When I say things like "happiness is not a real thing to pursue", people quite don't digest that. I can understand. Happiness is such a positive feeling! For as long as you have lived you have been hearing people saying happiness is all that matters in life, and that the purpose of life is attaining happiness, and all that. Fine. But then I have already explained in my article Are You Happy or Content? what is the true nature of happiness, and why I say the pursuit of it is futile.
In my view, contentment is a very important state to attain in life. Only the happiness felt in presence of contentment is perfect happiness.
Confused? I know! That's why I felt the need to explain the difference between what I call contentment and what you call happiness with more clarity. The difference is so subtle. I will try to enunciate it.
Consider the difference between contentment and happiness as that between smile and laughter. Smile indicates serenity. Laughter indicates agitation. Smile is tranquility. Laughter is ripples. If you are in contentment you smile. You laugh if you are in happiness. To smile at someone all you need is to be free of pain. If there's pain you can "fake" a smile, but not really smile. So, once you are free of pain and you can go on smiling at anyone you meet. That's the sign of a contented person. Contentment does not require any "input" from the world outside of you. It completely comes from within. Happiness, on the other hand, requires input from the outside world. Like, laughter requires a joke be said.
Now, expand your perspective. Don't just stick to the words "smile" and "laughter" for contentment and happiness. Of course, buying a mobile phone also makes you "happy", though not necessarily you laugh! So, the important words actually are serenity and agitation. Upon buying a mobile phone you will feel the agitation inside, won't you? Mind has lost its tranquility. There are ripples (of excitement) when you have just come to possess some valuable thing. What you feel as happiness is just those ripples. They never last. What is everlasting is tranquility.
Now think. If I can smile (genuine smile devoid of any pain within me) anytime of the day and night when I look at someone, would you consider me "happy", even if I never feel like real laughing at anything, or dancing, or doing parties and celebrating days and stuffs? Then between your happiness and my contentment there is no difference. I think, in spiritual terminology what is called happiness is just what I call contentment. I just prefer to call it contentment because otherwise it creates confusion as to what to call "laughter". I call "laughter" thing happiness and am against chasing it alone. "Smile" thing is contentment and I think it is essential for a good life. Only when one first learns to smile in every situation, one can truly enjoy the laugh too. One who only knows to laugh, will be depressed when there's no one tell a joke!
As you can understand, this by no means is to suggest you should never laugh or get excited over something in your life. But the thing is that you should be able to make out the difference between "tranquility" and "ripples". Understand that the state of "ripples" is, by its very nature, temporary. So, do not give much importance to it alone. Be in perfect happiness, which is when you are experiencing happiness, and at the same time deep inside you are also contented.
Happiness is important to MAKE life livable. And contentment is important to KEEP life livable. Former is a function of emotion, while latter is a function of intellect. When emotions and intellect are balanced, it's true intelligence.
You might also now understand how it is said that happiness comes from within. The same thing is contentment. It so happens that when you are contented deep inside, you can find something to extract happiness from in every moment, in every situation. It doesn't mean you don't wish for anything more, but when life is tough, that can't affect you much.
In my view, contentment is a very important state to attain in life. Only the happiness felt in presence of contentment is perfect happiness.
Confused? I know! That's why I felt the need to explain the difference between what I call contentment and what you call happiness with more clarity. The difference is so subtle. I will try to enunciate it.
Consider the difference between contentment and happiness as that between smile and laughter. Smile indicates serenity. Laughter indicates agitation. Smile is tranquility. Laughter is ripples. If you are in contentment you smile. You laugh if you are in happiness. To smile at someone all you need is to be free of pain. If there's pain you can "fake" a smile, but not really smile. So, once you are free of pain and you can go on smiling at anyone you meet. That's the sign of a contented person. Contentment does not require any "input" from the world outside of you. It completely comes from within. Happiness, on the other hand, requires input from the outside world. Like, laughter requires a joke be said.
Now, expand your perspective. Don't just stick to the words "smile" and "laughter" for contentment and happiness. Of course, buying a mobile phone also makes you "happy", though not necessarily you laugh! So, the important words actually are serenity and agitation. Upon buying a mobile phone you will feel the agitation inside, won't you? Mind has lost its tranquility. There are ripples (of excitement) when you have just come to possess some valuable thing. What you feel as happiness is just those ripples. They never last. What is everlasting is tranquility.
Now think. If I can smile (genuine smile devoid of any pain within me) anytime of the day and night when I look at someone, would you consider me "happy", even if I never feel like real laughing at anything, or dancing, or doing parties and celebrating days and stuffs? Then between your happiness and my contentment there is no difference. I think, in spiritual terminology what is called happiness is just what I call contentment. I just prefer to call it contentment because otherwise it creates confusion as to what to call "laughter". I call "laughter" thing happiness and am against chasing it alone. "Smile" thing is contentment and I think it is essential for a good life. Only when one first learns to smile in every situation, one can truly enjoy the laugh too. One who only knows to laugh, will be depressed when there's no one tell a joke!
As you can understand, this by no means is to suggest you should never laugh or get excited over something in your life. But the thing is that you should be able to make out the difference between "tranquility" and "ripples". Understand that the state of "ripples" is, by its very nature, temporary. So, do not give much importance to it alone. Be in perfect happiness, which is when you are experiencing happiness, and at the same time deep inside you are also contented.
Happiness is important to MAKE life livable. And contentment is important to KEEP life livable. Former is a function of emotion, while latter is a function of intellect. When emotions and intellect are balanced, it's true intelligence.
You might also now understand how it is said that happiness comes from within. The same thing is contentment. It so happens that when you are contented deep inside, you can find something to extract happiness from in every moment, in every situation. It doesn't mean you don't wish for anything more, but when life is tough, that can't affect you much.
