Khush raho! (Stay happy!), that's the most favorite of all blessings which elders in my family have to offer. I asked my grandfather once, "Why do you always bless me with Khush raho? You can bless me with Dirghayu bhava (live long!) or Yashasvi bhava (be prosperous!)..." He smiled at my naive question. He said, "I will answer your question, but before that tell me something... what good is a long life with sufferings in it? Or what good is prosperity if you still feel discontented?" These philosophical thoughts lead my 7 years old brain into hesitancy. Grandpa could clearly see confusion on my face. He explained,
"When you play cricket, does that make you happy?",
I nodded.
"But when it's raining and you cannot play, how do you feel?"
"Unhappy"
"But why does it make you unhappy? You can watch TV during that time..."
"Yes, but it's not like playing cricket..."
"BINGO!"
Grandpa continued, "If you want to play cricket, then that will make you happy and nothing else. There are countless small things in life which make us happy, without those things, life becomes sad, monotonous. So, underlying meaning of my blessing is, may you get all those things which make you happy, after all happiness is essence of life." He said it smiling with gentle and loving pats on my cheeks.
I understood the importance of happyness in life that day. And also to care about all those small things in life which make us happy. The movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness' tells the same thing but from a different perspective. You might have to work extremely hard to get that one moment, which you call happyness.
Common thing in both the versions is Karma. They both talk about Karma, it's our Karma which directly or indirectly leads us to happyness.
Having said that, recently, i stumbled upon an article which tells a totally different approach to happyness. The article quotes, "happiness arose out of all I didn’t want or need, not all I did". May be it's an absolute truth or a relative truth.. but whatever it is, it makes sense in a way. Something similar is taught in classes of creative writing. Chasing ideas is like chasing butterflies. More you chase them, more they go away from you. But if you sit in one place, peacefully, they will come to you themselves.
The point i am trying to make in this blog post, by illustrating two entirely different approaches to happyness is, may be Happyness is a purely relative concept. So, the pursuit to happyness becomes inherently relative. So, don't seek advice from others when you need happyness, just follow your heart, do something which makes you happy and finally you will be happy.
"When you play cricket, does that make you happy?",
I nodded.
"But when it's raining and you cannot play, how do you feel?"
"Unhappy"
"But why does it make you unhappy? You can watch TV during that time..."
"Yes, but it's not like playing cricket..."
"BINGO!"
Grandpa continued, "If you want to play cricket, then that will make you happy and nothing else. There are countless small things in life which make us happy, without those things, life becomes sad, monotonous. So, underlying meaning of my blessing is, may you get all those things which make you happy, after all happiness is essence of life." He said it smiling with gentle and loving pats on my cheeks.
I understood the importance of happyness in life that day. And also to care about all those small things in life which make us happy. The movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness' tells the same thing but from a different perspective. You might have to work extremely hard to get that one moment, which you call happyness.
Common thing in both the versions is Karma. They both talk about Karma, it's our Karma which directly or indirectly leads us to happyness.
Having said that, recently, i stumbled upon an article which tells a totally different approach to happyness. The article quotes, "happiness arose out of all I didn’t want or need, not all I did". May be it's an absolute truth or a relative truth.. but whatever it is, it makes sense in a way. Something similar is taught in classes of creative writing. Chasing ideas is like chasing butterflies. More you chase them, more they go away from you. But if you sit in one place, peacefully, they will come to you themselves.
The point i am trying to make in this blog post, by illustrating two entirely different approaches to happyness is, may be Happyness is a purely relative concept. So, the pursuit to happyness becomes inherently relative. So, don't seek advice from others when you need happyness, just follow your heart, do something which makes you happy and finally you will be happy.
