Right Thought, The Fulcrum Of Happiness
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As humans we have an instinct for curiosity and complex behaviour.
The urge to achieve more is unending; there is no satiation. Making
more money , achieving high positions, fame and name all these
goal-oriented pursuits are not significant in themselves. The more you
achieve, the more you crave for.Any experience of happiness or joy is
short-lived. What makes a life significant or insignificant? Why does
one pursue those goals? What makes one happy? If only we knew the
answers to these questions, we would be able to come up with ways to
tune up our consciousness.
From Krishna and Buddha to Socrates and Gandhi, evolved individuals were more than willing to advise us on how to live a happy life. Theirs were all simple traditions, and pertinent ideas, an attempt to deepen human understanding of living well and happy . Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita taught all about karma and selfless action. Gautama Buddha gave us the eightfold path. Socrates believed the best way to live was to focus on the pursuit of virtues rather than the pursuit of material wealth. Gandhiji gave the message of non-violence, truth, simplicity and sacrifice as the path to happy living.
Happy living means thinking right without hankering for more material gains, the acquisition of which may cause behavioural problems like anger, impatience, intolerance and dejection that subtract from our happiness. Stress due to outstanding debts may cause anger, impatience and intolerance and your behaviour might get out of control. If you're not choosing correct responses, but merely reacting emotionally, you become a victim of your own circumstances. Then mental illnesses such as depres sion and schizophrenia may overpower you and push you to take extreme measures like taking your own life.
The drama of life and human reactions and consequent behaviours are strange indeed. Your near and dear ones might get closer to you when the going is good but may distance themselves from you in the hour of need and grief. How does one deal with the ups and downs of life and face challenges with strength and equanimity? We need to first come to terms with the fact that pleasure is derived from something outside whereas joy arises from within. The cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but it is all about the thought. Therefore, separate the thought from the situation and let the thought find its balance in the equanimity of stillness. Right living comes from right thinking, for it is thoughts that ultimately get translated into action.
Contentment is something that engenders right living and helps one find joy within. When one feels satisfied, a calmness is experienced and there is no urge to acquire more even at the cost of compromising one's health or relationships.
Craving for more and more is attributed to lack of resistance against material allurements. The Gita defines suffering caused by faulty thinking, perspectives, beliefs and attitudes which are taxing our emotional state.The solution for all problems lies in resolving them through transformation of our understanding of them.
People can train themselves to be happier by changing the way they think and perceive the world. People are happier who live simple and think right. They feel less stressed and less depressed because they have figured a way to balance their lives with their living environments.
From Krishna and Buddha to Socrates and Gandhi, evolved individuals were more than willing to advise us on how to live a happy life. Theirs were all simple traditions, and pertinent ideas, an attempt to deepen human understanding of living well and happy . Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita taught all about karma and selfless action. Gautama Buddha gave us the eightfold path. Socrates believed the best way to live was to focus on the pursuit of virtues rather than the pursuit of material wealth. Gandhiji gave the message of non-violence, truth, simplicity and sacrifice as the path to happy living.
Happy living means thinking right without hankering for more material gains, the acquisition of which may cause behavioural problems like anger, impatience, intolerance and dejection that subtract from our happiness. Stress due to outstanding debts may cause anger, impatience and intolerance and your behaviour might get out of control. If you're not choosing correct responses, but merely reacting emotionally, you become a victim of your own circumstances. Then mental illnesses such as depres sion and schizophrenia may overpower you and push you to take extreme measures like taking your own life.
The drama of life and human reactions and consequent behaviours are strange indeed. Your near and dear ones might get closer to you when the going is good but may distance themselves from you in the hour of need and grief. How does one deal with the ups and downs of life and face challenges with strength and equanimity? We need to first come to terms with the fact that pleasure is derived from something outside whereas joy arises from within. The cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but it is all about the thought. Therefore, separate the thought from the situation and let the thought find its balance in the equanimity of stillness. Right living comes from right thinking, for it is thoughts that ultimately get translated into action.
Contentment is something that engenders right living and helps one find joy within. When one feels satisfied, a calmness is experienced and there is no urge to acquire more even at the cost of compromising one's health or relationships.
Craving for more and more is attributed to lack of resistance against material allurements. The Gita defines suffering caused by faulty thinking, perspectives, beliefs and attitudes which are taxing our emotional state.The solution for all problems lies in resolving them through transformation of our understanding of them.
People can train themselves to be happier by changing the way they think and perceive the world. People are happier who live simple and think right. They feel less stressed and less depressed because they have figured a way to balance their lives with their living environments.
