Do we really know "happiness"?

[renuka]

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Most of us assume happiness is the absence of sorrow.

But how well do we know happiness?

Do we really even know happiness?

I feel the human mind has become accustomed to link happiness to the sensory feeling of pleasure.

Is that really happiness? Pleasure derived thru sensory input?
So how different is sorrow from so called happiness if both are derived thru sensory inputs?

But the fact is we need the senses to feel both pleasure and pain..so are we right when we say we are happy?

Is pleasure =happiness?

It just does not seem 100% right to me...I feel something is missing here...Happiness might be a state that hardly anyone knows.

The only way to find out is to remove the ability of senses to provide an input...the nearest state is deep sleep where we are almost technically "unconscious"...yet that feels well rested when we get up....but even then we need the senses the next day to feel we slept well.

In deep sleep one is not aware of surroundings..sensory input goes into dormant mode and one does not feel pleasure or pain.

It almost seems like death..so what is happiness then?

Does it even exist?

 

[prasad1]

When the need or desire for happiness is absent, happiness manifests itself. When dependence upon happiness is absent, happiness becomes an integral part of your consciousness. This is the secret of happiness or bliss the yogis understand. Therefore they cultivate detachment and strive for their liberation.
Hindu scriptures describe God as a combination of sat (truth), chit (consciousness) and ananda (pure bliss).
In their ordinary consciousness human beings are incapable of experiencing pure ananda because of the interference of the mind and the senses and the attachment of the ego with the sense objects.
The Bhagavadgita tells us from the activity of the senses arises attachment and from attachment comes anger and from anger comes delusion and from delusion suffering, which is opposite of ananda.
The purpose of religious and spiritual activity is to turn the mind away from the sensory objects and inwards so that both the mind and the ego can be dissolved in an endless state of ananda or bliss.
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/concepts/ananda.asp

I do not have personal experience, I do not know it exists. But that is the ideal we strive for

 

[prasad1]

‘Although initially it is necessary for the sense organs to have contact with external objects for generation of worldly happiness and unhappiness, yet man experiences them with his mind. Spiritual happiness or sorrow is always psychological. Finally the experiencing of all happiness or unhappiness is dependent solely on the mind; hence it is not impossible to restrain the experiences of happiness and unhappiness with the mind. It is with this very opinion that Manu (4.160) has described the features of happiness and unhappiness differently from those following a system of philosophy founded by Sage Gautam (nyayashastra), as –

सर्वं परवशं दु:खं सर्वमात्‍मवशं सुखम्‌ ।
एतव्‍दिद्यात्‍समासेन लक्षणं सुखदु:खयो: ।।
​

Meaning: All that which is in the control of external objects is unhappiness while that which is in the control of one’s mind is happiness. This is the concise feature of happiness and unhappiness.’

The basic sensations of happiness and unhappiness are very important to survive and gain fundamental knowledge. Even an amoeba goes away if there is any undue particle in its vicinity as it finds it unpleasant and goes to another site where there are food particles. An infant too, reaches upto the mother’s breast to taste the mother’s milk. A young child runs away from fire and withdraws its foot on being pricked by a thorn. From this, one will realise that all actions of any organism are motivated by a desire to obtain happiness or to escape from unhappiness or an unpleasant event.

Happiness or unhappiness are great teachers. Difficulties and poverty teach us more than happiness and wealth respectively. Happiness and unhappiness are the reward and punishment respectively, which are bestowed upon man by nature for his progress.
http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduis...spiritual-bliss-different-from-happiness.html

 

[sangom]

Hap is/was a Norwegian/Viking word meaning luck.
In English you still can find it in its original meaning in the words happenstance and hapless.
Interesting to note that in German e.g. the words for luck and happiness are identical, only distinguished by transitive/intransitive usage, in English it would be: "To have lucky" for being lucky, or "to be lucky" for being happy. (confused? You should be!)

The definition changes from culture to culture and century to century, but has been skewed lately by the American happiness merchants.


The main thing is not the definition, the main thing is the importance that is placed on it, which has become so disproportionally oversized that the mainstream "Happiness" idea would not be recognizable by someone 500 years ago, or someone from a radically different culture.

Many people these days see it as the be-all and end-all of existence, are prepared to make any amount of other people unhappy, ruin their future and lives for their mangled idea of personal "happiness".

I had two acquaintances stop me in town, look knowingly into my face and ask with feeling and fake concern: "Are you happy?"
Like "Have you found Jesus?" ...same idiocy, same self-centric "Be what I pretend to be, so I can feel justified in pretending it to myself."

I am much more contend in my life since I stopped chasing this mirage of "Happiness".... I just can't force my luck.


(Armin Hanik, Quora answer)

Note: I have also found in my life that when you stop chasing 'happiness' with the firm conviction that you can't change your luck/fate.

 

[thebigthinkg]

Most of us assume happiness is the absence of sorrow.

But how well do we know happiness?

Do we really even know happiness?

I feel the human mind has become accustomed to link happiness to the sensory feeling of pleasure.

Is that really happiness? Pleasure derived thru sensory input?
So how different is sorrow from so called happiness if both are derived thru sensory inputs?

But the fact is we need the senses to feel both pleasure and pain..so are we right when we say we are happy?

Is pleasure =happiness?

It just does not seem 100% right to me...I feel something is missing here...Happiness might be a state that hardly anyone knows.

The only way to find out is to remove the ability of senses to provide an input...the nearest state is deep sleep where we are almost technically "unconscious"...yet that feels well rested when we get up....but even then we need the senses the next day to feel we slept well.

In deep sleep one is not aware of surroundings..sensory input goes into dormant mode and one does not feel pleasure or pain.

It almost seems like death..so what is happiness then?

Does it even exist?

I wrote this for my daughter..

http://nuerons.blogspot.in/2015/01/grow-more-and-more.html

-TBT

 

[yesmohan]

Happiness, I believe is an emotional status of mind; just like any other emotions it is also a temporary status of mind.

Who said that happiness is the absence of sorrow; is it because happiness is the antonym of sorrow?

 

[sravna]

Real happiness automatically happens and sustains irrespective of the external influences. As pointed out in one of the earlier posts when your mind is in control of the senses, you have a feeling that you can call real happiness. On the other hand pleasure which is related to sensory experiences is not real happiness.

 

[renuka]

Real happiness automatically happens and sustains irrespective of the external influences. As pointed out in one of the earlier posts when your mind is in control of the senses, you have a feeling that you can call real happiness. On the other hand pleasure which is related to sensory experiences is not real happiness.

Dear Sravna,

Even if one has a control over the senses..the so called feeling of happiness is nothing but pleasure..so it wont be entirely accurate to say that being in control over senses one is able to feel true happiness.

Anything that goes thru senses will produce pleasure or pain.

I still feel happiness is not known to us.

 

[sravna]

Dear Sravna,

Even if one has a control over the senses..the so called feeling of happiness is nothing but pleasure..so it wont be entirely accurate to say that being in control over senses one is able to feel true happiness.

Anything that goes thru senses will produce pleasure or pain.

I still feel happiness is not known to us.

Renuka, what I mean is if you don't feel the pleasure when you normally ought to or you normally would, you feel real happiness. That is when you conquer pleasure you feel real happiness.

 

[Brahmanyan]

The Means of Happiness:

His Holiness Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal of Sringeri Sharada Peetam has discussed the subject of "The Means of Happiness" in the book "Dialogues with The Guru". I give below the excerpts of the same taken from the book.

"Happiness is a State of mind and cannot be gauged by the quality or quantity of external possessions. A person may be the lord of all the three worlds and yet be unhappy another may be the poorest of beggars and yet be the happiest man in the world."


His Holiness concludes the dialogue on the subject with these wonderful words:

"Suppose you have about twenty articles in your room every one of which is likely to distract you by its very sight. Which is the more practical method, to prepare cases for enveloping every one of them or to shut your eyes?
Similarly, it is impossible for you to regulate, modify, annihilate or create at your pleasure the infinite things of
the universe which are likely to disturb you. But you can so regulate your own mind that it may gradually cease to be disturbed by them. This is quite within your competence. Your forefathers were happy, not because they had more objects of pleasure or less causes of trouble, but because they were able to retain their mental equilibrium, which gave them rest, peace and contentment and, therefore, happiness. They did not depend upon outside things to make them happy, nor did they concede to outside things the capacity to make them unhappy. Their feeling of rest and peace, contentment and happiness, was normal, natural and healthy and, therefore, lasting. You must also cultivate that feeling if you want to be happy. Such a feeling is born and ingrained in the Brahmana especially, and if he neglects it and seeks happiness in the outside world, he is seriously impairing his chances of getting it again in the next birth, for God will be quite justified in withholding a gift which the donee does not appreciate at its proper value when he has it with him. Never let go your birthright or svabhava of contentment and never give the go-by to your sva-dharma or duty. Everything will right itself in due course. Make honest and sincere attempt to regain
and retain your brahmaniam in the firm faith that God is ever with you to help you."

(Source: Dialogues with The Guru compiled by R.Krishnaswami Iyer

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[yesmohan]

Excellent explanation for happiness by the one of the great saints..... His Holiness Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal of Sringeri Sharada Peetam.

 

[yesmohan]

The Means of Happiness:

His Holiness Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal of Sringeri Sharada Peetam has discussed the subject of "The Means of Happiness" in the book "Dialogues with The Guru". I give below the excerpts of the same taken from the book.

"Happiness is a State of mind and cannot be gauged by the quality or quantity of external possessions. A person may be the lord of all the three worlds and yet be unhappy another may be the poorest of beggars and yet be the happiest man in the world.".................................................

............................. Never let go your birthright or svabhava of contentment and never give the go-by to your sva-dharma or duty. Everything will right itself in due course. Make honest and sincere attempt to regain
and retain your brahmaniam in the firm faith that God is ever with you to help you."

(Source: Dialogues with The Guru compiled by R.Krishnaswami Iyer

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

What I understand with all my little knowledge and humbleness(some with all their better insight might infer something different) from the explanation and teachings of His Holiness is :

"Happiness is a State of mind "

Happiness remains for a shorter duration in the greedy persons; most of the people come under this category.

Happiness remains for a prolonged duration in the self content persons; only a few come under this category.

Happiness remains till the “end” in a person who has detachment of all attachments; only rarest of rare come under this category.

 

[renuka]

The Means of Happiness:

His Holiness Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal of Sringeri Sharada Peetam has discussed the subject of "The Means of Happiness" in the book "Dialogues with The Guru". I give below the excerpts of the same taken from the book.

"Happiness is a State of mind and cannot be gauged by the quality or quantity of external possessions. A person may be the lord of all the three worlds and yet be unhappy another may be the poorest of beggars and yet be the happiest man in the world."


His Holiness concludes the dialogue on the subject with these wonderful words:

"Suppose you have about twenty articles in your room every one of which is likely to distract you by its very sight. Which is the more practical method, to prepare cases for enveloping every one of them or to shut your eyes?
Similarly, it is impossible for you to regulate, modify, annihilate or create at your pleasure the infinite things of
the universe which are likely to disturb you. But you can so regulate your own mind that it may gradually cease to be disturbed by them. This is quite within your competence. Your forefathers were happy, not because they had more objects of pleasure or less causes of trouble, but because they were able to retain their mental equilibrium, which gave them rest, peace and contentment and, therefore, happiness. They did not depend upon outside things to make them happy, nor did they concede to outside things the capacity to make them unhappy. Their feeling of rest and peace, contentment and happiness, was normal, natural and healthy and, therefore, lasting. You must also cultivate that feeling if you want to be happy. Such a feeling is born and ingrained in the Brahmana especially, and if he neglects it and seeks happiness in the outside world, he is seriously impairing his chances of getting it again in the next birth, for God will be quite justified in withholding a gift which the donee does not appreciate at its proper value when he has it with him. Never let go your birthright or svabhava of contentment and never give the go-by to your sva-dharma or duty. Everything will right itself in due course. Make honest and sincere attempt to regain
and retain your brahmaniam in the firm faith that God is ever with you to help you."

(Source: Dialogues with The Guru compiled by R.Krishnaswami Iyer

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

Dear Brahmanyan Ji,

Thank you for this lovely message but at the same time I feel it stressed upon contentment as of the main ingredient to peace and happiness.

No doubt its true but yet again contentment is one of the shades of pleasure.

I would not be too wrong to say that contentment is a personal preference.

A human needs some amount of basic "material" and relationships to feel contentment that leads to an equilibrium in his/her mind.

This equilibrium also needs sense acknowledgement and its subject to change and the usual time,place and person.

The degree and type of contentment differs from each person..a King and a Priest will have different levels and degrees of contentment..so again contentment is subjective.

Something that is subjective can not be the goal in existence.

When I say that I feel contentment is a personal preference its becos each one of us can handle any given situation differently and that too to a certain extent.

I will give a simple personal example..a few years ago there was a H1N1 outbreak here and all clinics were busy like hell cos patients were panicking for any symptom thinking it was H1N1.

The patient load was too much to handle that I started closing early to escape from the maddening crowd.

My friends thought I was foolish cos they felt it was the best opportunity to gain more income but for me I valued seeing a patient without rushing and valued going home on time cos I do value my personal time and all these would be thrown in an imbalance if I sat down and managed the extra load of patients.

So I shut earlier cos as it is patients were too many to handle..did money matter here? Nope..it didnt cos I had my personal preference and was only able to manage to a certain extent..now some did think that I was a contented person who did not want to make extra money in an outbreak of H1N1 but I would still feel its not contentment but purely my preference.

Its a personal preference that makes us have a ceiling on desires and that too differs from person to person and the ability of a person to handle any situation.

Handling too much money or too little money can be a difficult task for some..so they seem contented with what they have becos that is all their mental make up can handle and their personal preference plays a major role here.

Now even a preference needs a sensory pathway acknowledgment....one feels a sense of pleasure that reinforces the feeling of contentment.

A preference needs an input..at least an optimal level..when it falls below the baseline..there you go..one loses the peace of mind.

So what is that state that does not need sensory pathways acknowledgment?

We always feel that an equilibrium has to be the median of polar opposites? But is it?

After all even a median is still in the axis of polarity.

Could it be that true happiness is a state that is beyond polarity,median and all? A state that needs no sensory pathway acknowledgment? If so how does that "feel"? Do we only "know" without "feeling?"

It just seems that we humans spend our lives mistaking pleasure/contentment as happiness.

Fifty shades of pleasure yet we are grey about Happiness.

 

[sravna]

Dear Renuka,

Happiness happens when the need for pleasure is transcended. You need to understand how transcending happens. Something can keep rising. You see that numbers can rise forever, that is, there is the concept of infinity. In reality I don't think the concept of infinity ever works. Instead, the principle of limiting and transcending happens. When something is transcended it is never ever experienced again. For example light travels the fastest. That is, there is a limitation to the speed of travel. But that is only a physical limitation. Thoughts are instantaneously everywhere when formed. That is how after the physical limitation of speed, transcending happens.

In general instead of something rising forever, nature provides this phenomenon of limiting and transcending which is going a level higher in reality So pleasure can be transcended and once that happens, true happiness happens.

 

[renuka]

So pleasure can be transcended and once that happens, true happiness happens.

I fully agree...that is why I feel we humans have not yet experienced "happiness" in the true sense.

We wrongly equate pleasure with happiness.

As I mentioned earlier even contentment is a mode of pleasure...even the purest of inner contentment has pleasure as its substratum.

It's a big blow to human existence itself that we are yet to even know happiness.

So much we feel we know but yet we are yet to know happiness.

 

[கால பைரவன்]

I fully agree...that is why I feel we humans have not yet experienced "happiness" in the true sense.

We wrongly equate pleasure with happiness.

As I mentioned earlier even contentment is a mode of pleasure...even the purest of inner contentment has pleasure as its substratum.

It's a big blow to human existence itself that we are yet to even know happiness.

So much we feel we know but yet we are yet to know happiness.

Humans must have known and also experienced happiness. Otherwise they could not be discussing "happiness".

 

[Brahmanyan]

Do we really know "happiness"

Dear Brahmanyan Ji,

Thank you for this lovely message but at the same time I feel it stressed upon contentment as of the main ingredient to peace and happiness.
No doubt its true but yet again contentment is one of the shades of pleasure.
I would not be too wrong to say that contentment is a personal preference.
A human needs some amount of basic "material" and relationships to feel contentment that leads to an equilibrium in his/her mind.
This equilibrium also needs sense acknowledgement and its subject to change and the usual time,place and person.
The degree and type of contentment differs from each person..a King and a Priest will have different levels and degrees of contentment..so again contentment is subjective.
Something that is subjective can not be the goal in existence.
When I say that I feel contentment is a personal preference its becos each one of us can handle any given situation differently and that too to a certain extent.
I will give a simple personal example..a few years ago there was a H1N1 outbreak here and all clinics were busy like hell cos patients were panicking for any symptom thinking it was H1N1.
The patient load was too much to handle that I started closing early to escape from the maddening crowd.
My friends thought I was foolish cos they felt it was the best opportunity to gain more income but for me I valued seeing a patient without rushing and valued going home on time cos I do value my personal time and all these would be thrown in an imbalance if I sat down and managed the extra load of patients.
So I shut earlier cos as it is patients were too many to handle..did money matter here? Nope..it didnt cos I had my personal preference and was only able to manage to a certain extent..now some did think that I was a contented person who did not want to make extra money in an outbreak of H1N1 but I would still feel its not contentment but purely my preference.
Its a personal preference that makes us have a ceiling on desires and that too differs from person to person and the ability of a person to handle any situation.
Handling too much money or too little money can be a difficult task for some..so they seem contented with what they have becos that is all their mental make up can handle and their personal preference plays a major role here.
Now even a preference needs a sensory pathway acknowledgment....one feels a sense of pleasure that reinforces the feeling of contentment.
A preference needs an input..at least an optimal level..when it falls below the baseline..there you go..one loses the peace of mind.
So what is that state that does not need sensory pathways acknowledgment?
We always feel that an equilibrium has to be the median of polar opposites? But is it?
After all even a median is still in the axis of polarity.
Could it be that true happiness is a state that is beyond polarity,median and all? A state that needs no sensory pathway acknowledgment? If so how does that "feel"? Do we only "know" without "feeling?"
It just seems that we humans spend our lives mistaking pleasure/contentment as happiness.
Fifty shades of pleasure yet we are grey about Happiness.

Doctor,

I feel happy to read your detailed comment on the advise of Acharya on "The means of Happiness". I am with you when you say 'contentment is subjective'. How ever it is a basic requirement for true happiness. Many ancient to Modern thinkers have dealt on this subject of contentment. Plato declared "“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” Socrates spoke on this subject and said “Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”

Acharya's dialogues on various subjects is a wonderful exposition of his thoughts which I wish you should read when you find time. The whole book is available in the following website
http://www.vedanta.gr/wp-content/up...rati_Dialogues-with-The-Guru_RK-Iyer_ENA5.pdf

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[sravna]

Humans must have known and also experienced happiness. Otherwise they could not be discussing "happiness".

You are right Shri KB. Unless people have experienced true happiness and shared the experiences , we would never know. Most of what I write are also based on my experiences.

 

[sundjai]

The secret of happiness is not doing what one likes to do but in liking what one has to do.
The mind is the reason for such a feeling. Happiness can be attained only if the mind is turned towards God.
If the mind is turned towards the world, then life would become painful.

Most of us often say 'I want peace and happiness'.
If one removes 'I' (ie, ego) and 'want' (ie, desires), he gets peace and happiness!

 

[Dr.Dinesh]

hi everyone
have a doubt...happiness appadinu sollura word eh!!! who created..idhudhaan happiness nu sollradhukku any proof...we have taught what is what?..if this word had never appeared at all na...???..namma understand panna feel and words thappakooda irukkalaam la???

parden me if i am wrong...

 

[Raji Ram]

............happiness appadinu sollura word eh!!! who created..idhudhaan happiness nu sollradhukku any proof....

Dear doc,

Happiness is a word, yeah! Some ancestor has created it just as many other words in circulation and in the dictionary!

When you are satisfied with something, which makes your heart lighter and make you laugh / dance, that feeling is happiness.
Some shed tears when they are extremely happy about some achievement; (e.g) the tears of joy of the award winners. :first:

And.... happiness is within oneself; a person who has got every comfort in life can be unhappy because of some health / mental

agony or when he / she is crazy about getting more and more of what he / she already has, whereas a person living in the streets

might feel happy with the simple food he/ she gets on each day! It depends on the mindset. That is it!

Google search gives these as synonyms:

[TABLE="class: vk_tbl vk_gy"]
[TR]
[TD="class: lr_dct_nyms_ttl"]synonyms:[/TD]
[TD]contentment, pleasure, contentedness, satisfaction, cheerfulness,cheeriness, merriment,

merriness, gaiety, joy, joyfulness, joyousness,joviality, jollity, jolliness, glee, blitheness,

carefreeness, gladness, delight,good spirits, high spirits, light-heartedness, good cheer, well-

being,enjoyment, felicity; exuberance, exhilaration, elation, ecstasy, delirium,jubilation, rapture,

bliss, blissfulness, euphoria, beatitude, transports of delight; heaven, paradise, seventh heaven,

cloud nine; humorousdelectation; rarejouissance

"her eyes shone with happiness"[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[yesmohan]

Happiness is a comparative term. A thing / incidence, which give happiness to one could not necessarily give the same

amount of happiness to the other.

Some times the same thing would afford a diametrically different status of mind to some others.

Synonyms are all only illustrative but not exhaustive.

 

[Raji Ram]

.... A thing / incidence, which give happiness to one could not necessarily give the same amount of happiness to the other. ..........

Hence it is said, ''Happiness is within oneself!"

Nectar to one may be poison to the other; not only in food, imho!!

 

[yesmohan]

Hence it is said, ''Happiness is within oneself!"

Nectar to one may be poison to the other; not only in food, imho!!

Yes. The kingdom of real happiness is within you.

 

[Raji Ram]

Oh! Someone disagrees that happiness is within oneself!

Perceptions differ and that makes the world interesting to live in!