Happiness In Life

Conversation with SR continued from here: The Higher Purpose In Life.

SE had a follow-up question (a lightly edited extract):

“…I have a question on tour analogy you given. I have similar experiences in multiple group tours and I had wondered why do these group tours create happiness which is not found in our normal day to day life journey? I tried to analyze and had identify certain attributes of these tours; noting them down here:

1. When we go on a tour, for those few days, we take a break from day-to-day life and let go our thoughts of past and future for duration of the tour.

2. During the tour, because we are in different environment and with new people, most of the time we stay in present experience. All the time alert, watching, experiencing, interacting so that we do not miss even a bit of the tour. 

3. Because we know we will not see these people again in life after this tour we are more friendly and accommodating than normal. Also we do not feel that bad when these people say or do something not matching with our expectation.

4. Inner state during these tours is relaxed. After all we are on break and came on tour to relax and enjoy.

Those are few of the critical differences between tour analogy and day-to-day life journey….“

**

Loved the question. Set me off thinking about it.

My two-bits in response:

“Before attempting to project the experience of a tour and the camaraderie/happiness enjoyed therein onto the larger canvas of our life, it’s useful to look at some other experiences too and recognize underlying similarities. Note some of them could be more towards alleviating grief/trouble leading to satisfying outcomes than generating raw happiness per se.

In these cases, we create and inhabit a small world of experiences shared with a few others bound by a common purpose, more to do with mundane living than exalted, such as enjoying the sights, company and amenities in a group tour, travelling to the destination safely on any kind of mass transport, being in a hospital ward with other patients to get treated during sickness, providing as a team, relief to disaster victims…

The ‘small’ ensures homogeneity  and congruence of purpose.  Membership to this world is one of low on maintenance and short-lived only for the duration of the experience (also a reason for low maintenance, besides the smallness). Note nishkama karma too, is low on maintenance not expecting anything in return!

Now, going from the tour to life looks simple!! For happiness and satisfaction, the solution, to think aloud, may well be: Fill your life – at least some part of it – with these worlds, as many, as varied, as frequently and as long as possible!

Well, not so fast and simple😊 Of course, life is more complex with its share of high-maintenance groups and their activities one cannot shy away: employment in an organization, a competitive team sport, etc. And not to forget, the Family and Friends! “

End

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They All Laughed Out With Joy And Jumped Happily!! (For Little Kids)

(reblogged from here)

A tiny little story of innocent joy!!! No twists, turns or lessons. Loved it.

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Make Your Own Happiness

Posted by: jyoti ranpura <jyotiranpura@yahoo.com>

At a building construction site nearby, I observed that lots of labourers were working there and their small  children used to play various games.

One favourite game was to hold on to one another’s shirt and play “train-train”.

Someone would become the engine and others would become bogies.

Every day, these children used to take turns becoming the engine and bogies..

But, there was  one small boy wearing only a half pant who used to hold one small green *cloth* in his hand and become the guard daily.

So, once I went to him and asked him ..”son, don’t you also wish to become an engine or a bogie some time?”

He softly replied, “Sir , I don’t have a shirt to wear so how will the other children catch me to make the train?

But, it gave me a huge lesson…. he could have cried and sat at home and fought with his parents for not having enough money to buy  him a shirt.

But instead, he chose another way to play and enjoy himself..

In life, we don’t get all things we desire and we keep complaining ..

I dont have a bike,  I don’t have car , I don’t have this or that etc….

Life is like that ….we need to make it beautiful, play the game with what you have and be grateful for what we have.

This too shall pass,

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A Love Story (In Pics)

Source: babamail.com

 

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Happiness Is…

a choice!

 

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Source: Uber Humor

The One Wish…

 

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Happiness: Easy To Find If Only We Know Where To Look!

 

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Image: markmanson.net

Soul Food

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What You Get Is What You Give (A Story For Children)

 

 

‘You’re very fortunate to have arrived here on an auspicious day for us,’ Chitragupta (the book-keeper in the Heavens) said to the man standing before him. ‘It’s entirely due to your karma in your previous births you are awarded this kind fate. Your good fortune doesn’t end with it. If you are able to tell us just one act of yours, while you were down there in this birth, of compassion or charity, you’ll have an easy passage,’ he assured.

‘Now jog your memories and get ready. Of course, we’ll check our ‘Book of Deeds’ too. If it’s in there too you’re through.’

Hearing this, he was quite relieved of the tension that had built up since arrival: ‘That’s a cinch,’ he thought.

So he went about rummaging his memories. He thought and thought. Quite surprisingly nothing readily came to his mind. He went far back in years. Still no luck.

Finally he sat down with the head in his hands. An utterly broken man.

Chitragupta took pity on him.

‘Don’t know why, but I’ll do this for you.’

He summoned Sathyavaak, his deputy: ‘Kindly go down and check out if this man had done in his life time at least one act of charity or compassion and quickly report back.’

Just as Chitragupta was done attending to some other chore, Sathyavaak was back.

‘Tell us, Sathyavaak. What have you found out?’

‘My Lord, this was the most difficult assignment I’ve ever done.’

‘Go ahead, let’s have it.’

‘I searched low and high, east and west, south and north. No luck. Not a living soul spoke of any good deed done by this man. Finally I sat down wearily on a boulder in the bed of Cauvery in his village lamenting about the matter to myself and ready to return. Just then a scorpion emerged before me from under the boulder .’

‘Interesting! What does a scorpion have to do with all this?’

‘The scorpion told me an incredible story: One evening, returning from a bath in the river, this man encountered this scorpion on a sandy stretch in his path. Without any hesitation or fear this man rested his foot with all his weight squarely on the scorpion. The scorpion would have arrived here much before this man had the wooden sandal crushed it as intended. Luckily the scorpion sank into the loose sand and escaped unhurt.’

‘I’m not clear how all this…’

‘It’ll be in a moment, my lord. The scorpion said it would be mighty ungrateful of him if he did not narrate this incident to me in this man’s defence.’

The man listening in could make no sense yet of the story neither could he recall such an incident quite common place in his life to deserve special mention.  .

Sathyavaak continued: ‘All this seems to have happened when the scorpion found itself highly vulnerable on the sand patch away from any kind of shelter, eyed by its predator – a vulture – already perched near by and set to make a meal of the defenceless scorpion. That’s when the man here caused its burial in the sand from where it emerged only after dark and scampered to safety. It owes its life to this man.’

The man almost swooned at the end of the story.

‘Yes, a truly incredible a story you’ve brought back, Sathyavaak!

Chitragupta turned to the man: ‘This one act of yours, completely unintended, saves you from the clutches of Yama. You’ll have a safe passage as I had promised. But it makes me sad you wasted a life-time of opportunities. Do you know the planet earth is the only place in the entire creation where you could cause happiness to others and feel it come back and bathe you in its warm glow?’ And it’s so easy! I hope your story reaches others to mend their ways while there’s still time.’

The man doubled in remorse walked away following his escort.

End

 

Source: Image from moviegalleri.net (cinemakeldam_randi_movie_rajendra_prasad_master_bharath_9918)

More about Chitrgupta (Wiki):  Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, ‘rich in secrets’ or ‘hidden picture’) in the Hindu pantheon of gods is known to be incredibly meticulous, and with his pen and paper he tracks every action of every sentient life form, building up a record of them over the course of their life so that when they die the fate of their soul can be easily determined between Heaven or Hell. These perfect and complete documents are referred to in mystical traditions as the Akashic records, and as they contain the actions of each person from birth to death, they can be said to contain every action taken in the universe.