Happiness is about enjoying whatever you have

What we all are busy chasing everyday is nothing but an untiring desire to acquire or get access to the means to become happy. But, this happiness is perceived differently by each one of us. I turned to the Bhagwad Gita to dig deeper into the anatomy of the subject.

The Gita talks about happiness at two levels. One is external and other is internal. The external happiness is the one experienced through our senses. But, this external happiness is fleeting and is not permanent. There is another aspect associated with the sensory happiness and that is, how do we decide how much of it is enough. And, that is where the choice lies. The image below encapsulates the essence of what I mean by this.?

A thoughtless chase for external happiness is also fraught with risk. If you think about it, a desire for anything, breeds moh (or attachment) towards it once it is acquired/achieved. This moh further breeds lobh (or greed) and a desire for still more. And, if these desires are not met, it evokes krodh (or anger). All of these are our biggest enemies.?

But, the Gita, also talks about a more lasting or permanent happiness. It is the one in which happiness is achieved internally. This is achieved when we give up “I” and the “I” is detached from the outward sensations. And the one who has detached from the external sensations, transcended the senses, whose mind is pacified, the passions calmed down and is free from sin achieves imperishable happiness and higher bliss.

According to the Gita, this experience of happiness takes place in different degrees; And these degrees are strongly related to the involvement of the individual with the Gunas which are representative of the thought and behavior which predominates an individual

?The Gita talks about of three types of Gunas

• sātvika, the one done in the mode of goodness
• rājasÄ«, performed in the mode of greed/passion
• tāmasÄ«, the one done in the mode of ignorance

Karma done in the sātvika mode are more likely to lead to inner peace. And, it is also not something, where one has to strive very hard to perform.?

I am reminded of an experience I had a few weeks back.

For sometime, I had been feeling a subtle vibration in the steering, while driving my car. I showed it to a local car mechanic and he zeroed in on the worn out tyres (or tires). Since, the tyres had already done quite some mileage, I decided to get them replaced.

I went to a Tyre dealer’s workshop and asked him to replace all the four tyres. The dealer assigned it to one of his mechanic. The mechanic removed all the tyres and after inspecting them told me that two of those were reasonably okay. They can go in as rear tyres and can still do quite some more miles before they would need a change. He suggested, buying just two tyres, which will go in the front, would be fine for now. After satisfying myself on if there was any risk, I decided to go with his advice.

The mechanic could have just followed the instructions of the dealer and it would not have been wrong. However, he chose to act in the interest of the customer and follow his heart.

Such, action that is done with non-attachment, that is not inspired by greed, and driven by a larger purpose is the type that gives peace and contentment.?