What Is Happiness
Wealth, power, love are some of the often sought means for achieving happiness. Almost everyone seems to know what they need to be happy. Anyone, however, hardly is.
We work hard every day in pursuit of happiness. Many of us are forced to work hard, just to be able to survive while some flaunt lavishness and pleasures as if there is no tomorrow.
Nature does not render any special favor to some and is not cruel to the others. Because of its very impartiality, it continuously and faithfully manifests as the net result of a series of events and actions. Your existence today has been shaped by the zillions of activities and circumstances of the past.
“Then, why is there a difference in the way we spend our lives? How can we call Nature as impartial if I am the one suffering while others are indulged in lavishness?” you would ask! “Why am I not as happy as the other person?”
Our tendency to get entangled in the web of comparisons, our belief that we are not as happy as we should be, seems to make us unhappy. We believe that some do not deserve happiness but are way more fortunate than those who really deserve to be.
Let us ask our own selves to define what happiness means to us. Please pause here and give it a thought.
Most of the people I talked to cited wealth, power, and love as a few of the most common factors that may make them happy. A few even said that an unlimited supply of alcohol was all that they needed. Now, if you compare what happiness means to different people, you will see that its definition is not universal.
Happiness, to some, also implied ways that diminish human capacity. For example, calling a state of intoxication as happiness is self-deceiving. Trying to seek joy while in a condition that renders one as incapable to even understand satisfaction is futile.
You might have noticed that happiness may mean one thing even for yourself on one day and may mean a totally different idea on another day. Right? Something so ephemeral and inconsistent cannot be used as a yardstick for any kind of comparison.
“Why was I born into a poor family?” “Why was I born with sickness?” “Why me?”
Some people feel cheated by Nature.
However, Nature does not consider any birth as inferior or superior to any other. Therefore, comparing the family or country that we are born in is irrelevant. If I am underprivileged, it does not make me any lower than someone else who might be prosperous. If I am rich, it does not make me any extra special. I would consider myself to be exactly equal to everyone else, regardless.
“That is just a lofty talk that does not make me feel any better!” one might retort.
How can one call Nature as impartial and one that enforces equality?
Equality is in the application of the laws of Nature. Nature treats each life objectively, which would be a trait of someone impartial. She would not be seeking revenge on one and currying extra favors to someone else.
None of the above would make anyone feel contented with their current level of happiness. This is because we misunderstand happiness.
Happiness, the way we mean it, seems to have a continuously moving goal post. The closer you get to it, the farther this target would move away from you. Ask yourself, would there ever be a time when you would be able to tell yourself that now you are entirely happy? Since happiness is ephemeral and changing, even if you realize that you are happy today, you may not stay satisfied the next day or the next moment!
It often seems that we are actively seeking unhappiness, not happiness.
We might be going after that does not represent the truth. True happiness would be universally achievable.
True happiness is peace of mind.
The peace of mind comes from within you. You do not need wealth or some kind of exercising equipment to enhance peace of mind. Everyone has the equal right to get as much peace of mind as desired. No government or authority can restrict you. Do you see the impartiality of Nature again at play?
“If one is not happy, how could one have the peace of mind?” you may question again. It is the peace of mind that engenders happiness. Not the other way around.
The mind is full of thoughts that are, more likely than not, disjointed and chaotic. An untrained one would experience no peace. The myriad of ideas does not let one focus on a task. The result is dissatisfaction with one’s own performance.
Does it mean if we stop all the thoughts that keep crisscrossing our mind, we would be able to tap into the pure happiness of the consciousness?
You might be able to attest to that using your own experience. When you wake up after a very relaxing sleep, you cannot recall anything that goes on during your deep sleep period. Would you not call that stage one of pure happiness when your body is undergoing a positive experience of recuperation and can experience no pain or sorrow or sickness of any kind?
Deep sleep is indeed a state of blissful happiness because it is the state with the complete peace of mind. However, since our senses are shut down, and the brain functions slow down, we cannot experience that bliss during deep sleep.
We have seen that meditation provides the calmness of deep sleep and the awareness of happiness. A calm mind is in touch with the human consciousness using the voice of the conscience. Meditation makes the realization of human consciousness, the Almighty, possible. The peace of mind that is thus born is pure happiness.