Samik Roy_BLP052_Happiness_September 2012

Happiness is not a feeling. It is a state of being. It is infact, one of the most essential standards for living.  We can find happiness in many different forms. One can be happy with purchasing of some precious objects which he/she was longing for or with being associated with someone loveable. Material wealth and affluence, fulfilment of one’s desires, human relationships, development of one’s potentialities and individuality, one’s own psychological state, faith in a religion and spirituality are some of the variables considered for determining happiness. The level of happiness differs from person to person. A person can earn a lot of money and still be unhappy. On the other hand, a poor person can find happiness from the very little which he/she has.

Happiness obtained from relationship is longer lasting than materialistic happiness. Such a type of happiness evolves from developing ‘trust’ in relationship between people. Trust in turn leads to ‘Respect’ of others, which in other words is acknowledging the uniqueness of others.

In order to be truly happy, a person should realize all the good things within his life as well as within the life of all people who influence his/her life. He/she should also realize that whatever has happened in his/her life in the past is for good.

Happiness does not come for free. One has to work hard to earn it and harder to keep it. At times, hardships are required are required for people to strive and achieve happiness. People should be able to adapt to their surroundings such as to get the best out of them.

The purest form of happiness can be seen in a mother’s love for her child. The child knows that he/she is under total care of his/her mother. It is an unspoken agreement between the mother and the child and the mother will do anything to keep her child happy.

In the Mahabharata, when Dharmaraja disguised as the Yaksha asked Yudhisthira, “Who is truly happy”? Yudhisthira replied, “One who cooks his own food, is not a debtor, does not have to leave home to make in order to earn his livelihood is truly happy.” This means that according to Yudhisthira, he who does not depend on anyone, does not spend more than he can afford and does not over endeavour for material things is truly happy.

Now how do we find this happiness? Since childhood, our aspirations keep on changing and so does our perception of happiness. But as we grow and experience more of this wonderful journey called life, we should understand that happiness comes most from giving. Hence it is truly said in the Bhagwad Gita , “He attains peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the man who is full of desires”.