Perpetual joy is independent of the material state an individual may be in. The biggest wonder is that it can be achieved in the mortal world with your mortal body. Rabindranath Tagore says, "I have got the invitation to join the ananda-yagya". Sant Kabir mentions bliss and joy which can be experienced in the performance of abhyas or meditation.

One way of collecting the mind and directing it towards that specific state is to adopt Gautama Buddha's principle of detachment. The one remain unmoved in pleasure and pain is ‘sthita-pragnya' and can attain eternal bliss according to the Bhagwad Gita. Even when we get involved in daily trifles, if we are able to take action with devotion without expecting fruits of action, neither sorrow nor pleasure can dominate us for long. If someone is doing wrong of course we will fight for justice. But if we don't get justice we don't get affected.

What prevents us from attaining eternal joy? Greed, jealousy, meanness, etc are some of the things that mislead the mind. For example one may pursue greed to acquire wealth at the expense of others, which is both illegal and unethical. Further, even if you win legal battle by manipulations, the deprivation you cause to another is unforgivable. And the biggest punishment from nature is that your mind can never realise the higher and finer gifts of nature. No one is free of negative qualities but requires constant monitoring. Separate yourself from the attribute and observe it uninterruptedly, particularly when it spreads its wing to engulf your mental space. The moment you start gazing at jealousy within yourself it disappears instantaneously. The capability to take that initiative to disassociate yourself from the negative feeling at that spur of the moment in itself is the biggest gift which not everyone of us have; realise it. Once we set in motion that mechanism, nothing can mislead & the mind itself becomes guru leading to eternal joy.

The sun's rays falls on everyone equally without discrimination. Similarly none can say that eternal joy is partial in approach. It is our choice or prioritisation which determines our accessibility. And once it is tapped it gives a unique feeling even in the midst of worldly misery. The source is there in each of us and can get activated any time. At times we say "today I don't know why I am feeling extremely happy". There it is. Since we are not aware of it we do not know how to sustain it and, so we look for earthly cause to make us happy. True sadhana is to discover the source within and strive to remain connected even while performing worldly activity. And then one day we realise what Tagore said, the stream of ananda is flowing in the entire universe