swami Vivekananda, the one great idea common to all religions is that every soul is connected to the divine, that divinity is our true nature:
Sri Aurobindo, in his book The Life Divine, discusses ānanda 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:
Ramana Maharshi proposes that ananda 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-consciouness-bliss) is the Self, the residuum left over after discarding all that is not-self.
Within the various schools of Hindu thought, there are different paths and ways of achieving Happiness. The main four paths are Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Karma yoga and Raja yoga.