I wish to share the following formula of Happiness that was given to me by my esteemed Spiritual Guru:
Happiness = (No. of Desires fulfilled) / (No. of Desires entertained).
Thus, happiness increases with the number of desires fulfilled and decreases with the number of desires entertained. Mathematically, happiness would be infinite if no desire is entertained at all.
Happiness can also be defined as that state of mind where all agitations cease. Desire is the seed of all agitations. Imagine you are relaxing with a vacant mind. Suddenly, a random thought of eating chocolate enters your mind. You indulge in this thought indiscriminately. It gathers momentum. The mind is no longer calm. It is now filled with the turbulent desire of eating chocolate. You have now posited your happiness in the chocolate. Helplessly, you look for and get the chocolate. The first bite of the chocolate calms the turbulence in the mind. Mind is again vacant of any thought. A feeling of happiness spreads. But only until the next thought turns itself into another desire. Happiness was never in the chocolate. It was always within you. You lost it by planting a desire of the chocolate and regained it by clearing that desire.
Happiness is our original nature and we are helplessly driven towards it when we lose it. A German philosopher, Schopenhauer, appropriately puts it, ‘It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.’ We are filled with innumerable desires — desires for material objects, desires for sensuous experiences, desires for love, desires for recognition, etc. We are never free from any desire. No sooner a desire is fulfilled, many others come in. We expect each desire to be fulfilled and give ‘happiness’. However, this is not always possible. Consequently, we are often left with frustration, depression and anger.
I believe that each one of us is born with an inherent talent and an urge to express it. Problem begins when we start building unrealistic expectations out of whatever we do or don't do. The key is to let the latent talent surface naturally without any hindrance of speculations or expectations. And, the secret of contentment lies in full expression of this inherent talent.
The key to Happiness, then, is to thoughtfully monitor every desire. If it is not in line with your inherent talent, then promptly drop it so that it fails to gather any momentum. And, if it is in line with your inherent talent, then convert it into a meaningful pursuit with no obsession for any return. Every pursuit will then become only an urge to express your inherent talent. Just as a flower blooms, river flows, bird sings, and sun shines without any particular desire to be fulfilled.
Happiness = (No. of Desires fulfilled) / (No. of Desires entertained).
Thus, happiness increases with the number of desires fulfilled and decreases with the number of desires entertained. Mathematically, happiness would be infinite if no desire is entertained at all.
Happiness can also be defined as that state of mind where all agitations cease. Desire is the seed of all agitations. Imagine you are relaxing with a vacant mind. Suddenly, a random thought of eating chocolate enters your mind. You indulge in this thought indiscriminately. It gathers momentum. The mind is no longer calm. It is now filled with the turbulent desire of eating chocolate. You have now posited your happiness in the chocolate. Helplessly, you look for and get the chocolate. The first bite of the chocolate calms the turbulence in the mind. Mind is again vacant of any thought. A feeling of happiness spreads. But only until the next thought turns itself into another desire. Happiness was never in the chocolate. It was always within you. You lost it by planting a desire of the chocolate and regained it by clearing that desire.
Happiness is our original nature and we are helplessly driven towards it when we lose it. A German philosopher, Schopenhauer, appropriately puts it, ‘It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.’ We are filled with innumerable desires — desires for material objects, desires for sensuous experiences, desires for love, desires for recognition, etc. We are never free from any desire. No sooner a desire is fulfilled, many others come in. We expect each desire to be fulfilled and give ‘happiness’. However, this is not always possible. Consequently, we are often left with frustration, depression and anger.
I believe that each one of us is born with an inherent talent and an urge to express it. Problem begins when we start building unrealistic expectations out of whatever we do or don't do. The key is to let the latent talent surface naturally without any hindrance of speculations or expectations. And, the secret of contentment lies in full expression of this inherent talent.
The key to Happiness, then, is to thoughtfully monitor every desire. If it is not in line with your inherent talent, then promptly drop it so that it fails to gather any momentum. And, if it is in line with your inherent talent, then convert it into a meaningful pursuit with no obsession for any return. Every pursuit will then become only an urge to express your inherent talent. Just as a flower blooms, river flows, bird sings, and sun shines without any particular desire to be fulfilled.
No comments:
Post a Comment