The Quest for Happiness
Our life is one big, never-ending quest for happiness. Our aim in life is always to have things, do things and be with people who make us happy. The only problem is that we always seem to achieve one step short of happiness; several steps short in many cases.
When we were kids, happiness was to play in the sun, ride bicycles, read comics, eat ice cream and enjoy the odd outing with family. We always felt that life is perfect, but for school and studies and homework. We grew a little, went to college, faced a whole new world. Attending lectures wasn't compulsory anymore. Our definition of happiness changed a bit. Movies, outings with friends, girlfriends etc became more important in our lives. That is the age where we are exposed to a lot more than we were as schoolkids and we learn to cope with things that are new to us. College life was fun, but for the perpetual shortfall of money. Pocket money was never enough!!!!
4 years of engineering followed, which perhaps laid the foundation for our lives and careers. Those 4 years were perhaps very very instrumental in shaping our thought process and attitudes. Life was really great then, no tension at all for 6 months, followed by a month of desperate studies, followed by a couple of weeks of harrowing exams. Oh, and not to forget the vivas, which were perhaps the biggest ordeals for most of us. We were very happy, except that we hadn't got jobs yet, or hadn't got admits from foreign universities yet.
I could go on and on, but what I'm trying to say is that 'happiness' is a concept that keeps changing all the time, all through our lives. We are never fully happy, no matter what we have and how much we achieve. There is always that one thing more we want in life. Yes, it is important to be ambitious in life, to aspire for better things in life, for, it is this quest for betterment that is translated into new inventions, new technology and new products and services that make our lives more comfortable and more enriched.
The question that often plagues me is - where does ambition end and greed begin? Take a look at some of our superstars from the film world. They have earned probably enough money to last 10 generations, they have played all types of different roles and have worked with the most prestigious banners. This being the case, why do they endorse products that they would probably never use themselves? It is obviously not an artist's craving for a challenging role. Sometimes, the advertisements are so shoddy that we wonder how such mega stars even agreed to do them. Is that ambition or is that greed? How much more money do they want?
It is not only film stars or cricketers who do this, It is every one of us. The person earning five thousand a month feels that another couple of thousand would make things more comfortable. The person earning fifty thousand a month feels another ten thousand would help him buy that dream home of his. I even know of someone who left a 2 crore per annum job to join another company that paid him more!!!! Is that ambition or is that greed? I don't have the answer.
Money is not the only parameter to measure happiness. In my interaction with people who work in various industries, I find that people always find something lacking in their jobs or in their businesses. The best of companies, the most respected of brand names, fat pay packages, good job responsibilities, a house in a decent suburb, a car, an annual vacation abroad........ and yet, life is always 'just going on'. How often do we hear someone say 'Life is really great', or 'I am really proud of my company and my job'?
The Scriptures describe God as 'Atmaram', meaning one who can be engrossed within himself. In other words, one who does not have to look externally for entertainment or satisfaction. We humans always look outward for happiness. It is always another person, a thing, a feeling, a sensation that gives us happiness. All said and done, is happiness not a state of mind? Is satisfaction not a state of mind? Can we convince our minds that we are happy? Would that really make us happy?
I think it would. I think there is no 'absolute happiness' in this world. There is always something lacking. But, isn't this lack of something a phenomenon associated with our minds and our thoughts? I think we need to develop that level of control over our minds where we are not affected by what others have, and we don't expect a perfect job, a perfect family, a perfect relationship. There is an old Russian saying that I read when I was in primary school. It still sticks in my head - 'We don't love people because they are beautiful. People seem beautiful because we love them'. Can we not extend this to everything and everyone in our lives? If we convince ourselves that we are in the best job, the best company, the best family and the best relationship, wouldn't we automatically start appreciating all that we have, instead of thinking about what we don't have? Wouldn't that make life a lot simpler, and a lot more stress free? Wouldn't that eliminate the need for us to try and put our colleagues down in order to gain a few points with the boss?
It's only a thought, but I think it's a very powerful one. Ultimately, the key to happiness, the key to satisfaction and the key to peace of mind lies in our own minds. We can choose to be discontented all the time and keep burning ourselves out in the effort to achieve the 'final step' towards happiness, or we can choose to be content with what we have, content to simply put in our best efforts in whatever we do, knowing that our 'perfect jobs', 'perfect families' and 'perfect companies' deserve our 'perfect efforts'!!!!!
When we were kids, happiness was to play in the sun, ride bicycles, read comics, eat ice cream and enjoy the odd outing with family. We always felt that life is perfect, but for school and studies and homework. We grew a little, went to college, faced a whole new world. Attending lectures wasn't compulsory anymore. Our definition of happiness changed a bit. Movies, outings with friends, girlfriends etc became more important in our lives. That is the age where we are exposed to a lot more than we were as schoolkids and we learn to cope with things that are new to us. College life was fun, but for the perpetual shortfall of money. Pocket money was never enough!!!!
4 years of engineering followed, which perhaps laid the foundation for our lives and careers. Those 4 years were perhaps very very instrumental in shaping our thought process and attitudes. Life was really great then, no tension at all for 6 months, followed by a month of desperate studies, followed by a couple of weeks of harrowing exams. Oh, and not to forget the vivas, which were perhaps the biggest ordeals for most of us. We were very happy, except that we hadn't got jobs yet, or hadn't got admits from foreign universities yet.
I could go on and on, but what I'm trying to say is that 'happiness' is a concept that keeps changing all the time, all through our lives. We are never fully happy, no matter what we have and how much we achieve. There is always that one thing more we want in life. Yes, it is important to be ambitious in life, to aspire for better things in life, for, it is this quest for betterment that is translated into new inventions, new technology and new products and services that make our lives more comfortable and more enriched.
The question that often plagues me is - where does ambition end and greed begin? Take a look at some of our superstars from the film world. They have earned probably enough money to last 10 generations, they have played all types of different roles and have worked with the most prestigious banners. This being the case, why do they endorse products that they would probably never use themselves? It is obviously not an artist's craving for a challenging role. Sometimes, the advertisements are so shoddy that we wonder how such mega stars even agreed to do them. Is that ambition or is that greed? How much more money do they want?
It is not only film stars or cricketers who do this, It is every one of us. The person earning five thousand a month feels that another couple of thousand would make things more comfortable. The person earning fifty thousand a month feels another ten thousand would help him buy that dream home of his. I even know of someone who left a 2 crore per annum job to join another company that paid him more!!!! Is that ambition or is that greed? I don't have the answer.
Money is not the only parameter to measure happiness. In my interaction with people who work in various industries, I find that people always find something lacking in their jobs or in their businesses. The best of companies, the most respected of brand names, fat pay packages, good job responsibilities, a house in a decent suburb, a car, an annual vacation abroad........ and yet, life is always 'just going on'. How often do we hear someone say 'Life is really great', or 'I am really proud of my company and my job'?
The Scriptures describe God as 'Atmaram', meaning one who can be engrossed within himself. In other words, one who does not have to look externally for entertainment or satisfaction. We humans always look outward for happiness. It is always another person, a thing, a feeling, a sensation that gives us happiness. All said and done, is happiness not a state of mind? Is satisfaction not a state of mind? Can we convince our minds that we are happy? Would that really make us happy?
I think it would. I think there is no 'absolute happiness' in this world. There is always something lacking. But, isn't this lack of something a phenomenon associated with our minds and our thoughts? I think we need to develop that level of control over our minds where we are not affected by what others have, and we don't expect a perfect job, a perfect family, a perfect relationship. There is an old Russian saying that I read when I was in primary school. It still sticks in my head - 'We don't love people because they are beautiful. People seem beautiful because we love them'. Can we not extend this to everything and everyone in our lives? If we convince ourselves that we are in the best job, the best company, the best family and the best relationship, wouldn't we automatically start appreciating all that we have, instead of thinking about what we don't have? Wouldn't that make life a lot simpler, and a lot more stress free? Wouldn't that eliminate the need for us to try and put our colleagues down in order to gain a few points with the boss?
It's only a thought, but I think it's a very powerful one. Ultimately, the key to happiness, the key to satisfaction and the key to peace of mind lies in our own minds. We can choose to be discontented all the time and keep burning ourselves out in the effort to achieve the 'final step' towards happiness, or we can choose to be content with what we have, content to simply put in our best efforts in whatever we do, knowing that our 'perfect jobs', 'perfect families' and 'perfect companies' deserve our 'perfect efforts'!!!!!
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enjoy
-ashu