And he answered, saying:
Happiness is an essence, permeates you when you are aware. Its your own essence which you have garbed in the false garments of distant possession...
Kamilah Gibran - Drawn by Khalil Gibran
Happniess
Then a layman, who had
sat distant conscious of his tattered clothes, came forth and said, "Speak
to us of Happines."
And he answered, saying:
Happiness is an essence, permeates you when you are aware. Its your own
essence which you have garbed in the false garments of distant possession.
Share it with others and the more of it you own.
It is not in what belongs to you but in knowing that you completely belong. Yet
many a spectra will come to you, telling it is far and distant, that which you
already own.
As the pall of gloom may spread, so can smiles and swiftly will it
carry happiness. For never are you so poor to not give one to another
a smile and be richer by your giving.
Happiness is the fortune of the child, and see how freely he gives away his
largess, yet the more of it he seems to own. The fortune was ever with you, yet
in blindness cover have you deemed it lost.
It is comes not from what you can someday have, but in knowing you have it can
more of it come.
It resides not in thoughts but in thoughts release, for happiness is off
awareness and not off minds produce. Yet happiness in mind resides, so
beware whom you let be the master of your mind. For fear easily straddles its
saddle, yet when your mind is set to task by your heart's purpose, truly will
you happiness find.
When you have it not, know you are blind; fighting some truth, for the lack of
happiness is a trick of the eye. Yet the fight too is important as one fights
with the fruitss kernel. The fruit needs to be stripped to reach its seed.
Happiness resides not in pleasures sought outside, but in knowledge found
within self.
In frantic effort will it get masked, pause to feel and it will be revealed,
though many a prey will you chase hoping to reach what was never away from you.
The more of your yesterdays you forsake and the less of your future you try and
grope, the greater of happiness will you find. For much of your effort have you
spent on these ghosts, yet happiness resides in the reality of this moment, in
now.
Happiness is in lifes living, for too long have you been dead.*
Make effort not in seeking happiness, but be happy in what you make effort.
Desire always with all your heart, yet beware lest your desire turns to crave.
For desire, like the mirage distant, always enamors and removes your eyes from
the path. Desire like the water, is meant to be felt and released. Like the
cycle of rains, in some cloud in fresh drops will it, realised return. Yet keep it
clasped besides you, like stagnant water will turn rancid.
Yet in no desire is happiness contained for it's truly in the loss of desires
that happiness exist.
For while happiness is what your maker has made your natural state to be, in
desires he allows you, like him, to be a creator of crops.
Happiness comes not in getting, but in giving, for then you know that it's not
through others' you beget but you have with you the silo of the universes
produce.
Yet beware when you let your happiness unnoticed go, for happiness is meant to
be felt not reasoned. Only in distance does happiness show its magnitude, and
you then realize your loss. For not that happiness has moved away from you,
just that you know not how many more swathes of blindness on yourself have you
wrapped.**
People of Orpheles, shed your
blindness, for your happiness like the lashes of your eyes, unseen was never
away from you.
- Abhi
* Old Scottish
proverb
** "Happiness always looks small
while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big
and precious it is." -Maxim Gorky
What is happiness?
It was a post on happiness by Rudra which made me rummage my archives. I had once come across a quote by Maxim Gorky, on happiness which made me wonder.
Of course whenever I need to have deeper things in life explained to me I visit
Khalil Gibran's works. Especially his The Prophet. But lo
behold, even the prophet had not talked about Happiness! So what was I to do? Gave it some thought and
tried to see if I could locate the Prophet's muse and strike a
chord similar. I dived within and let the voice tell me all it knew about
happiness. As also go through thoughts of others, far wiser than me, who had
dwelt on happiness. The produce is before you to see. Feel free to comment on
it as also add in your own definition of happiness.
Abhi
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Only today, guided by Ravi, I read the Vedantic description of Brahman in Aravind Sharma's words.
Brahman exists, is conscious and is blissful; and everywhere Atman manifests, Atman is the same as Brahman. Some Vedantis would qualify it and give it all attributes of Brahman and additionally a Seshabhava, a bhagavata bhava before Brahman as Bhagavan.
Eitherway, Atman exists and is conscious and blissful. Atleast when it realises Brahman. Where is the absence of happiness? We will take Abhi's words that we have happiness just as we have our eyelashes which our eyes may not see except in reflection, in reflection with the help of a sadguru.
Regards. Partha.