IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
By P.Venugopala Iyengar
Everybody longs for happiness and peace of mind. Happiness, is the greatest aim of life. Happiness is a state of mind. It is characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure and joy. It generates positive emotions and activities and results in pleasure, involvement etc. True way to render our self happy, is to love our work and find in it our pleasure. Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
Living good life is happiness. There is no happiness without peace of mind. When individuals are in deep sleep (without bad dreams) they are happy, because the mind rests and peace prevails. So long as one is contented and desires are fully satisfied happiness prevails. .
A spiritual Guru provided an equation for happiness as under:-
Happiness = Resources/Desires
Resources includes wealth, family and environmental facilities of the individual.
Desires or wants include primary wants like food, shelter, clothing etc, love and affection, respect etc expected from family and the community, security, health etc. When all desires are satisfied by available resources, one is happy. The moment resources fall short of desires, one becomes unhappy. In this materialistic world, one should maximize the resources and minimize desires.
Besides the happiness generated by material things, happiness generated by spiritual pursuits by meditation, yoga ,love , compassion and equanimity, all enhance happiness of the individual. Equanimity means acceptance equally of loss/gain and success /failure. By sharing the joy with others the individual gets interested in the welfare of all living beings around him.
A happy individual is able to contribute more to home, to the office where he works and to the society and the country. According to available statistics, Denmark is the happiest country in the world. ie. the citizens of Denmark are most happy. In Economics, happiness is measured to evaluate the success of Public policy say for example GDP or GNP etc.
-2-
Generally, elders are happier than young adults, as their desires are minimum and they would have generated enough resources at the end of their career. However few elders are unhappy due to age ,physical disablement, mental strain due to unfulfilled desires and responsibilities, and decreasing affection and care from near and dear. Young adults suffer from envy, anger, financial loss/problems and stress in career, difficulties of upbringing of children etc. Generally, to be happy, one should not brood over the past, or dream much about the future. One should focus full attention on present wants, and discharge all duties in an excellent manner
Hindu Scripture Bhagavad Geetha tells about Jnana Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga and Karma yoga. Buddhism tells about ultimate freedom from suffering and the path leading to nirvana, a state of ever lasting peace. To overcome cravings of all forms, one should practice1.Loving kindness(wishing all beings happiness)2.sympathetic joy (attitude of rejoicing in happiness) and 3.Equanimity (Accepting equally loss/gain and success/failure)
One can do simple yogic meditation and exercise and attain mental and body wellbeing.
Life is an amazing gift. Generate positive thoughts about you and your body, whatever may be it’s present condition. You will feel strong. The unhealthy, the poor all dream of bettering the quality of life and to generate happiness. They dream with power of their thoughts. Dreams become true.
Whatever we are today, it is the result of what we have thought so far. Man is the product of his thought. What we think, we will become. Mind is supreme. Like the Remote of a T.V, we can change everything by the power of our thoughts. Focus only on what you really want and not on what you do not want. Write down all you love to do. Prepare the wish list of all your desires say Business, services, Arts, singing, dancing etc. Review the list and reduce it to three most favorite ones. Create your own thoughts of hope and optimism. Leave all depressions and despair. Shift your focus to feeling good to yourself. You will attract the love and respect you are craving for.
-3-
Simply focus on joy, happiness and all good things you want to happen. Do
not think of things you do not want- like I do not want to be failed or rejected or I do not want to gain weight. Think exactly what you want- like I want to excel in the examination, I am becoming popular with lots of friends and I look great in my clothes. Avoid focusing your attention to all bad stuff in the world like terrorism, poverty, hunger war etc. All these are to be protested by the concerned and the media. But protest often gets violent and tends to affect your mental peace. Therefore focus your work on good things only.
Our life is fully expended in satisfying one materialistic desire after another. We are fully aware that complete happiness will not come without mental peace. Mental peace is therefore another very important desire. In securing mental peace we face two kinds of killers of mental peace.
1.Trials and tribulations that arise on their own. Eg. Natural calamities, tsunami ,earth quake, Fire and road accidents, criminal attacks, death calamities.
2.Those arising out of our own thought, behavior and action Eg. Greed, ambition, effort to get recognition, overspending, addiction, fanaticism, loose morality, acquired ill health and egotism
In conclusion, remember all the above matters and evolve your own road map, to attain happiness and mental peace. Have self confidence. Dream, kindle your thoughts and focus on all good things you love to do. Always have love, compassion and equanimity.
………………………………...........................................................................
Austin Tx U.S.A
1 st February 2011
………………………………...........................................................................
Comments are invited, or comment by email at [email protected]
By P.Venugopala Iyengar
Everybody longs for happiness and peace of mind. Happiness, is the greatest aim of life. Happiness is a state of mind. It is characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure and joy. It generates positive emotions and activities and results in pleasure, involvement etc. True way to render our self happy, is to love our work and find in it our pleasure. Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
Living good life is happiness. There is no happiness without peace of mind. When individuals are in deep sleep (without bad dreams) they are happy, because the mind rests and peace prevails. So long as one is contented and desires are fully satisfied happiness prevails. .
A spiritual Guru provided an equation for happiness as under:-
Happiness = Resources/Desires
Resources includes wealth, family and environmental facilities of the individual.
Desires or wants include primary wants like food, shelter, clothing etc, love and affection, respect etc expected from family and the community, security, health etc. When all desires are satisfied by available resources, one is happy. The moment resources fall short of desires, one becomes unhappy. In this materialistic world, one should maximize the resources and minimize desires.
Besides the happiness generated by material things, happiness generated by spiritual pursuits by meditation, yoga ,love , compassion and equanimity, all enhance happiness of the individual. Equanimity means acceptance equally of loss/gain and success /failure. By sharing the joy with others the individual gets interested in the welfare of all living beings around him.
A happy individual is able to contribute more to home, to the office where he works and to the society and the country. According to available statistics, Denmark is the happiest country in the world. ie. the citizens of Denmark are most happy. In Economics, happiness is measured to evaluate the success of Public policy say for example GDP or GNP etc.
-2-
Generally, elders are happier than young adults, as their desires are minimum and they would have generated enough resources at the end of their career. However few elders are unhappy due to age ,physical disablement, mental strain due to unfulfilled desires and responsibilities, and decreasing affection and care from near and dear. Young adults suffer from envy, anger, financial loss/problems and stress in career, difficulties of upbringing of children etc. Generally, to be happy, one should not brood over the past, or dream much about the future. One should focus full attention on present wants, and discharge all duties in an excellent manner
Hindu Scripture Bhagavad Geetha tells about Jnana Yoga, Bhakthi Yoga and Karma yoga. Buddhism tells about ultimate freedom from suffering and the path leading to nirvana, a state of ever lasting peace. To overcome cravings of all forms, one should practice1.Loving kindness(wishing all beings happiness)2.sympathetic joy (attitude of rejoicing in happiness) and 3.Equanimity (Accepting equally loss/gain and success/failure)
One can do simple yogic meditation and exercise and attain mental and body wellbeing.
Life is an amazing gift. Generate positive thoughts about you and your body, whatever may be it’s present condition. You will feel strong. The unhealthy, the poor all dream of bettering the quality of life and to generate happiness. They dream with power of their thoughts. Dreams become true.
Whatever we are today, it is the result of what we have thought so far. Man is the product of his thought. What we think, we will become. Mind is supreme. Like the Remote of a T.V, we can change everything by the power of our thoughts. Focus only on what you really want and not on what you do not want. Write down all you love to do. Prepare the wish list of all your desires say Business, services, Arts, singing, dancing etc. Review the list and reduce it to three most favorite ones. Create your own thoughts of hope and optimism. Leave all depressions and despair. Shift your focus to feeling good to yourself. You will attract the love and respect you are craving for.
-3-
Simply focus on joy, happiness and all good things you want to happen. Do
not think of things you do not want- like I do not want to be failed or rejected or I do not want to gain weight. Think exactly what you want- like I want to excel in the examination, I am becoming popular with lots of friends and I look great in my clothes. Avoid focusing your attention to all bad stuff in the world like terrorism, poverty, hunger war etc. All these are to be protested by the concerned and the media. But protest often gets violent and tends to affect your mental peace. Therefore focus your work on good things only.
Our life is fully expended in satisfying one materialistic desire after another. We are fully aware that complete happiness will not come without mental peace. Mental peace is therefore another very important desire. In securing mental peace we face two kinds of killers of mental peace.
1.Trials and tribulations that arise on their own. Eg. Natural calamities, tsunami ,earth quake, Fire and road accidents, criminal attacks, death calamities.
2.Those arising out of our own thought, behavior and action Eg. Greed, ambition, effort to get recognition, overspending, addiction, fanaticism, loose morality, acquired ill health and egotism
In conclusion, remember all the above matters and evolve your own road map, to attain happiness and mental peace. Have self confidence. Dream, kindle your thoughts and focus on all good things you love to do. Always have love, compassion and equanimity.
………………………………...........................................................................
Austin Tx U.S.A
1 st February 2011
………………………………...........................................................................
Comments are invited, or comment by email at [email protected]
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