Happiness is just a thought when you don’t know it and you Huh This is when you know it! The most natural state for human beings, it appears when you feel free from within. When we get away from our self, our nature, we become unhappy. It is ironic that being the source of happiness, we keep looking for it everywhere, like a fish in the sea looking for water.“The challenge is to be happy without giving up on your activities. It is a skill that is learned”
We should pay attention to the factors that affect our happiness. The first is health, the second is the environment and the third is finance. Fourth is ambition. Let’s say we have the first three, but are overambitious, this will stimulate our state of being. Desire means projecting happiness through the fulfillment of desires in the future. Even if you say that you will be happy if you are free from all desires, that is also not going to happen!
The challenge is to be happy without giving up on your activities. It is a skill that is learned. There is no better teacher for this than small children. They have aspirations, yet they are happy in the moment. They do what is necessary to satisfy their desires, but do not get hung up on them. Their minds can easily be diverted from one thing to another, from toys to toffees. We need to develop the ability to redirect the mind as we wish and not get stuck on anything.
Happiness is an attitude to be cultivated, which has a rule to be followed. Maharishi Patanjali gave Satisfaction: or happiness, as a Rule, a personal morality. You have to adapt yourself to Happiness Mode. It is not just a physical or psychological phenomenon. There are ups and downs in life. In all circumstances, one has to strive to live in one’s nature, the nature of happiness. Develop a resolve not to let anything in the world interfere with your happiness. That is the purpose of intelligence.
This is the main theme of Vedanta. The names of many sannyasis end with “AnandaHis very name reminds him that he is bliss, he wants nothing for himself and is here to spread happiness around him.
No individual is a perfect island in itself. If one person in the family is unhappy, it affects every other member. We are all dependent on each other and connected to each other. Although happiness is a personal point of view, it is also linked to our environment. No one can claim to be happy when there are riots in the next street. So we need to take the responsibility of spreading knowledge and caring about the happiness of others. Just like we are taught about dental hygiene, we should also take care of our mental hygiene. People should be taught how to handle negative thoughts and situations and move forward with a positive mindset.
Creating a happy and healthy society should be the main goal of the government, NGOs and religious bodies. This cannot be done by simply providing roti, kapda aur makaan, The mindset has to change and an ecosystem has to be created for it. Madhya Pradesh has taken the right step by creating a ministry of happiness. I think all other states of India should work in this direction. Remaining in your true nature is the only way to permanent happiness.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, which offers a happiness program among others
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