WHY WE SEEK HAPPINESS?

[Guest guest]

WHY WE SEEK HAPPINESS?

 

We have spoken at length the imperativeness of constantly following the path of

dharma in case we want our developmental process to go in the positive

direction.

 

If we seek in our own hearts a sincere answer to questions like whether this has

been easy?, whether we have maintained our lives in accordance with the divine

laws of righteousness?, what will be our answer? Perhaps 99.9% of us will admit

that no matter how sincere we are, how devoted we have been, and how true our

intentions may be, we have faltered every day. Failures and frustrations have

been our constant companion.

 

No doubt it is and indeed has been difficult. We are not ofcourse uniquely

inadequate in this respect. In all yugas, even in the ages of Satya, dvapara or

tretaya-if you believe our puranas the same problem has goaded the mankind. Our

seers have declared this path as kshurasya dhara yatha like walking on the sharp

edge of the sword.

 

This raises two significant questions.

 

Firstly, if it is so difficult and lives and lives go by without any tangible

progress, why then the mankind is still running after this? what is that , which

is pushing you and me still on this path millenium after millenium, birth after

birth? What is the reason behind this quest?

 

Then the second question. If I am not prepared to abandon my goal, what can I do

to make it easier for me?

 

For a moment, let us reflect upon these two questions?

 

Why am I still running and if I have to, how can I make it a little easier?

These two practical questions address to the very basis of our spiritual

sadhana.

 

As I mentioned earlier these are not new questions. They have haunted the human

mind for over five thousand years of present existence and must have also

haunted the people of different yugas and time frames.

 

There are many interpretations and many possible explanations have been offered

by great many thinkers. You can pick what ever appeals to you. What I intend to

do is to select a few bits of reasonings taken from our seers (like Sri Sainath

etc) and see if it appeals to you as well.

 

Why we are constantly running after that apparently unknown goal?

 

One argument in favour of this is indeed very simple.

 

The ultimate goal as understood by all of us is satchidananda-the truth, its

realization and the ultimate bliss or happiness.

 

Humans by nature and for that matter, every creature-are conditioned to peace

and happiness. So intense is this instinct in us that in every moment of life we

work for satisfying this urge in us to remain happy and peaceful. Why is this

instinct so strong in us? Our Vedantic philosophy and religious way of thinking

provides a very convincing answer.

 

To begin with, let us analyse, what is this instinct? It is the memory stored in

our subconscious level of something that we are aware of. If we do not have the

knowledge and experience from the past, we can not have instinct.