DAILY SLICES OF LIFE - The Pursuit of True Happiness

 

“Some cause happiness wherever they go;

 Others, whenever they go.”   

             This wonderfully perceptive comment by Oscar Wilde, the brilliant, flamboyant, and very highly acclaimed 19^th century Irish playwright, speaks volumes to the ability of some people to induce powerful effects on the happiness of others merely by their presence. In this simple statement of fact, he clearly differentiated between the positive and dynamic influence in creating true happiness by some people, and the antagonistic ability of others, who always seem to produce the completely opposite effect.

          Philosophers and psychologists, over the past 2500 years have spent a great deal of time and effort in trying to explain the reasons for, and the effects of happiness on the human race. In all the great ancient cultures, Eastern and Western, much time has been spent in examining the sources and the differences in the people’s responses. It is also of great interest that the insights of many of the great thinkers of the past centuries as well as the modern experts, have shown a remarkable consistency in their conclusions:

-Confucius, in the 5^th century BCE, introduced the concept of happiness as something every person should seek out. He elaborated on this by insisting that happiness, particularly ‘ethical’ happiness, plays the fundamental role in the guidance and direction of the individual’s life.

-Buddha, in the same period, went into greater detail, preaching that happiness is one of the seven factors of enlightenment, and an essential goal for arriving at Nirvana. But he cautioned that to achieve true happiness requires being in the right mental state to choose the middle path between excesses and little.

-Aristotle, the foremost Greek philosopher, was adamant in concluding that “happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, and the whole aim and end of human existence.” He also suggested that the only way to achieve this in life, was to choose the mean between the two extremes in behavior; no different than Buddha’s middle path.

-Epicurus, one of ancient Rome’s most influential philosophers, stressed that “true happiness is the end and aim of living.” He rightly described it as “not being the hedonistic behavior that results from the demands of the senses to satisfy personal pleasure without regard to need, but rather, comes from the wisdom to choose correctly.”

-Abu Hamid al-Ghazi, considered to be one of the greatest of the Islamic philosophers, and a contemporary of Prophet Muhammad, wrote extensively of the pursuit of happiness. He was clear that to achieve “happiness requires a self-realization of oneself, and the understanding of our purpose in living.”

-Thomas Aquinas, acknowledged universally to be one of the greatest philosophical minds in the Roman Catholic church, was quite clear that while ‘perfect’ happiness (eudaimonia) was only attainable in heaven, it was “possible to achieve ‘imperfect’ happiness by living the good life.”

          The pursuit of happiness has been a dominant factor in human life throughout history, and it has taken on a different emphasis in relation to the prevailing thinking in each succeeding generation. In the early years, happiness was considered to be an objective reality, a condition that people must aspire to achieve. In the Middle Ages however, with the birth of the age of enlightenment, as exemplified by Jefferson in the preparation of the impressive American Declaration of Independence, happiness was recognized as an inalienable right of man to which he was entitled to possess and enjoy, irrespective of his intentions. In recent years, with the rapid advances in science and technology, happiness has evolved to mean the pursuit of self-gratification, self-satisfaction and emotional fulfillment, without regard or concern to the needs of others. But irrespective of the prevailing influences, people have generally used the level of happiness as an effective yardstick to measure the success of their living and degree of contentment.

          In like manner, the pursuit of happiness has been one of the major endpoints in the various religious belief systems, and used to measure their ultimate degree of acceptance:

The Buddhists view true happiness as a journey that must be undertaken to lead to the ultimate state of Nirvana. They strongly differentiate this from the false happiness which results from the satisfaction of the senses.

 The Moslems, equally, view happiness, not as a temporary state of joy and satisfaction, but as a lifelong process leading to eternal happiness and everlasting bliss in the hereafter.          

In Judaism, the belief is that true happiness comes from within the individual and that he has the ability to alter or increase its perspective.

 The Christian view of true happiness is founded on the desire to be close to the Almighty, and to achieve the ultimate reward of eternal life in his kingdom.

The common thread that binds all these together is the fact that the superficial sense of joy and fulfillment derived from the satisfaction of the senses can never be equated to the deep, lasting rewards of true happiness.

          The meaning of true happiness is a question that often comes to the minds of everyone looking for answers in living. People spend endless hours searching in every direction, but only few ever succeed in finding genuinely true happiness. True Happiness is far more than just experiencing a feeling of joy and contentment in oneself, or even a feeling of well-being and a sense of fulfillment or of success, for an action completed. Satisfactory as these may be to the individual, they fade away and are soon forgotten. It instead, in order to fully satisfy its true meaning, must be viewed as an overriding state of mind that results from ‘a lifelong process and undertaking with the sole aim of achieving eternal contentment, peace of mind, tranquility of heart and mind in this life and equally, in the hereafter.’

          As will be expected by its very nature, there are no simple or clear characteristics against which one can accurately rate the strength or quality of true happiness. But like so many of this life’s intangible blessings that come our way, we know it when we see it. Here are some of the characteristics:  

 -True happiness can be viewed as that way of life that creates an aura of peace and calm, and a degree of contentment for the choices made. This state of pure serenity was beautifully described by the great Indian statesman, Mahatma Gandhi as:

“When what you think, what you say, and what you do, are in perfect harmony.”

-True happiness induce such infectious qualities to living that can be spread far from the original source. St. Teresa of Kolkata, who devoted her life living in dismal conditions serving the poorest and the neediest was an outstanding example,(one that I myself can confirm, after my fleeting encounter with her many years ago). She explained the dynamics for doing so in these words:

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness. Show kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

-True happiness comes only from doing what you truly love to do, and not from what is expected of you. Albert Schweitzer, the great Austrian physician and multi-gifted polymath, who gave up a life of fame and fortune to establish a small hospital in Africa, confirmed this, when he said:

“Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it. Success is not the key to happiness; happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

 

         True happiness therefore, to be honest and genuine, cannot be rooted in the acquisition of material values or successes, for these are transient and unpredictable. It will only be meaningful and lasting when it arises from deep within the individual as an intrinsic desire to do good. It can only blossom where there is sound character, with respect for self and for others, and self-identity, of who we are, and how we relate to others. It can never be an isolated goal to be achieved for a specific purpose, but will only be viable when it is embraced as a lifelong perspective and way of life.

           The late respected Utah Mormon, and elder of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, Marvin J. Ashton recorded the following exquisite description:

 “True happiness is not made by getting something.

 True happiness is becoming something.”

 -This to me, fully and completely encapsulates the real aim and purpose of true happiness. True happiness is never realized as a reward for just doing good, but rather is the reward earned for being good.

 

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