Happiness In Daily Life - A Sign Of Spiritual Development

[The Simpleton 2]

]T h e P u r s u i t o f H a p p Y n e s sI recently watched the movie with that title. (The " Y " is not an enigma to those who've seen it. ) A good question is asked by the lead character Chris Gardner - " How is that the guy who wrote the constitution know that happiness is only something that can be pursued ? "I only said to myself, " how true ! " I mean, look around you. How many people whom you know are really happy ? Perhaps you could name a few. Well, for how long are they happy ? It would not be long before that happiness wanes into something else and they start raving about this thing or that. Why look to others ? Are YOU happy ? You'd say yes, coz you're reading a blog in your leisure. I'd say, stop kidding yourself, coz there's something you're bothered about or planning to do after you're done doing this. Isn't it so ?I think there is a mass hypnosis going on here. Who is doing the hypnotizing part ? All of us. We're basically just reassuring ourselves that everything will be alright. Why else do you think the punch line of so many hit Hindi movies is, " ghabrao mat, sab theek hojaayega " ?This only hit me today, which is why I'm writing. Ever since I was a child, I was told whenever I was unhappy, that I would be happy, EVENTUALLY. That's the magic word, the hypnotic word. The cause for not being in a good mood can be anything from a tussle in the family to a dear one's death. Now, I would not say laughing out loud in pretense of happiness at a funeral is advisable, but look at daily life.In a family of four or five, more often than not, the parents are both at work. If they are fortunate enough, they may have the grandparents living, if not, just them and the children. How many members are happy ? The kids are busy playing and the mother always has to double up as a housewife and a professional who has a career to handle. Even though we are in the "modern" age by now, rare is that household where the husband shares work with his wife equally.....you get the idea, don't you ? Now then, even when the kids become teenagers and teens become adults, families are not happy. Why is that so ?To me, the answer lies in the fact that everyone likes to kid themselves into thinking that they would be " aish karofying " at some point in the future - to some it may be 2 years, to some it may be 10 years after his children go to the States and get them dollars. I only need to close my eyes to recollect all the hundreds of faces that I've seen - friends, relatives, passers by, neighbors....hardly anyone whose face tells me " I'm happy ".What then, is the way to happiness ? A hungry or a shabbily dressed man can never be happy. Nor can a diseased man. Nor can someone who is in debt. Or can they ? The way I see it, if you keep extending these definitions of hunger,debt,disease,etc. they would cover the entire gamut of human emotions, what to speak of the silly ways into which we all get into trouble?A poor man always earns enough, somehow, to take his family to a movie on a Rs.10 ticket. A middle class " aam aadmi " somehow buys a car and sees to it that his family has at least one flight, even if it is only from Hyderabad to Vizag. All this, even if it means debt.A life spent trying to even out stuff can never be possible on this planet, because it's nature is imperfection. Whatever happened to all the "great rulers" who tried establish things ? Nothing changed. People can never come to happiness so long as they turn a blind eye to death and relegate their happiness quotient to the body. Happiness lies within, don't you think ?

Edited August 20, 2009 by kasperooney (see edit history)

[iworld200 0]

Wow, all that you have mentioned is just so perfect. I completely agree with you.But....just for information sake : I have learnt a lot in life. I have faced lots of problems. I was thinkingthere is no means for happiness in life. But then i realised, this isnt the end of life. We should learn the art of gaining happiness or atleast satisfaction by watching the world around us. We should find happiness in childrens. We should find happiness from nature. Mind matters a lot.