A Journey Towards Greater Happiness

About the Book

Happiness, like health, is our natural state of being. Health is not a burden for us unlike its opposite—disease. Since we are most comfortable in our natural state we seek happiness which is not a burden. To be happy, what is needed is to eliminate unhappiness which is an intruder. It is similar to getting rid of a disease and health automatically makes its appearance. Unhappiness is an intruder and it intrudes as a penalty we have to pay for transgressing the law of creation. The law is that the creation is an integrated, interrelated organic whole just like a human body. Every cell works for the benefit of the whole body and the body does everything to protect and preserve each and every cell resulting in happy, harmonious coexistence. We transgress this law and create disharmony by feeling and acting as independent, separate, isolated entities from the rest of the creation. Thus we are violating the law because of our ignorance. Unhappiness is the penalty we pay for transgressing the law that the whole of the creation is an integrated, interrelated organic whole. The remedy: To be happy we should live in conformity with the law of creation namely, that the creation is an integrated, interrelated organic whole. To live in conformity with the law we have to bring about a cognitive change in our thinking and the resulting changed thinking should be followed by a transformation in our lives. The change requires us to become more and more inclusive by developing divine qualities like kindness, compassion, sharing etc. and shunning the opposite qualities. We are free either to conform or resist the law of creation. The choice is ours. In summary we are responsible for our happiness.

About the Author

Dr. Sreenivas, a student of the vast Hindu and Buddhist literature concerning happiness, has authored medical as well as non medical articles. He was awarded Soham Smarakam Award for the best prose contribution to Bhavan’s Journal in the year 2011. He currently lives with his family in Columbus, OH.