The secret of happiness

Every one of us wants happiness. We are constantly searching for joy, but do not know where to find it. In the Bhagavad Gita, there is a wonderful question which runs: “Where is the joy for peaceless?” The implication is that peace of mind alone will give one joy.

If peace of mind can be purchased in the bazaar by throwing some coins or by issuing a cheque, everyone will purchase it. In fact, the rich will buy several large packets of peace of mind, and keep one each, at home and in office and have still one more always in the pocket. Alas! It is not just so easy. It happens that the rich lacks  peace of mind more than the poor!!

Then what is the way? We always seek joy and peace of mind by two methods, (1) by acquiring the desirable, and (2) by avoiding the undesirable. This is a continuous process. Everyone puts in constant effort to this end. Still, peace of mind is as elusive as ever!  It is because, (a) the desirable, when acquired, produces fresh desires and wants, and this goes on in a vicious circle; and (b) the avoidance of the undesirable is more easily said than done as wishes arrive like uninvited guests and just stay on with us. What then, is to be done?

Our wise men of yore do have a solution. They say: “Do not seek the desirable, nor avoid the undesirable. Just have no likes and dislikes. Train the mind to be equipoised in pain and pleasure, in success and in failure, in achievement and in disaster”.

Does it then mean that one should be emotionless, insensitive and unresponsive like a block of wood? We are not pieces of furniture, we are humans and therefore as human, you may ask: “What incentive to action is there, what ambition? Without ambition, how can there be progress or achievement?”

Our savants have a clear answer. They advise us: “Have emotions, by all means, but do not succumb to them. Have sentiments, but be not sentimental. Act on, and accept the rewards of your labour, calmly. Give up the constant anxiety for results, but all the same work devotedly. Possess wealth, certainly, but do not be possessed by wealth. Acquire wealth by legitimate endeavour, as a means to spread happiness, but give up the craving for acquisition and possession as ends in themselves, as they are the destroyers of your peace of mind”. How do you like this?

All this sounds well, but there are underground enemies ever bent on sabotaging our efforts at every stage. These enemies should be spotted and annihilated—before progress in these lines is possible. Who are they?

The Great Master, Lord Krishna, tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: “Desire and anger born of passionate nature, and all-consuming, are thy deadly enemies. Recognise them”. Once we recognize them, we will surely turn them out.

 The Lord further adds: Desire, Anger and Greed. These are the three gates of hell. They allow unhappiness to enter and loot the treasure of peace of mind”.

The origin and consequences of desire and anger which reduces man to the state of a beast are also lucidly explained in a famous pair of couplets. You would like to know them, as they are much of interest to everyone of us. Here they are: “The man whose thoughts repeatedly dwell on sense objects, develops attachment for them; from attachment springs up desire and from desire (unfulfilled) ensues anger. From anger (wrath) arises infatuation; from infatuation (delusion) confusion, and from confusion, loss of reason (discrimination). Loss of reason takes one to total ruin”.

The solution to our problems hence lies in equipoise of mind, free from desire as well as aversion. Calm and serene in success and failure, tranquil in gain in loss, one keeps at one’s job. Such a self-possessed and calm sage is called a man of steady wisdom, the sthithapragna. The portion describing the attributes of the sthithapragna in the Bhagavad Gita was Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite chapter and he lived his life by it.

One main reason for failure and misery in life is that most of us do not know the art of conservation of mental energy. We fritter it away in profitless pursuits, and do not have enough left to concentrate on the job in hand. 

The master again advises us: “Free from the regrets of the past (failures), or arrogance over past successes—free from the anxiety regarding the failure (results), and free from the excitement of the goal act on”. This is utter concentration, with a capital “C”. Anyone with such concentration avoids pitfalls and is bound to succeed.

We all know that a student at an examination, with his mind filled with regrets over past failures or anxiety regarding the results, is unlikely to pass. So also would be the chances of success of a candidate at an interview for employment, or a salesman before a customer. Liberation from the past and future and concentration on the present, one is assured of success.

All this goes to show that happiness and misery, success and failure are of one’s own making.

A famous preacher went to a friend who was always found happy and asked him to disclose the secret of his perpetual joy: “Hey, Jim, how is it that you are always happy”. Jim answered: “Hmm, very simple. Every morning, on getting up, I just decide to be happy”.

“Do you mean to say you have no problems at all?”

“Oh, problems there are, aplenty; but I don’t let them interfere with my happiness. I do not worry about them, just go about calmly and solve them”.

Let us all, therefore, just decide to be happy, on rising every morning, come what may, go what may. Happy, we shall remain.