Essays

It is a common belief, and it is right in itself, that happiness is a state of mind, and that it has nothing to do with one's possessions, physical charms and even intellectual attainments.

Many poets and philosophers in ancient and medieval times considered life and this world a vale of sorrow. Even the Buddha is said to have stated that the world is a home of sorrows and miseries.

Many romantic poets of England regarded this world as a valley where sorrow and nothing else rules. John Keats, perhaps the greatest among the romantic poets said about this world:

"Where but to think is to be full of sorrow."

We must remember that when the Buddha calls the world "A home of misery," he also tells us the solution to get out of this state of misery. According to him, the fundamental reason for man's misery is his endless desire. One can get rid of misery by giving up this desire for possessing more and more materialistic things.

The Buddha advises us to follow what is called “The Middle Path." In other words, the extreme desire for anything is the basic cause of misery. The Buddha further advises us to follow what is known as "the eight fold path" which comprises eight truths, such as true living, true thinking, I rue knowledge, true word, etc.

We should bear in mind that the Buddha is the most rational among the philosophers and he considers ignorance a sin and hence the cause of misery. Hence, it is our duty to attain knowledgemid increase the stock of learning that we have.

In the modern world of sick hurry, we often forget to relax. Relaxation, both physical and mental, is essential to give rest to our tired nerves. Instead of taking sleeping pills at night or pushing ourselves to heart attacks and paralysis and strokes, we should just learn how-to meditate and relax for a few minutes daily.

We should follow the path of truth, righteousnessmid sincerity to maintain peace of mind and give-up such negative qualities as anger, desire, Vanity, avarice, attachment, sloth, etc.

Above all, tension should be avoided. Let sweetness in thought, temper and talk become. our habit. Then happiness will pursue us rather than the other way about.

Swami Ram Troth, the renowned spiritualist of India, considered self-sacrifice and self-effacement (for the good of others), the greatest sort of happiness. He gave the example of a lamp in one of his famous lectures at the Tokyo University, Japan.

He said that the lamp is able to spread the light only by getting its wick burnt. Similarly, a man can get enlightenment and happiness by being useful to others through selfless work and sacrifice. Bacon says that one can find joy in doing free service to others.