Today I received an email from my friend and he has posed an interesting and deep question. I give it below.
Happiness is a perfume. So I am anxious to spray perfume. On whom ?
This is a serious question. It is often said that if you make others happy, then you also become happy. Or rather, unless you are happy, you cannot transfer happiness to others.
Before going further into this question proper, let us see what “Happiness” is? One knows distinctly when he is happy. But, often, he does not know how that situation was arrived at. Even if he knows, he cannot replicate the same set of conditions at his will.
If there are no worries and if the mind is peaceful, then one feels that he is happy. So what has to be done? Control the mind. It is easily said than practiced. How to do it then? One has to turn to Meditation.
To obtain reasonable level of mental peace, one has to practice Meditation for a long period under a good master. Even then it becomes difficult.
Another way which can be easily adopted by one and all is the religious way. In all religious scripts, it is said that all living things aspire to be happy and despise misery. The reason said by these scriptures is that happiness and misery are due to mental bondage/desire over materials and ones kith and kin. If one relinquishes his desire for these transient things and aspire for the eternal God, then the sorrow and happiness will not affect the individual. If one becomes immune to the desire, then any loss will not bring sorrow and any gain will not result in happiness. One has to develop such an attitude and this is called the maturity.
Only when man becomes old, he realizes that all these years, he has wasted his energy on acquiring the wordly things. At his old age, he is miserable because of the material wealth and the demands made by his kith and kin for his wealth.
The attitude of non-attachment can come only slowly but one can achieve it. He has to contemplate on the shortness of life and that however great may be one’s wealth, one cannot take even an atom to the other world. So he has to spend the wealth on himself, his family and for others also. This only will give him lasting peace and happiness.
To be continued…….
Happiness is a perfume. So I am anxious to spray perfume. On whom ?
This is a serious question. It is often said that if you make others happy, then you also become happy. Or rather, unless you are happy, you cannot transfer happiness to others.
Before going further into this question proper, let us see what “Happiness” is? One knows distinctly when he is happy. But, often, he does not know how that situation was arrived at. Even if he knows, he cannot replicate the same set of conditions at his will.
If there are no worries and if the mind is peaceful, then one feels that he is happy. So what has to be done? Control the mind. It is easily said than practiced. How to do it then? One has to turn to Meditation.
To obtain reasonable level of mental peace, one has to practice Meditation for a long period under a good master. Even then it becomes difficult.
Another way which can be easily adopted by one and all is the religious way. In all religious scripts, it is said that all living things aspire to be happy and despise misery. The reason said by these scriptures is that happiness and misery are due to mental bondage/desire over materials and ones kith and kin. If one relinquishes his desire for these transient things and aspire for the eternal God, then the sorrow and happiness will not affect the individual. If one becomes immune to the desire, then any loss will not bring sorrow and any gain will not result in happiness. One has to develop such an attitude and this is called the maturity.
Only when man becomes old, he realizes that all these years, he has wasted his energy on acquiring the wordly things. At his old age, he is miserable because of the material wealth and the demands made by his kith and kin for his wealth.
The attitude of non-attachment can come only slowly but one can achieve it. He has to contemplate on the shortness of life and that however great may be one’s wealth, one cannot take even an atom to the other world. So he has to spend the wealth on himself, his family and for others also. This only will give him lasting peace and happiness.
To be continued…….
Source : http://pkswamy.blogspot.com/2009/05/happiness.html
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