People claiming to have a high intelligence coefficient and
emotional coefficient are many times in their life stuck in confused situation
due to their blocked vision or perplexed perception about simplest concept of
life i.e. ‘Happiness.’ A person,
throughout his life, is surrounded by such people who teach him what is happiness. Even though most of the
times we are unable to decide whether the outcome of a particular situation is
a matter of celebration or not. It’s our general attitude that we seek to
interpret our own observations on the basis of the established social
perception of masses around.
When things don’t go according to our plans, all
arrangements fail, we are disheartened and feel shattered. Negativity
overpowers our mind and the only thing that we think is what the sense of
living is when we cannot handle things according to our wishes. When you are
just a puppet of circumstances or some super natural power, then why to move
this way? Is there any logic in being a dried leaf and floating in the air
controlled by someone else?
It's depressing and disgusting when you are bound to compromise in front of circumstances, and you have to accept that which you don't desire and deserve.
It's depressing and disgusting when you are bound to compromise in front of circumstances, and you have to accept that which you don't desire and deserve.
Many times I have asked to myself, how is life? The answer that comes
in my mindis: Life is beautiful.
We have to search that mysterious sense of being ‘happy and
beautiful’ around ourselves in shape of person or thing. We rush to achieve
particular position, person or thing to find our happiness and to fill with the
feeling of contentment or to absorb ‘beauty’ of life.
George Sand said, “There is only one happiness in this life, to
love and to be loved.”
That is true; it makes us worthy to live for ourselves and for
someone else. But what happens when we lose a person whom we love? Do we lose
the aim of our life too? Or the materialistic things or positions we have
achieved in our life? We lose our preserved happiness, joy, sense of living and
turn it into meaningless nothings by drowning ourselves in grief. Is it correct
and fair to Nature who made us individuals and the circumstances developed so
many exceptional qualities in us? Are we not insulting our own being by feeling
‘low’ for something or someone else, which might not belong to our ‘being’?
There is always two sides of a coin. The Negative side pulls you
to towards dissatisfaction, annoyance and anxiety but the opposite positive
side lay concrete on happiness that contour peace, wellbeing and gratification
or happiness.
I can share a incident where last winter I decided to give woolen
suits to one of my relative who couldn’t afford it so I transferred money to
one of my close friend’s account and told her to pass that on after purchase,
to help that relative of mine. After few days when I called my relative to ask whether
she got those woolens sent by me. She said annoyingly that ‘Yes those out of
fashion ones? Yes received!’ I was quite shocked by that reply.
Instead of being thankful she was complaining about fashion and
trendy woolens.’ Sometimes it is tough to touch people’s level of satisfaction.
Ayn said, “…Achievement of your happiness is the only moral
purpose of your life and that happiness, not pain or mindless self indulge, is
the proof of your moral integrity since it is the proof and the result of your
loyality to the achievement of your values…”
When I see people stuck in such situations, I am compelled to ask
God what is happiness? What is the precise mechanism to decide which side of
coin should a person opt in a particular situation to feel happy? The very
obvious answer that sparks in my mind is, “Life is beautiful, behave in
righteous manner.” Does the word
beautiful and right stand for happiness? Is life really blissful for
everyone? Is life so transparent and easy to decide?
I think happiness doesn’t exist in any of our so called special
person or thing in which we try to find our joy and contentment. Somewhere
while finding life’s joy in nonliving things or by loving any person who could
leave us by cheating or by his or her any unavoidable condition, we are
surrendering our happiness in their mercy and hands. And when we missed them or
position or thing at that moment we feel lost, dumped or left out. When we give
importance to any outer thing or person then somewhere we are surrendering
ourselves to outsider thing or person and ignoring our own individualism.
I have observed my maid that while cleaning my
house she has a constant smile on her face and sings while doing all works. I haven’t
seen any one with so peaceful facial expression while doing work. I asked her
what makes her so happy and relaxed while doing so much work? She told me that
she is happy because she is earning enough to have bread daily and relaxed
because she enjoys whatever comes to her. That day I realized that being happy doesn’t mean that you are perfect, it means you have
decided to look beyond the imperfection and to be happy with whatever comes to
you.
It’s not very easy to answer all sorts of happiness, as it
blossoms in variety; nature offers independence to all living beings to pick
this feeling according to their own pleasure. In fact it’s not very easy to
capture a sophisticated and cosmopolitan definition of happiness. So instead of
going into the extended world of definitions, let’s confine my attempt to
discover the understanding of happiness up to humanity, “Is happiness in materialist or non materialist things?” In other
words whether happiness is personified in living beings or exists in non
material objects or it is within us? Is it only perception which differs?
Happiness cannot be owned, earned, worn and consumed. It is the spiritual
experience of living, every movement with love, affection, grace, dignity and
gratitude.
Definition of happiness differs from person to person. The
happiest moment of a child to see their parents around fulfilling their all
tiny needs, a person who is in love to see world in his/her grip when her crush
accepts love for him/her, for a new parents to hold their baby in their arms,
for a mother when she feeds her child and feels satisfied.
The happiest moment of a father is when he sees his son growing
and rewarded by community and fulfilling his incomplete dreams. Happiness for a
hard working student is to see desired marks, for an ambitious person it is
clearing competition and achieving desired job.
The happiest moment for an entrepreneur is when he sees doubling
up the annual sales profit of the company. The happiest moment for an employee
when he gets promotion and increment he worked for. The happiest moment for a
road side beggar is when he gets single bread and a temporary shelter to spend
a cold night without hunger and shivering. The happiest moment for a king is
when he defeats his enemy in battle and sees his empire expand.
A couple could find their happiness in love making or a person by
fulfilling his or her physical needs with other.
All these schemes of happiness are commonly experienced by people
in day to day life; we are still discussing the concept of happiness in life.
The reason is that if happiness is what these examples are explaining, then why
the great emperor of Maurya dynasty,
Ashoka, after establishing his empire in Indian subcontinent became a saint, embraced Buddhism and became a
monk? He left the throne and
dedicated his rest of the life to serve humanity, peace, mankind and welfare of
all. So question comes here is happiness hidden in peace, humanity and welfare
of society?
Let’s try to enlighten this philosophical concept from Theological
Perspectives. Different religions believe that the ultimate goal of life is to
achieve never disappearing happiness meaning escaping from the cycle of birth
and rebirth. Hindu religion prescribes three sacraments i.e. Dhrama (religion), Artha (earning), Kama (reproduction)
and Moksha (salvation). To attain
salvation one should follow the path of humanity peace and sacrifice which can
only be accomplished through adoption of dharma,
artha and kama.
Christianity says God has already made known the greater part of His
will for us in Bible. Paul says, “Everything in the Scriptures is God’s word.
All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and
showing them how to live. The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds
of good deeds’ (2 Timothy 3:16,17).
In Jainism and Buddhism- charity, sacrifice and Nirvana is the
real path which paves the way to happiness i.e. salvation. The word for total
surrender, submission, obedience, purity of heart and peace in Arabic is
‘Islam’. In Islam primary goal or aim in life provides a believer with
everything he needs to succeed in both life and the next life.
Every Muslim has to believe in a single Almighty who is creator
and worshipping, thanking and extolling that Almighty. He has to believe that
life on earth is short and is for purpose, death is not an ending but a
beginning of final and lasting life in the hereafter. Heaven or hell, there
must be a day of judgment or showing of one’s true self to make aware of their
own nature.
In today’s world people do all possible efforts to procure
luxurious house, car, bank balance digital gadgets, high tech electronic etc,
to live a peaceful and happy life. As if all these things not only show social
status but also symbolize happiness of that person. Achievement of economic and
political status in society in turn provides social prestige and success to
affluent class or in other words socially defined meaning of being happy, still
I saw many rich and affluent people who donated their billion dollar property to
charity.
In India people with all luxurious means, deemed necessary for a
comfortable life, are following the philosophy of yoga, meditation and
vipashna. People from industrial society and from developed country are visiting
India to learn the philosophy of Dhyana and
Karma at VIPASHNA centers (meditation
centers) in quest of their inner eternal spiritual soul.
One of human nature is ‘possessive about something or someone.’ It
is a natural feeling of a person in love, might be experienced for a children
by their parents, by friends for fellows, lovers for their loved ones etc.
While going through that we feel secure and assurance that there is someone to
love and protect you. If possessiveness gets stronger for someone it works as
barrier for another and build a wall brick by brick in front of close ones. It
creates a stage of jail and suffocating atmosphere. If love is there then
person would defiantly give space and support to another person to grow and to
develop. Love would uplift and take both of them towards goal of happiness.
Happiness in my opinion is basically a sentiment and a state of
mind. According to Herm Albright, “A positive attitude may not solve all your
problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” People
try to show their status and materialistic things on social websites to show
their friends and relatives that how happy they are, as if happiness is a thing
to show off not something to feel or to absorb in our lives. Dalai Lama says “Happiness is not something ready-made…it comes from
your own action.”
There is no need to
show your joy, it reflects on its own. Let’s accept the life as it comes to us,
let’s recognize our ability and fix the goal to chase our dreams. Life is
a beautiful gift by Almighty and we should cherish all moments of it. Person,
amenities, class and status are the means of pleasure and not the ends of life.
We have to come out of our blocked vision and understand the true
sense of happiness which is a sentiment and worldly means to pave the way to
the attainment of goal.
The beauty of life does not depend on how happy
you are; but on how happy others can be because of you and you are able to find
your happiness in others and in yourself. Happiness is basically not a destination, it's a
journey.
Happiness is not tomorrow; it is now, what we are
living in and the moments which will not come back again. Happiness is not dependency, it is a
decision, you have to decide and live accordingly. Happiness is what you
are, not what you have.
So, choice is yours, be thankful whatever you
have and be yourself and happy.
