What is happiness and what are the ways and means to achieve happiness - Preksha Agarwal
Happiness is the ultimate goal of life. We are all whether directly or indirectly, knowingly or thoughtlessly struggling to achieve it, in some way or the other.The rich man gets happy on acquiring new property while a beggar pines for just another meal and for a dedicated student, the moment of happiness comes when he gets good grades. Happiness is that state of mind in which a person finds bliss, contentment, feels blessed and thus constantly craves for it.
Happiness actually boosts our metabolism, keeps our mind healthy and we remain active. We urge to play more, read more, and do more when we are happy. Happiness knows no distinctions. It can be possessed by both strong and weak.
"True happiness can't be acquired by material artifacts", has been said since ancient time by countless wise men. And this is actually a fact. We feel happiness results from an external activity. On the contrary, the seed of happiness sprouts from a steady heart, nourished by internal satisfaction and tested by moments of anxiety. Happiness is not jumping up and down, laughing with all teeth out or mocking someone. It is mere solace blended with control over emotions.
Lord Buddha preached about the need to overcome the desires in order to restore mental balance and hence remain happy.
Happiness is elusive in modern world. Nevertheless there are ways to achieve it:
- Exercise and personal hygiene - Move your body and take a few deep rhythmic breaths. Be it pranayama, yoga or workout, the key to a happy heart begins from a healthy body. Even an infant waves his legs and hands then we wise people should give proper attention to this aspect. Personal hygiene also acts as a booster for the happiness meter. We keep our body clean, it stays healthy for long.
- Healthy diet and sound sleep- A good meal full of nutrients is sure to help a person get rid of that extra fat which makes one lazy and dull. When we are active, we perform more and better. And after a good day's work we need rest. Sound sleep of 6-8 hours is essential to keep us fresh the other morning.
- Contentment- People should learn to remain satisfied; otherwise they are bound to remain unhappy. Think of that crow who wanted to be the eagle. Nature has given everyone plenty of reasons to be happy. We are actually wanting become kings and bosses to taste joy, forgetting about inward bliss.
- Emotional control- Control whenever there is going to be an outburst of emotions whether anger or guilt. Try to remain steady whether it's sun or hail. Commanding the heart is not that tough, it just needs to be done. When the heart is at rest, it will not be difficult to swing back to the same happy state.
- Joy of giving and caring- We have been given much. Happiness actually increases by spreading. Donate something to an orphanage or an old-age home. Transform life of someone. Turn a beggar into a respectable human. Care for the elderly, love the younger ones. Develop empathy for the unfortunate. Begin from home. The satisfaction gained is immense and happiness is infinite.
- Karma- Bhagwad Gita proclaims as doing karma as the sole aim of life. We need tothink in this way. We don't know what the results are going to be. Our only job as humans is to perform our duties, and move on to the next task.
Happiness is everyone's wish and the great thing is that this wish can be fulfilled. We only need to take care of a few things, have a different outlook towards life and we will not be far from that state. Our journey of life will actually be felt as if cakewalk, in spite of thorns and we will be able to become humans in true sense.
-- Preksha Agarwal
