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Thread: Define Happiness Philosophically?

  1. #11
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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~
    namasté
    I have read many ( good) views above. For me, Happiness is the quality and not its application. Simular to an ocean (happiness) and a wave ( happy). Being happy comes from that ocean happiness. I would not say I am happiness, but would use the words 'I am happy'. Just as I would not say, I am sadness, but that 'I am sad'.

    So, where is that ocean ? We get a hint by the modern day definition of happiness: the condition of well-being.
    • well = wave
    • being = the ocean
    Before you can experience this 'well' , one must first 'be'. It strongly suggests that Being is the ocean of happiness that 'wells-up' into the experience called happy.

    Hence, many people look for the triggers that will allow this 'being' to well-up into the experience of happy. that new car, bike, house, wife, visit, game, etc. made me happy' - but then that feeling erodes and one looks for another happy trigger.
    If one cracks the code on this and comes to know that residing in the home of where happy comes from ( Being) , then they reside within happiness. Then no one thing will be the source of happy, as one resides in the ocean of it.

    This is called Self-facing. It is drawing back (pratyāharā) to one's own Being, the ocean. One experiences nirākāṅkṣa - expecting or wishing nothing , wanting nothing to fill up; complete within their own Self.

    So this happiness for me is contentment in and of the SELF.

    iti śivaṁ
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #12
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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Namaste Yajvan ji

    Although it is not an attempt to compare various offerings, your views made sense to me. It is the conditioning of the mind that make us yearn for something to feel happy while happiness is within us.
    In fact the availability or non availability of a thing(s) should not make us feel happy or unhappy. I think one can reach to that state through conscious practise to detach emotions from the availability or non availability of a thing(s)
    There is a trap here, materialistic world that we live will force us to be mocked both from within and outside as we decide to live that's different from the way others live.

    So back to the point where it all began, does it make sense to wish someone happiness. It makes me feel odd to say someone "Wish you a happy xxx". Literally I can't make anyone feel unless the other person decides to feel happy.

    Thank you...
    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    hariḥ o�
    ~~~~~~
    namasté
    I have read many ( good) views above. For me, Happiness is the quality and not its application. Simular to an ocean (happiness) and a wave ( happy). Being happy comes from that ocean happiness. I would not say I am happiness, but would use the words 'I am happy'. Just as I would not say, I am sadness, but that 'I am sad'.

    So, where is that ocean ? We get a hint by the modern day definition of happiness: the condition of well-being.
    • well = wave
    • being = the ocean
    Before you can experience this 'well' , one must first 'be'. It strongly suggests that Being is the ocean of happiness that 'wells-up' into the experience called happy.

    Hence, many people look for the triggers that will allow this 'being' to well-up into the experience of happy. that new car, bike, house, wife, visit, game, etc. made me happy' - but then that feeling erodes and one looks for another happy trigger.
    If one cracks the code on this and comes to know that residing in the home of where happy comes from ( Being) , then they reside within happiness. Then no one thing will be the source of happy, as one resides in the ocean of it.

    This is called Self-facing. It is drawing back (praty�har�) to one's own Being, the ocean. One experiences nir�k�ṅkṣa - expecting or wishing nothing , wanting nothing to fill up; complete within their own Self.

    So this happiness for me is contentment in and of the SELF.

    iti śiva�
    Anirudh...

  3. #13
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    Smile Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Namaste Anirudh and other posters,

    If I may offer my personal opinion, I think happiness can be defined as the feeling one gets when one overcomes a challenge of some sort. Sure, happiness might be experienced from one's status quo, but that's more along the lines of contentment. True happiness comes from shaking up one's status quo into a better state.

    I remember reading an article about happiness in TIME magazine where it was said that people who recently got out of a difficult time in their lives were happier than people who were "happy" before the study. What I'm trying to say here is that happiness isn't necessarily absence of negativity - it's what happens when you overcome negativity. As the old saying goes, there's no pleasure without pain.

    Unhappiness is a necessary part of life - without it, no one would know what happiness is.

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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Namaste Webimpulse ji

    I agree with you that achievement/success brings happiness along with it as our intellect/mind feel happy about that achievement. But that state is not permanent because it s not going to last long. And slowly we are addicted to the achievement to feel happy. You know that mindset will lead us to be ever hungry.

    Now will get a question, if we aren't hungry for success we ll remain stagnant. Life is all about walking along with the flow of time. How can we keep our pace with the time and also be trained to live happy irrespective of the challenges and its results?

    And that question is well answered if Happiness is removed from Success.

    I can only think of OOAD (Object Oriented Analysis Design). Keep Happiness and Success as separate entities. Create a weak relationship between both such that they can live independently in the same space.

    Now visualize the whole space. It wont be cluttered ie free from strong forces pulling you all over the space.

    Think you....

    Quote Originally Posted by Webimpulse View Post
    Namaste Anirudh and other posters,

    If I may offer my personal opinion, I think happiness can be defined as the feeling one gets when one overcomes a challenge of some sort. Sure, happiness might be experienced from one's status quo, but that's more along the lines of contentment. True happiness comes from shaking up one's status quo into a better state.

    I remember reading an article about happiness in TIME magazine where it was said that people who recently got out of a difficult time in their lives were happier than people who were "happy" before the study. What I'm trying to say here is that happiness isn't necessarily absence of negativity - it's what happens when you overcome negativity. As the old saying goes, there's no pleasure without pain.

    Unhappiness is a necessary part of life - without it, no one would know what happiness is.
    Anirudh...

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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Simple words....
    A state of being when all you think and do results In auspiciousness only and yet every needs are met with abundance rather than elimination of needs itself so that's needs are not a worrisome factor.

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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Quote Originally Posted by grames View Post
    Simple words....
    A state of being when all you think and do results In auspiciousness only and yet every needs are met with abundance rather than elimination of needs itself so that's needs are not a worrisome factor.
    Is that like a rich man building temples, Grames ji?
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

  7. #17

    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Pranams,

    Happiness can fall into relative forms due to the modes of nature. Even a person who is tamas will enjoy and think they are happy. There is the story of the camel who eats thorns which cuts his tongue and thinks that the thorns are full of juice, when in fact it is only his own mouth bleeding. This is happiness in the mode of tamas.

    According to Bhagavd Gita within tri guna the best type of happiness is found with the quality of sattva, while both tamas and rajas may bring some type of happiness what follows will bring distress, so Sri Krsna advices sattvic living for the benefit of real happiness, if that sattva is cultivated in the right way it will bring us to suddha sattva and from there we will arrive home.

    As the previous post have displayed happiness can be defined in so many ways. I read this just recently so I thought I would post and offer what I have read.

    May all beings find true happiness. Sat Cit Ananda

    Ys

    Md

    http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-18-35.html

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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    In one way it is but not just materially rich. ��

  9. #19

    Smile Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    Hindu Philosophy or Darshan says... life is not starting or ending up with the body, but that is a page only. The page is to do work by taking decisions or in simple words, by karmas. Karma ends up with karmafal or result or fruits of work. This fruits are to be eaten or the karmafal is to be accepted gladly, as that provides the experience. This experience sums up to evaluate the illusion or Maya, and once this illusion is properly evaluated, the inside soul is seen. Then one discovers that he or she is the supersoul alone. The happiness or sorrow is thus the fruits of works only, accepting which is going to open the eternal door of happiness and joy. So Hindu darshan says, its worthless to make sorrow as joy is the destiny.
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  10. #20
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    Re: Define Happiness Philosophically?

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~
    namasté

    Quote Originally Posted by Anirudh View Post
    So back to the point where it all began, does it make sense to wish someone happiness. It makes me feel odd to say someone "Wish you a happy xxx". Literally I can't make anyone feel unless the other person decides to feel happy.
    Thank you...
    I always found it trite (lacking originality or freshness) to say happy birthday, or happy new year or happy bar mitzvah (coming of age within the Hebrew world). I say trite because when I say it , I find no feeling in me of upliftment, and therefore what is then passed on to the other person but empty words. Even when some one says happy _______(fill in the blank) to me, I feel little to nothing, mostly nothing, coming from those words.
    The funniest one I hear in the West is 'happy Halloween'. I for the life of me can't image what worth is in those words.

    What would I like to say? May you find that ocean of happiness inside of you without delay.

    iti śivaṁ
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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