“प्रसन्नता धन एकत्रित करने मे नहीं, बल्कि त्यागने मे होती है …”

Swami ji said …

Society places a high price on happines. Very often it mistakenly equates material and worldy success for happiness. It is felt that without the former the latter cannot exist. This is why we are constantly looking for ‘happiness’ in the external. A new car, a promotion, salary increment , a new house makes us perceive that we are happy. We constantly set milestones for ourselves and tell ourselves that we deserve to be happy when we attain them. More often than not we make happiness conditional by promising and convincing ourselves that … ‘मुझे तभी खुशी होगी जब मैं उस चीज को हासिल कर लूंगा|’ Have we made happiness subservient to our moods and fancies ?

The misconception of weighing happiness … ‘प्रसन्नता’ on a scale of material possessions ; our accumulations and appearance… the way we present ourselves to the judgemental world has taken away the true essence of happiness from us. Our limited understanding of true happiness coaxes us to waste an entire lifetime on purchasing commodities, acquiring assets and chasing materialism – all this, so that we are also looked upon as a force to be reckoned with, by others. This false belief makes us crave constantly to possess, hoard and accumulate all the more – only for ourselves , not to be shared with others – and true happiness that can be experienced by sacrificing – is postponed for a later day.

But what about the present moment when we do not possess the said things that would supposedly make us happy. What then? Unfortunately, we decide to stay glum and crib about life rather than choose to be happy at the simplest of things – a joke, a smile, a small act of kindness – which don’t cost us a penny. At times, it appears as though we refuse to be happy , and , deliberately extinguish the flame of happiness that resides within us – on seeing our materialistic plans fail as – ‘हम समझते है ki ‘प्रसन्नता” के लिये बहुत कुछ एकत्रित करना पड़ता है।’

We cease to remember that happiness does not grow only where there is power and influence, but , rather blossoms in humility , in sacrifice , in giving. Happiness cannot be bought with wealth , but , it can be cultivated with love , kindness ; by not only receiving but also by giving. Attachment to material possessions and worldy gains creates stress and tension whereas freedom from them gives way to happiness , as gradually, life experiences teach us that – “प्रसन्नता” के लिए बहुत कुछ त्यागना पड़ता है |

Sacrificing something priceless that is treasured by us for the betterment of someone else can make us experience ‘true’ happiness. Are we willing to give up our share of ancestral property to a sibling who might not be doing as well as we could be doing knowing very well that our sacrifice could change his entire life ! Can we even think of sacrificing the things most loved by us – our well paid jobs , our privacy – if our old parents need us to be with them all the time ? After all, they had sacrificed a lot for us. It is not just about giving up material things – but pride and ego; grudges of the past; anger and frustrations; jealousy and other negative emotions. Letting go of all this makes us empty jars ready to be filled with happiness.

When we begin to derive greater joy in giving – rather than in receiving – it is only then that we experience true happiness and finally understand that ‘ त्याग मे ही सच्ची खुशी मिलती है |’