ignorance of happiness [our true nature or self] is—is the cause of unhappiness” (personal communication, April 2, 2018) Swamini Nirmalananda, a senior White American sadhu also said that people’s ignorance of their self, causes unhappiness She said the root cause of unhappiness is people’s ignorance about their fundamental nature, which is an innately human mental affliction In her words, … because, if you know the Raja yoga at all, they speak of the kalesas (Sanskrit: mind’s afflictions), the basic afflictions of the mind The first kalesa (Sanskrit: mind’s affliction)—avidya (Sanskrit: ignorance of self)—ignorance What are we ignorant of? Our true nature What all saints and sages tell us, our true nature [is] supremely peaceful, supremely happy The Christian tradition, they will say, the image of God is within you It is different languaging, [but] pointing towards the same truth (personal communication, April 3, 2018) Swamini Amritananda, another profound senior female sadhu from the MidAtlantic region of the United States, mentioned that most people not introspect and try to know their true nature She said, … and so those beautiful qualities in you! They are there, but it is like the sun is shining brightly, but the clouds are covering everything So, know everybody is in darkness That doesn’t mean the sun isn’t shining And if a person is living a life that is very disagreeable to themselves and everybody else, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have those beautiful qualities It just means that they are thinking and living on different levels And those people not experience happiness Do you see? (personal communication, January 20, 2018) Theme Conclusion The sadhus’ statements revealed that the cause of all unhappiness is human being’s ignorance of self Therefore, self-knowledge can dispel that innate self-ignorance and help people discover the ultimate happiness as their true nature Although a few sadhus explained that the reason for all unhappiness is the ignorance of one’s true self, all the sadhus personified happiness as something alive, 126