What is happiness? I ask this question to myself often. Gyan guru wikipedia defines it as a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. Of course this is the easiest way to define happiness. Everyone knows that we feel 'happy' when we are get or achieve what we 'want'- even a two year old can tell that. But is that all happiness is about? I believe the answer is no. This is what I call as material happiness which is like dope - the first time you feel good with a small dose but its short lived and you need more and more later. Give a child who lives in slums a toy worth 10 bucks and imagine the happiness he or she will have. Give the same to a child from a wealthy family who has a room full of toys and we wont be surprised to see how different the reaction could be.
The same is true with adults- the more money we make the more we 'want'. People who live in the shacks think that the rich guys who have made it to the big luxury apartments or fancy houses are the happiest, but is that true? Is happiness a direct function of the amount of wealth one has? I don't think so. I don't say that rich people are not happy or that families below poverty line are not troubled with their living conditions. It's a reality that in today's world one 'needs' money to live, but the question is how much, where is the line at which 'greed' takes over 'necessity' ?
Recently on a boring long flight, there was a messy looking loud guy sitting near by, who stenched of booze. But something that he said got my attention- in his conversation with his neighbour who was talking about money and said "money is the root cause of all the problem", this guy was quick and loud to cut him off with his comment "It's not money that is the problem, its ever ending human greed". Though the words came out a booze stenched mouth, it made good sense to me. The kind of happiness that you get by fulfilling your greed is exactly what I call 'material happiness'.
So what is beyond material happiness? In TV series that is anything but philosophical, a guy who is not very successful in what he does is asked how he manages to remain so 'happy'? His answer was "Happiness is a choice !" It just struck me- how true it is.
The same is true with adults- the more money we make the more we 'want'. People who live in the shacks think that the rich guys who have made it to the big luxury apartments or fancy houses are the happiest, but is that true? Is happiness a direct function of the amount of wealth one has? I don't think so. I don't say that rich people are not happy or that families below poverty line are not troubled with their living conditions. It's a reality that in today's world one 'needs' money to live, but the question is how much, where is the line at which 'greed' takes over 'necessity' ?
Recently on a boring long flight, there was a messy looking loud guy sitting near by, who stenched of booze. But something that he said got my attention- in his conversation with his neighbour who was talking about money and said "money is the root cause of all the problem", this guy was quick and loud to cut him off with his comment "It's not money that is the problem, its ever ending human greed". Though the words came out a booze stenched mouth, it made good sense to me. The kind of happiness that you get by fulfilling your greed is exactly what I call 'material happiness'.
So what is beyond material happiness? In TV series that is anything but philosophical, a guy who is not very successful in what he does is asked how he manages to remain so 'happy'? His answer was "Happiness is a choice !" It just struck me- how true it is.
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