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Tag: how to be happy?

Why so studious?

Why so studious?

Published October 24, 2020

What our education teaches us:
Science, Math, History, Geography, Civics, Literature, Accounting
How many of these do we remember?
How many of these do we use on a daily, monthly or even yearly basis?

What our education does not teach us:
Being happy; accepting failure; living peacefully; values and morals; serving others; dealing with others
How many of these do we wish those around us would practise?
How important are these on a daily, monthly, yearly basis, compared to what we are taught?

In formal education, we are taught about making a name for ourselves, achieving our goals and building wealth. These are great. But is this what education is supposed to be about? When everyone cannot be numero uno or win at everything, what does that do to the morale of those who are ‘left behind’?

A Wharton MBA session had just commenced. The professor asked all those who had ever stood first in their undergrad degrees or 12th grade exams to stand up. Over 95% of the class got onto their feet. Shocker – everyone there had been a topper! What happens then? Suddenly the slate has been wiped clean, and competition, stress and depression follow. No wonder then that a course offered by Yale University, that ‘teaches’ happiness (called The Happiness Lab) is by far the most opted-for course out of all the hundreds on offer. None of their classrooms could accommodate all the students so they had to conduct it in their orchestra theatre šŸ™‚

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Where is my happiness?

Where is my happiness?

Published August 15, 2020

Here is the Happiness Equation from Swami Chinmayananda:

Happiness = Desires Fulfilled / Desires Entertained

It’s beauty lies in its alarming simplicity.

We are conditioned from childhood to think that the more our desires are fulfilled (i.e. bigger numerator), the closer we get to happiness. Our entire life is spent in pursuit of desire fulfilment – more money, more name, more fame and more everything else.

But this equation teaches us an infinitely simpler and sustainable way of being and staying happy. By reducing the denominator, happiness will come quickly, and the endless chain of desires begetting more desires will be broken. This is not to say we must immediately give everything up and start living like hermits. However, we can train our mind to be reasonable with its requests. This will come when we objectively evaluate for ourselves the validity of our desires. Such as – do I really need a 10 bedroom house? I can only sleep in one room at a time! Likewise for a garage of 10 antique cars.

The point must not be misunderstood. There is nothing wrong with lofty ambitions. However, the human mind is a complex beast, and it will soon compare with neighbours with 12 bedrooms and 12 cars, center the aim on loftier ambitions and eventually spiral out of control. This is the reason why seemingly rich people with everything that money can buy, can still be discontented, unhappy and depressed.

The ideal way then, is to be happy with what we already have (numerator increase), and begin to reduce our new desires (i.e. the denominator), and over time, we will ooze happiness, irrespective of the outside world.

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