Yet another equation. Yet another solution to (y) our problem .
How Can we be happy?
Swamy Sarvapriyananda explains the answer in this video
Dont' dismiss this monk as explained in my previous post he is from Ramakrishna Mission and these lectures were in IIT kanpur.
Both institutes I respect and wish I was part of.
Bill Gates acquired billions and is now giving it away along with Warren Buffet then why gain all this wealth when at the end you want to give it away. Why ? (Ans - For Bill to be happy he needs all these - Dharma Artha Kama Moksha)
H = P + E + M
Martin Seligman found and so did the Indian Philosophy. It is just that Martin was 5000 years late - H = P + E + M
Happiness = Pleasure+ Engagement + Meaning
Happiness = Kama+ Artha + Dharma
what is missing is Moksha.. we will talk about this in this post
He quotes Martin Seligman whose book I own - Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life.
These are very few books I own and this is one.
Here is the core concept from his book.
A B C D E
Yes
That is all it is to life!
A stands for adversity
B beliefs
C consequences of the belief
D disputation
E Energize
Every time an incident happens you can use this model.
Let's say you were asked to talk in a public forum and you could't deliver the speech or presentation or your thought effectively .
and you are sad when you hear these words!(this is important - if you are not sad you can were not good at public speaking then you can this model and read rest of the post. The topic is not worth analyzing and understanding the inner working of complex human mind - when you 'know' don't care!)
Adversity - your speech or presentation or thought sharing in public was a disaster
Belief - You are bad at public speaking and friends,family, colleges will make fun of you
Consequence - You feel sad
Dispute - Argue with yourself why you should think this way. May be you had a bad day or may be it was a bad topic. May be you need to memorize some key phrases - no big deal and like my friend used to say and the
When disputing you can use
Now that you know about Learned optimism let's turn our attention to How to be happy!
Isn't that what we all want?
Nope
Dharma Artha Kama Moksha
While in Houston some one asked me during the time I was deeply religious what is the meaning of Rajadhi... (The whole thing is below).
Before we embark on what will make us happy we need to understand what is desire!
Let us pray and get all our desire satisfied like mentioned below
(From http://stotraratna.sathyasaibababrotherhood.org/ve8.htm )
Rajadhi rajaya Prasahya Sahine|
Namo Vayam Vai Sravanaya Kurmahe
Samekaman Kama Kamaya mahyam
Kamesvaro Vai Sravano dadatu
Kuberaya Vai Sravanaya
Maha rajaya Namah.
King of kings , we praise thee,
Who is the giver of all victories,
Who is the fulfiller of all desires,
Please bless me with wealth,
To fulfill all our desires,
Oh, Kubhera*, we praise thee,
Salutations to the king of kings.
Now what do we get?
Lot of happiness - not JOY.
We have all been happy.
Desire is the root of happiness and we can be happy using our senses.
5 senses - Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch
5 Organs - Eyes, Ear, Nose,Mouth and Skin
The world is experienced with the sense organs and with sensual pleasures.
See movies ,games and all things that give pleasure.
Eat food - tongue and tummy(which eventually bloats!) happy,
Smell good smell ,
Hear your favorite music artist and all pleasant sounds,
Touch all things that give pleasure
Is anything wrong with that? - Yes. It is not permanent.
We like movie. We watch 1 movie . 5 movies and 10 movies one after another - we cannot enjoy.
We like chocolates - how about 100 chocolates?
How about chocolates and movie when you are sick and nauseated ?
There is a limit to what we can enjoy using our senses.
Kama = Desire is not a good destination
What about Artha ?
Artha means meaning. Some people want to do a meaningful work. They derive meaning out of the work. Material wealth, Good education and anything that makes us think that what we are doing has a meaning.
Think about your company's vision and mission. Think about your mom - she might have worked hard to raise you and that is her Artha - meaning. To raise a good child like you (atleast to your mom and mostly only to your mom you are good! - check with your spouse to know all the faults you have!)
Artha = meaning is not a good destination to seek
What about Dharma ?
Dharma is what MLK Jr,Gandhi,Mandela and Mother Theresa perused. A cause more bigger and better than yourself and your life. Think about all the leaders who served humanity.
Dharma comes first. Dharma can also be translated as duty or a purpose. Once you have identified a purpose and then you attach a Artha and Kama (Meaning and Desire) then you atleast have achieved a destination for a noble cause.
Dharma = Duty or Purpose is not a good destination to seek
Why? - Ponder over it! You will realize .(I have tried and haven't)
What about Moksha - The finale - self realization and liberation.
The whole goal of life is to be free.
Free from everything.
Death is seen as a path to Moksha.
Hindu philosophy takes an approach where a dead person's soul = Atma quits the body when the body is seen as 'unfit' or 'too old'
Atma rejects the body when the body is not of use.
Think about it.
In an accident someone dies.
This would mean the soul decided that this body is so useless and crushed that the soul would rather quit but not stay.
Another example - when an old person has a very useless body the body is seen as an useless vehicle that the old person's soul decides to quit.
Did you understand?
Am sure you did!!!!
Once death enters everything exists!
Once you exist everything still exists!
Life as it is seen and Death as it is seen are 2 dimensions or 2 chapters for the soul.
The Soul needs Moksha - liberation.
Are you happy?
Keep searching for happiness (and if you find it write a blog post )
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran
How Can we be happy?
Swamy Sarvapriyananda explains the answer in this video
Dont' dismiss this monk as explained in my previous post he is from Ramakrishna Mission and these lectures were in IIT kanpur.
Both institutes I respect and wish I was part of.
Bill Gates acquired billions and is now giving it away along with Warren Buffet then why gain all this wealth when at the end you want to give it away. Why ? (Ans - For Bill to be happy he needs all these - Dharma Artha Kama Moksha)
H = P + E + M
Martin Seligman found and so did the Indian Philosophy. It is just that Martin was 5000 years late - H = P + E + M
Happiness = Pleasure+ Engagement + Meaning
Happiness = Kama+ Artha + Dharma
what is missing is Moksha.. we will talk about this in this post
He quotes Martin Seligman whose book I own - Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life.
These are very few books I own and this is one.
Here is the core concept from his book.
A B C D E
Yes
That is all it is to life!
A stands for adversity
B beliefs
C consequences of the belief
D disputation
E Energize
Every time an incident happens you can use this model.
Let's say you were asked to talk in a public forum and you could't deliver the speech or presentation or your thought effectively .
and you are sad when you hear these words!(this is important - if you are not sad you can were not good at public speaking then you can this model and read rest of the post. The topic is not worth analyzing and understanding the inner working of complex human mind - when you 'know' don't care!)
Adversity - your speech or presentation or thought sharing in public was a disaster
Belief - You are bad at public speaking and friends,family, colleges will make fun of you
Consequence - You feel sad
Dispute - Argue with yourself why you should think this way. May be you had a bad day or may be it was a bad topic. May be you need to memorize some key phrases - no big deal and like my friend used to say and the
When disputing you can use
Evidence - What is the evidence? Alternatives - What are the alternatives?Implications - Will this have any implications in other part of life or even in this specific topic . As mentioned in the book 10-10-1010-10-10 covers ask - will this matter in 10 minutes, 10 months and what about 10 years. Will this matter to you in all of these time frames? Usefulness- How useful is this?
Energize - Hopefully this will energize you.
Now that you know about Learned optimism let's turn our attention to How to be happy!
Isn't that what we all want?
Nope
Dharma Artha Kama Moksha
While in Houston some one asked me during the time I was deeply religious what is the meaning of Rajadhi... (The whole thing is below).
Before we embark on what will make us happy we need to understand what is desire!
Let us pray and get all our desire satisfied like mentioned below
(From http://stotraratna.sathyasaibababrotherhood.org/ve8.htm )
Rajadhi rajaya Prasahya Sahine|
Namo Vayam Vai Sravanaya Kurmahe
Samekaman Kama Kamaya mahyam
Kamesvaro Vai Sravano dadatu
Kuberaya Vai Sravanaya
Maha rajaya Namah.
King of kings , we praise thee,
Who is the giver of all victories,
Who is the fulfiller of all desires,
Please bless me with wealth,
To fulfill all our desires,
Oh, Kubhera*, we praise thee,
Salutations to the king of kings.
Now what do we get?
Lot of happiness - not JOY.
We have all been happy.
Desire is the root of happiness and we can be happy using our senses.
5 senses - Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch
5 Organs - Eyes, Ear, Nose,Mouth and Skin
The world is experienced with the sense organs and with sensual pleasures.
Eat food - tongue and tummy(which eventually bloats!) happy,
Smell good smell ,
Hear your favorite music artist and all pleasant sounds,
Touch all things that give pleasure
Is anything wrong with that? - Yes. It is not permanent.
We like movie. We watch 1 movie . 5 movies and 10 movies one after another - we cannot enjoy.
We like chocolates - how about 100 chocolates?
How about chocolates and movie when you are sick and nauseated ?
There is a limit to what we can enjoy using our senses.
Kama = Desire is not a good destination
What about Artha ?
Artha means meaning. Some people want to do a meaningful work. They derive meaning out of the work. Material wealth, Good education and anything that makes us think that what we are doing has a meaning.
Think about your company's vision and mission. Think about your mom - she might have worked hard to raise you and that is her Artha - meaning. To raise a good child like you (atleast to your mom and mostly only to your mom you are good! - check with your spouse to know all the faults you have!)
Artha = meaning is not a good destination to seek
What about Dharma ?
Dharma is what MLK Jr,Gandhi,Mandela and Mother Theresa perused. A cause more bigger and better than yourself and your life. Think about all the leaders who served humanity.
Dharma comes first. Dharma can also be translated as duty or a purpose. Once you have identified a purpose and then you attach a Artha and Kama (Meaning and Desire) then you atleast have achieved a destination for a noble cause.
Dharma = Duty or Purpose is not a good destination to seek
Why? - Ponder over it! You will realize .(I have tried and haven't)
What about Moksha - The finale - self realization and liberation.
The whole goal of life is to be free.
Free from everything.
Death is seen as a path to Moksha.
Hindu philosophy takes an approach where a dead person's soul = Atma quits the body when the body is seen as 'unfit' or 'too old'
Atma rejects the body when the body is not of use.
Think about it.
In an accident someone dies.
This would mean the soul decided that this body is so useless and crushed that the soul would rather quit but not stay.
Another example - when an old person has a very useless body the body is seen as an useless vehicle that the old person's soul decides to quit.
Did you understand?
Am sure you did!!!!
Once death enters everything exists!
Once you exist everything still exists!
Life as it is seen and Death as it is seen are 2 dimensions or 2 chapters for the soul.
The Soul needs Moksha - liberation.
Keep searching for happiness (and if you find it write a blog post )
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran
