Happiness is an emotion experienced when in a state of well-being. The state of well-being is characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happiness is simply the state of being happy. It may be caused by good fortune, luck or various other pleasures that range from person to person. Happiness is a result of something that is outside of you, and gained by observing or doing that particular thing. Social networks and human relationships are the most important correlation with happiness. Happiness spreads through relationships like friends, siblings, partners, neighbours etc.There is no doubt that the motivation of every human being is to be happy always. Conflicts, however, arise between individuals/groups because of the basic and irreconcilable differences in their ideas of what constitutes happiness. To borrow the words of a former political bigwig of South India, the creatures known as men can be broadly classified into five different categories –
[a] some who are always smiling and cheerful either because they are mad or privy to the esoteric secrets of life;
[b] the ones who are content with two meals per day, a place of shelter from rain and shine and a modicum of creature comforts.
[c] the ones who are happy to see others around them free from wants;
[d] the ones who take sadistic delight in making as many people as possible unhappy; and
[e] the ones who are out to grab everything for themselves regardless of the privations an sufferings caused to others. He left women out of his survey. I have been singularly fortunate in finding in most of the women I have come across very adorable products of God’s craft, minor exceptions only proving the rule. Perhaps he had a similar view of them. I happened, however, some time ago to ask, at random, of some womenfolk what their idea of happiness was. By an extraordinary coincidence their answer was ‘I should be in a position to afford and enjoy things to excite envy in others around me’. This jolted me a bit. I was also disagreeably surprised to find many parents displaying an ossified attitude in the matter of the performance of their children at school or college. They expect their children to be at the top of any competition or test of merit. Not all of the youngsters have the equipment to raise themselves to the standards set for them. In the result, many youngsters become neurasthenics. It is very necessary at this juncture to reflect on the wisdom of our ancients when they assert that Love and nothing but love keeps the world going. As they point out, hatred is only an inverted form of love in which one tends to care exclusively for oneself and the narrow group with which one identifies oneself.
- Happiness is the ultimate end and purpose of human existence
- Happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue. It is the exercise of virtue.
- Happiness cannot be achieved until the end of one’s life. Hence it is a goal and not a temporary state.
- Happiness is the perfection of human nature. Since man is a rational animal, human happiness depends on the exercise of his reason.
- Happiness depends on acquiring a moral character, where one displays the virtues of courage, generosity, justice, friendship, and citizenship in one’s life. These virtues involve striking a balance or “mean” between an excess and a deficiency.
- Happiness requires intellectual contemplation, for this is the ultimate realization of our rational capacities.
No comments:
Post a Comment