I’d like to share something I’ve read recently. It’s from the Indian spiritual teacher Swami Satchidananda. It has some intriguing points on happiness. Here it is:
If You Want to Be Happy : Why are you unhappy? If you are sincere in asking that question, an honest answer will come: Your actions have been selfish. You wanted to possess something for your own sake, for a selfish reason. That is the reason why a selfish person can never, ever be happy. All the scriptures of the world say this in one voice: ‘Be dedicated, be selfless.’ Either you become selfless for the sake of your peace or for the sake of God. If you want to use the term God, then you say, ‘Give everything unto God.’ Offer your very life to God. Once you dedicate, sacrifice or renounce everything in the name of God, you will never be unhappy. If you don’t believe in God, then at least you believe in your own happiness. So, if you want to be happy, do not be selfish. -Swami Satchidananda.
We often think of happiness as something that’s directly related to us. Our dreams, our goals, our loved ones, etc. The focus is usually on people or things immediately around us. I think this is perfectly normal and natural. But this approach doesn’t always work and we will get stuck at some point. Ironically, when we look beyond ourselves and focus on serving others, happiness will show up. This is slightly counterintuitive but it also makes sense. We reap what we sow.