All living beings are full of happiness. Our daily routine, rituals and activities are all directed towards achieving happi-ness. We might be working with different goals but the ultimate aim is to remain happy.
People search for happiness in various spheres of life. Those unable to find happiness in their self or others look outward for extra adventure. What is happiness? Happiness could be defined in many ways. Simply put, happi-ness is a feeling which imparts pleasure in us. This pleasure is derived either by meeting a friend, or fulfilling a long cherished dream, for instance.
Money can help us fulfil our dreams - we can move out, we can buy, we can please others. Happiness is also perceived as what your disposable income can buy. So the struggle continues for that extra sum. No doubt, if you have enough money to lead a comfortable and healthy life, have lot of friends, and enjoy luxuries, you might feel happy. However, even the richest are sometimes unhappy. The learned, too, are not always happy.
Krishna relates in the Bhagavad Gita that all living beings are made up of soul, gross body and subtle body. Soul is the master of the body and is composed of sacchidananda or everlasting happiness. Though we are made up of happiness, still we look for happiness in external objects. Happiness is a state of mind. So why are we looking for happiness outside? That is because we lack knowledge about ourselves. We study to become successful so that we become happy. While pursuing that goal we forget to attain knowledge of self - we failed to learn about ourselves, to learn where to find that happiness for which we had invested a number of years of our lives.
The basic problem lies with our approach. We are looking for happiness at wrong places. If we approach an ironsmith in search of gold, will we get gold? Similarly, looking for happiness and asking for happiness from beings and objects cannot give happiness. All living beings are full of happi-ness but are unable to distribute that happiness. To attain happiness we need to approach the one which is treasure of happiness and that is only one, the Absolute Personality of Godhead.
Limited beings tend to remain unhappy as desires are unfulfilled. One may see family disputes when family members pursue different goals. If we draw a number of circles with a common epicentre, they will never intersect. However, if we draw number of circles with different epicentres, they are bound to intersect. This happens when we begin pursuing different goals. Our desires clash.
The root cause of problems lies in the sphere of their desire. If one begins to work for the happiness of all and for the pleasure of others, it is going to please all. If everybody is pleased, the very atmosphere is cheerful. Once one begins giving, others will reciprocate. Newton's law of equal and opposite reaction works here as well.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna confirms that He will reciprocate when He tells Arjuna, "Those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form - to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have". What other assurance does one need?
The writer heads the All India Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, New Delhi.