Spiritual growth-What is happiness?
>> Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sri Krishna has said in the Gita, something that is invaluable to every human being and a universal truth:
“Asantasya kutaha sukham”,
that is, one who is not at peace with oneself, how can he be happy?
What is happiness then? If the mind is at peace, there is happiness. But, how can the mind be at peace? One tends to think if one is able to act as one wants, able to posses what one wants, able to travel as one wants without bothering about money spent on such activities and their consequences, he will be happy. But is he? In that context, our stars, cricketers and politicians like Salman, Yuvraj or Pawar should be a happy lot. But are they? They are not. They always want more, never at their peace of mind and always involved in one controversy or the other. All three of these gentlemen have more money than you can imaginet, to last at least many generations. But they cannot be happy. Happiness lies in “this is enough”.
Some have this formula: “Life minus sorrow is happiness”. Some say “favorable circumstances” is happiness. To each his own. The Gita says peace of mind is happiness and peace of mind comes from satisfaction. Only satisfaction is the key to happiness. But it is not easy. If you can walk you want a cycle, if you get a cycle you want a scooter, and when you posses a scooter you want a car. A car owner wants still a bigger car. There is no end to it. That is human psychology and nothing wrong with that. If you don’t wish, if you don’t yearn, you don’t get there and there is no progress. But, and there is a big ‘BUT’. You should want a cycle because you need it, not because your neighbor has one. More important, you should deserve it, work for it. If you are not worthy of a cycle, if you don’t deserve it, be satisfied that you can walk. Some people are not even able to do that.
So, according to our Shastras (scriptures), satisfaction is the key. If you are able to work, if you are able to fulfill your and your families’ basic needs, you should be satisfied. The rest, if you work more, deserve more and get more is a bonus.
There is a saying that goes like this: “jab aaye santosh dhan, sab dhan dhuri samaan.” If you get the wealth of satisfaction, everything else is just dust.
“Asantasya kutaha sukham”,
that is, one who is not at peace with oneself, how can he be happy?
What is happiness then? If the mind is at peace, there is happiness. But, how can the mind be at peace? One tends to think if one is able to act as one wants, able to posses what one wants, able to travel as one wants without bothering about money spent on such activities and their consequences, he will be happy. But is he? In that context, our stars, cricketers and politicians like Salman, Yuvraj or Pawar should be a happy lot. But are they? They are not. They always want more, never at their peace of mind and always involved in one controversy or the other. All three of these gentlemen have more money than you can imaginet, to last at least many generations. But they cannot be happy. Happiness lies in “this is enough”.
Some have this formula: “Life minus sorrow is happiness”. Some say “favorable circumstances” is happiness. To each his own. The Gita says peace of mind is happiness and peace of mind comes from satisfaction. Only satisfaction is the key to happiness. But it is not easy. If you can walk you want a cycle, if you get a cycle you want a scooter, and when you posses a scooter you want a car. A car owner wants still a bigger car. There is no end to it. That is human psychology and nothing wrong with that. If you don’t wish, if you don’t yearn, you don’t get there and there is no progress. But, and there is a big ‘BUT’. You should want a cycle because you need it, not because your neighbor has one. More important, you should deserve it, work for it. If you are not worthy of a cycle, if you don’t deserve it, be satisfied that you can walk. Some people are not even able to do that.
So, according to our Shastras (scriptures), satisfaction is the key. If you are able to work, if you are able to fulfill your and your families’ basic needs, you should be satisfied. The rest, if you work more, deserve more and get more is a bonus.
There is a saying that goes like this: “jab aaye santosh dhan, sab dhan dhuri samaan.” If you get the wealth of satisfaction, everything else is just dust.
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