Happiness

Joy is everywhere; it is in the earth's green covering of grass; in the blue serenity of the sky; in the reckless exuberance of sping; in the severe abstinence of grey winter; in the living flesh that animates our bodily frame; in the perfect poise of the human figure, noble and upright; in living, in the exercise of all our powers; in acquisition of knowledge; in fighting evils; in dying for gains we never can share. Joy is everywhere...Tagore, "Sadhana"

Happiness/ Joy has everything to do with the heart. We are happy when we love and are loved. Our happiness can even enlighten the lives of others. If a person spends all his time looking for happiness, he/she is sure never to find it.

"Happiness is something you get in the process of making something else". If a person is constantly pre-occupied with his desire to find happiness, he is like a patient in the hospital who spends his time feeling his own pulse to see whether his heart is still beating! Let him stop thinking of his own happiness and work for the happiness of others: then he finds real joy.

"Happiness is a butterfly which when pursued is always beyond your grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly will light upon you." It is mostly the people who are always engrossed in doing matters of consequence that are least to find joy and contentment. These are the people who merely exist. They do not experience real happiness. They are like a blind man who would continue to beg, unaware that a treasure has been put in front of them.

The Fernadez were the victims of a mania that involved constant moving coz they found little happiness in the places they live. They imagined that their little house was a prison and decided to sell it and buy another. After listing a broker they set out to look for a new house. The broker advertised their house in the newspapers: For sale , a small home near a beautiful river. Hunting, fishing, perfect climate, healthful atmosphere.

A few days later the couple read the advertisement and the husband said: "Look honey that's just we are looking for!" When they checked out they discovered it was their own house that was being advertised. They realised that their house had everything they wanted, and yet they were not happy with it.

Someone asked Mother Teresa, how to lead a better life. She said: "Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other. It doesnt matter who it is, and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other".

Mrs. Lydia Wood was quite old and lived alone in her Philadelphia home. She was not needed by anyone for anything. However, there was one ray of sunshine in the drab day to day existence of Mrs Wood. The postman, John McCalvery, would always smile when he handed her the mail. When Mrs Wood died, the letter carrier leanred that she had left him her home and 175,000$.

Was McCalvery fortunate? Yes; not for the inheritance, but some day someone will say to him: "I was hungry and you gave me to eat". That neighbour's hunger for which he will be judged, was not hunger for daily bread, but hunger for a daily smile.

Happiness is where you are and what you want to be. In other words, it depends on you whether you'll be happy or not. Nobody else can find joy for you. You are the only one who can make it blossom in life. And the worse failure that you can experience is to lose enthusiasm. Sing while you work, and you will achieve more than others.

Extract from the Bhagavad Gita:
"Those whose sins have perished, whose doubts are destroyed, who are self restrained, and are intent on the welfare of all other beings, these obtain God"s everlasting joy."

Extract from the Bible: Mt. 5, 1-12

'How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.

Happy are those who hunger and thirst for what is right;
they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kigdom of heaven.

We are never constantly and perfectly happy. complete joy without suffering does not exist. Happiness is like gold ornaments: it is never completely pure, but always mixed with other metals.