Happiness

Everyone wants to be healthy, wealthy, and happy. But we end up blaming events in our life for lack of health, wealth, or happiness. We must remember that events are not under our control but our thoughts and actions are always under our control. On this page you will find ways of channeling your thoughts and actions, with tips, to provide health, wealth, and happiness.

The Bhagavad Gita says thata man should lift himself by himself and should not degrade himself. It maintains that the self can either be a friend or an enemy of the self. If you  control your self by yourself then your self is your best friend. But if you have no control over your self, then your self is your own enemy.

Although it’s important to have a balance of Health, Wealth & Happiness, health is the most important. Without health  obtaining wealth and happiness can become an uphill task.

The modern world is fast-paced. Unlimited information bombards us every moment. Your day is probably filled with activities, events and plenty of distractions that stress you out and and affect your  health. It is hard to escape from the rat race and take a minute out just for yourself.

You may be exhausted, having trouble sleeping, and thoughts may be swirling in your head. You may be feeling flustered, overwhelmed, anxious or depressed. You may be suffering from frequent headaches or muscle pains, hypertension, diabetes, muscle and joint problems, indigestion, or a host of other stress related illnesses. All this can take a toll on your happiness, and put a dent in your purse.

According to the Bhavad Gita the person who has learned to control his eating and enjoyment, who performs his actions in a balanced manner, who maintains balance between his waking and sleeping periods,is free from  all his sorrows.

Next comes Wealth. Wealth does not necessarily lead to happiness, but it can bring a smile to your face. A certain amount of money can make you happy. But more money can create worry and lead to unhappiness. Therefore, wealth is a relative term.

A beggar can envy the poor slum dweller for his hut and one square meal. The slum dweller can envy the small tea shop owner for his three meals and well clad family. The tea-wallah can envy the trader for his small apartment and comfortable living. The trader can envy the businessman for his bungalow, car, and lavish life. The businessman can envy the industrialist for his  jet setting power and high flying parties. The industrialist may end up envying the beggar for his carefree lack of commitment. A Forbes poll of the richest people found they weren’t any happier than the average person. You don’t have to be rich to be happy. But, you have to know how to manage what little money you have.

Attaining happiness is all about managing your desires. According to Immanuel Kant, “Happiness is the satisfaction of all our desires: extensive in regard to their multiplicity, intensive in regard to their degree, protensive in regard to their duration.” Thus our happiness depends on the extent of our desires, how deep those desires are, and how long we  continue to satisfy that desire. If our desires are extensive and deep, and we have the capacity to fulfill these desires for a long time, then our happiness will be extensive, intensive, and prolonged. However, if we fail to fulfill these desires then the unhappiness will also be extensive, intensive, and prolonged. Thus, happiness is not something that comes to you. It is something you create. If your desires are small and easy to attain, then it is easy to remain happy. It is not what happens to you that counts. It is how you react to what happens to you.

As stated in the Bagavad Gita you will lead a life with stability, happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment if you embrace the duties required of you at any time,  acting only or the sake of service without any consideration for the outcomes  while at the same time remaining mindful of reality. Certainly knowledge is better than practice, but better than knowledge is meditation (on our life and actions), superior to which is renunciation of the fruits of actions. Indeed after renunciation there is only peace.”