"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony"
- Mahatma Gandhi
The secret of happiness is in the mind. It is one's attitude towards the worldly things. Most of the people mistake that happiness lies in wealth, job, properties, relations, so on so forth. But the happiness derived from these are temporary in nature. The degree of happiness one gets from them
gradually diminishes. But for those who realise the vanity of the material possessions, happiness abounds in their proper identity with the True Self. And this happiness is everlasting. Even when they are engaged in this material world for doing 'karma', they remain detached like a drop on the
lotus leaf. Their eternal bliss is not undermined by the dualities of this mundane world. A story from Sufi literature depicts well The Secret of Happiness.
A young man wanted to know about the secret of happiness. He approached his father about this. He told his young son that he had heard about a certain wealthy man at a far off place, who was seen to be always happy and advised his son to embark on a journey to the place of that wealthy man and know the secret of happiness. So the young man set out on his horse next day and after a few days
found the palace of the wealthy man at last. When he entered into the palace hall, he noticed that there were many visitors waiting for their turn. As his turn came, the young man disclosed the purpose of his visit. The rich man asked his servants to bring a spoon with two drops of oil. Turning to the young man he said "Look, I will certainly let you know about the secret of happiness, but before that you have to do one thing. Since I am busy with these visitors, I give you two hours time to see the palace in and around and with a condition that you shall carry this spoon of oil in one hand and see that it is brought back to me without spilling."
After two hours the young man returned to the host. The latter asked "gentleman, have you enjoyed the beautiful paintings on wall, ornate crystal chandeliers, Persian carpets, exquisite fountains, rich gardens with colourful and fragrant flowers blooming, enthralling performances by the dancers and musicians ? Can you explain them ?" The youth however cut a sorry figure and nodding his head across told him that as he was concentrating on the spoon of oil he could't see any thing in the palace. The rich man asked the youth to go once again and insisted that he should certainly describe the things seen this time. After returning, the youth started to describe whatever he had seen on his way. Then the rich man asked about the oil. The young man told that oil spilled on the floor somewhere on the way. Then the rich man explained, "That is it ! In your ability to balance, that is, enjoying the worldly things on one hand and at the same time being aware of balancing the spoon of oil simultaneously on the other hand, lies the Secret of Happiness !"
Om Shanti !
- Mahatma Gandhi
The secret of happiness is in the mind. It is one's attitude towards the worldly things. Most of the people mistake that happiness lies in wealth, job, properties, relations, so on so forth. But the happiness derived from these are temporary in nature. The degree of happiness one gets from them
gradually diminishes. But for those who realise the vanity of the material possessions, happiness abounds in their proper identity with the True Self. And this happiness is everlasting. Even when they are engaged in this material world for doing 'karma', they remain detached like a drop on the
lotus leaf. Their eternal bliss is not undermined by the dualities of this mundane world. A story from Sufi literature depicts well The Secret of Happiness.
A young man wanted to know about the secret of happiness. He approached his father about this. He told his young son that he had heard about a certain wealthy man at a far off place, who was seen to be always happy and advised his son to embark on a journey to the place of that wealthy man and know the secret of happiness. So the young man set out on his horse next day and after a few days
found the palace of the wealthy man at last. When he entered into the palace hall, he noticed that there were many visitors waiting for their turn. As his turn came, the young man disclosed the purpose of his visit. The rich man asked his servants to bring a spoon with two drops of oil. Turning to the young man he said "Look, I will certainly let you know about the secret of happiness, but before that you have to do one thing. Since I am busy with these visitors, I give you two hours time to see the palace in and around and with a condition that you shall carry this spoon of oil in one hand and see that it is brought back to me without spilling."
After two hours the young man returned to the host. The latter asked "gentleman, have you enjoyed the beautiful paintings on wall, ornate crystal chandeliers, Persian carpets, exquisite fountains, rich gardens with colourful and fragrant flowers blooming, enthralling performances by the dancers and musicians ? Can you explain them ?" The youth however cut a sorry figure and nodding his head across told him that as he was concentrating on the spoon of oil he could't see any thing in the palace. The rich man asked the youth to go once again and insisted that he should certainly describe the things seen this time. After returning, the youth started to describe whatever he had seen on his way. Then the rich man asked about the oil. The young man told that oil spilled on the floor somewhere on the way. Then the rich man explained, "That is it ! In your ability to balance, that is, enjoying the worldly things on one hand and at the same time being aware of balancing the spoon of oil simultaneously on the other hand, lies the Secret of Happiness !"
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