In Search of Happiness
Childhood for most people represents boundless joy and happiness. A sense of freedom and a state of flow much like a gurgling stream, shimmering down a mountain top. And children make everybody happy. That spontaneity is who we were at our core, undemanding and pure in heart. Happiness is part of our nature; be it a child’s laughter or the occasional tear-drop, brought a sense of simplicity to life for all to experience. The thrilling experience of just swinging from a tree, or running after butterflies on drenched meadows remain plastic moments, ever fresh in our memory. We were full of positive energy, and happy in each moment with whatever we had.
But as we grew up, our stress came from facing life’s challenges, and our spontaneous positive energy level was mostly overcome with preoccupations of ‘making a life’. We started to feel irritated and unhappy with ever increasing frequency when life did not live up to our set expectations. And some of us startedto searchagain for our lost happiness, our lost paradise in different ways.
We went to different places, tasted exquisite cuisine, collected costly things, to achievethat state of flow again. And the temporary satisfactionstayed just long enough for us to get a glimpse of our lost world - the sensations of touching, tasting or seeing lasted but a while, till the mind got bored, and the moment passed, drawing us towards a new stimulus.
Though happiness to some extent depends on external factors, it mainly depends on our mental attitude and self-awareness. Circumstances are always neutral. Swami Yogananda says, “it is how we react to them; that make them seem either happy or sad”.
We make our life with our own choices. If we decide to be happy then nobody can make us unhappy, and if we decide to be unhappy, then nobody can make us happy either.
Unhappiness is compounded by our reactions to situations we perceive as negative – and this perception is constantly filtered and motivated by our uncontrolled desires, habits and karmic tendencies. We are caught in a loop of acting and feeling not by our conscious choice.
Spiritual masters recommend practicing meditation and yoga to connect the mind and body,and reflect on life as it is, not as we project it to be. This ability gives us the power to discriminate between a mirage projected over life and the experience of life itself, which is intrinsically joyful. And we become skillful in our response to circumstance, reacting moreintuitively than impulsively.
Our dependency on the outside world to draw upon our intrinsic happiness can also be a problem. Swami Yogananda says “the more you depend upon conditions outside yourself for happiness, the less happiness you will experience” (Where There Is Light, p. 120). It is factually incorrect that big houses and luxurious items are a pre-requisite to being happy – in fact, sometimes it’s to the contrary. The anxiety and worry that burns through people often comes from either gaining or losing material possessions of increasing value.
Happiness is also not an individual matter. To fill up my own cup of happiness, it is essential to give service to other needy souls.John. D. Rockefeller, the richest man of the world was physically, mentally and emotionally a miserable man. His biographer says, at the age of 53, he donated all his wealth and formed Rockefeller Foundation, to promote education and medical care throughout the world.By his generosity; he not only helped others but also led a more fulfilling life thereon forward.
Joys and sorrows both are felt in our mind. We must always be careful to keep the mind engaged with ideas and feelings that lead to a positive place. Thoughts are actions of the mind; they generate energy and are a powerful influence on our life. So, like a good gardener, we must learn to be selective and weednegative thoughts and water only good tendencies like compassion, honesty, love, in us to evolve our consciousness. Then only flower of happiness can blossom to make us happy, and can spread its fragrance everywhere through our thoughts, action, and speech.
Life is too valuable to be wasted on being negative, unhappy and lacking a deeper sense of the extraordinary and rare value of our consciousness. Life is impermanent, so whatever we can do, we should do it now. The truth is, sooner or later we all will remain only as memory in a few peoples’ minds.
As the poet saint Kabir said, “When we come to this world, we cry and everybody smiles. Let us do such work in life that, when we leave, we smile and everyone else will cry”.
Edited by Prodeep Bose
