HAPPINESS
You know when you are happy. You know when you are not. So it may appear that
happiness is very easy to know and understand. But the problem is happiness never
comes in pure form. There is always something lacking when you are happy and you
can’t make out what it is. That is why you need to understand happiness more
deeply.

You feel happy whenever you get whatever you want. For example, if you eat
a nice meal with a lot of items followed by a sweet dish of your choice, you
are bound to feel happy. If you get a new dress or a prize in the school
competition, you feel happy. If you get a good job after completing your
education you feel happy. And so on. Happiness is thus a pleasant feeling
with satisfaction and contentment.

But happiness is normally short-lived because your mind wants more and
more of the things that made you happy. For instance, you may want more
and more of sweet dishes, more and more of good dresses, prizes, etc to
remain happy. But it is not possible for all such good things to keep on
happening to you, so you start feeling sad whenever good things slow down.
That is when you get frustrated and upset. That is when you become greedy
and want everything for yourself to remain happy. In short, when you keep on
running after your own pleasure, you start feeling unhappy very fast. In short,
happiness can become boring very soon. That is when greed starts,

Greed is wanting, possessing, hoarding, amassing all the good things for
yourself, even if you cannot enjoy them all by yourself. Greedy people start
with things like food, clothing, toys, gadgets etc and eventually end up
hoarding money by any means, by hook or by crook, becoming criminals in
the bargain. Greedy people cheat others to amass wealth. They cheat the
government by not paying taxes. They cheat by trickery, fraud, forgery and
embezzlement. Greedy people are never happy. Greed is a sin and a crime. It
must be dealt with rigorously according to law.

Happiness is different from pleasure. Pleasure is just a good feeling at a
superficial level. Happiness is a state of mind that has deeper roots. Eating
your favourite pizza with your favourite beer, having an expensive car, fancy
jewellery, or posh 5-star bungalow can give you pleasure but not true and
deep happiness. Pleasure is short-lived. Happiness lasts longer.

Joy of giving / sharing: Having something will give you pleasure. Giving it to
others or sharing it will give you true happiness. When you give food to a
hungry person, and watch him eat it with that grateful look on his face, it is an
example of true happiness.


Sacrifice: this is the noblest form of human experience. A classic example is
of a mother giving up her comforts and material things for the sake of her
child. If there is one umbrella and two persons cannot come under it, the
father or mother will give the child the full protection from rain even while
getting drenched in the process. That is sacrifice. Other examples are
donating a kidney or an organ to somebody who is sick and badly needs the
organ to survive even at the risk of one’s personal suffering. The joy of giving
is supreme and unique. So is the joy of sacrifice.

Making others happy must be the key to your own happiness. Helping others
should be your ideal in life. You can learn to be happy through sacrifice
starting right from your own home. When you help out your brother, sister or
cousin in this manner, you soon learn to sacrifice goodies for the sake of the
community and your motherland as a whole. There are lots of people who
devote their entire life for a noble cause by joining noble organizations and
groups or starting a noble activity on their own.

Every person has a right to be happy. It starts right from home with loving
parents who ensure your happiness. Of course you should do your part to be
happy and should not demand that others give ready-made happiness to you.
If that happens, it is pure selfishness. Happiness has to be mutual. Everyone
should aim at making everyone else happy. The world will then become the
best place to be.

There is happiness in
o Gratitude
o Contentment
o Forgiving
Learn to experience it. You will like anything else in life.
Mahatma Gandhi said: Happiness is when
• What you think
• What you say
• What you do
Are in perfect harmony

Dalai Lama said: Happiness is never ready-made. It comes out of your actions
Home work / assignment
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•
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Every day, spend 10 minutes doing something to make your mother /
father / brother / sister happy. Then write down what you did.
Once a week, list out 5 things that made you really happy during the
week. Write a one-page note on how they made you feel happy.
Every month, try to make one sacrifice for your friend. Ask him / her
how he/she felt about it. Write down your experience