Unclear Journal: 7

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-three. Human beings are inherently bad by nature. Whatever goodness exists in humans is acquired by some through conscious effort. The less this effort exists in someone, the worse they are. This means that evil tendencies are innate to humans, while good qualities are achievements. Humans never do anything that brings them no material or immaterial benefit. When someone does something apparently unprofitable, they do it because the act gives them peace or satisfaction. This too is a kind of profit. The value of profit invisible to the naked eye is the highest of all. The love of profit makes humans arrogant and greedy, causing them to forget humility. Pride and greed can be either positive or negative. There exists no creative person in this world who lacks pride and greed. By creative person I mean one who can develop their innate qualities. A successful businessman is undoubtedly a creative person because he has been able to do justice to his business acumen and intelligence. Those who are not creative have no capital to be proud of. They also lack greed, for there is nothing much to be gained from themselves. Curiously, pride and even arrogance do not diminish a creative person’s creativity. Though textbooks may comfort us with the saying that “pride goes before a fall,” reality speaks differently. Even extreme pride cannot cause the downfall of an extremely capable person. Humans are born loving to envy and hate. Human inclination naturally tends toward violence and crime. In committing organized crime or wrongdoing, human enthusiasm multiplies manifold. Humans in groups are always fierce and frenzied. Given the right environment and opportunity, humans can reach the extreme limits of cruelty. In that state, human instincts become several times more terrible than animal instincts. In the animal kingdom, no creature except humans takes supreme joy in witnessing another’s destruction and downfall. This characteristic is uniquely human, distinguishing us from other animals. The human mind is shaped by what the eyes see and the ears hear. If humans judge everything by these alone, their moral decline becomes inevitable. Most truths of the world lie hidden where our eyes and ears cannot reach. The majority of humans lack the desire to view the world through intellect, intuition, and knowledge, and consequently that vision never develops within them. If humans were given unlimited opportunity to fulfill their desires, we would find that most of their desires are harmful and sinful. Since rising through sin is easier, humans choose the path of sin over virtue to protect themselves from downfall—they walk and run on that path, keeping virtue’s road at a distance. The desire to sin is such a desire that when indulged, it grows remarkably. Human freedom essentially means liberation from the slavery of those desires that incite humans to sinful acts. Only when we can make decisions freely, uninfluenced by our internal impulses, can we claim to be free. Whether good or bad, the ability to determine whether following something is right or wrong is crucial. The fundamental difference between the wise and the ignorant can be grasped by observing their manner of accepting or rejecting any matter.

Our desire to obtain something does not depend on any external or internal characteristics of that thing, but rather on how important or unimportant we consider it to be. The same thing may be important to one person and insignificant to another. Consequently, our interest or disinterest in something is what makes it precious or worthless. Rather than yearning desperately for something, it is wiser to consider how possible it is for me to obtain it, or whether it is possible at all, and to plan accordingly. But what we mostly do is this: in searching for what we want, we eventually align our desires with what is possible for us to obtain, with however much we can get. Whatever nature teaches us creates various beliefs, thoughts, and aspirations within us. We live within those confines. Humans love life most of all, and dislike death most of all. Sometimes there comes a time when a person no longer wishes to live. This is not because they no longer love their life. Rather, it is because they can no longer accept what is happening in their life, and so they do not want to drag their present days forward any longer. People wish to die because it becomes painful to drag or carry life along, not because anyone wishes to die out of hatred for life. Life is truly a wonderful thing, something deeply beloved, not something to be despised. Disgust with living creates disgust with life itself. When the mind is agitated about some matter, it refuses to listen to any reasoning; it wants to understand only what it already comprehends. Whatever our mind desires, we arrange all our reasoning to suit that desire, regardless of what the real or true reasoning might be. Therefore, all the order and disorder within the mind comes primarily from how the mind receives the events around us. In that case, our will controls our mind. Beautiful desires make a person the possessor of a beautiful mind; ugly desires make a person the possessor of an ugly mind. There are some people who, even after suffering greatly, will never do anything they consider wrong, even if it means death. Such genteel people rarely see worldly success, but they live remarkably meaningful lives according to their own principles. A meaningful life is worth far more than a successful life. Before their meaningfulness, the world’s greatest successes appear trivial. What altruism, justice, righteousness, legitimacy, and honesty mean—even the most ordinary, uneducated, poor person understands this. If someone can hold onto these things in life and feel happiness as a result, then they are fulfilled. Perhaps their basket of worldly success may be empty, but a jewel greater than success adorns their basket, and that is meaningfulness. To choose the right path in life requires no education, scholarship, or learning—only mind and conscience, which everyone possesses. Whatever path someone loves to walk in life, if they can walk it with patience, accepting all sacrifices, then until death no poverty or sorrow can touch them. They learn to adapt themselves to all of life’s hardships. Our happiness and sorrow both depend upon our willpower and our mental readiness to sustain that power.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-three. Human beings are inherently bad by nature. Whatever goodness exists in humans is acquired by some through conscious effort. The less this effort exists in someone, the worse they are. This means that evil tendencies are innate to humans, while good qualities are achievements. Humans never do anything that brings them no material or immaterial benefit. When someone does something apparently unprofitable, they do it because the act gives them peace or satisfaction. This too is a kind of profit. The value of profit invisible to the naked eye is the highest of all. The love of profit makes humans arrogant and greedy, causing them to forget humility. Pride and greed can be either positive or negative. There exists no creative person in this world who lacks pride and greed. By creative person I mean one who can develop their innate qualities. A successful businessman is undoubtedly a creative person because he has been able to do justice to his business acumen and intelligence. Those who are not creative have no capital to be proud of. They also lack greed, for there is nothing much to be gained from themselves. Curiously, pride and even arrogance do not diminish a creative person’s creativity. Though textbooks may comfort us with the saying that “pride goes before a fall,” reality speaks differently. Even extreme pride cannot cause the downfall of an extremely capable person. Humans are born loving to envy and hate. Human inclination naturally tends toward violence and crime. In committing organized crime or wrongdoing, human enthusiasm multiplies manifold. Humans in groups are always fierce and frenzied. Given the right environment and opportunity, humans can reach the extreme limits of cruelty. In that state, human instincts become several times more terrible than animal instincts. In the animal kingdom, no creature except humans takes supreme joy in witnessing another’s destruction and downfall. This characteristic is uniquely human, distinguishing us from other animals. The human mind is shaped by what the eyes see and the ears hear. If humans judge everything by these alone, their moral decline becomes inevitable. Most truths of the world lie hidden where our eyes and ears cannot reach. The majority of humans lack the desire to view the world through intellect, intuition, and knowledge, and consequently that vision never develops within them. If humans were given unlimited opportunity to fulfill their desires, we would find that most of their desires are harmful and sinful. Since rising through sin is easier, humans choose the path of sin over virtue to protect themselves from downfall—they walk and run on that path, keeping virtue’s road at a distance. The desire to sin is such a desire that when indulged, it grows remarkably. Human freedom essentially means liberation from the slavery of those desires that incite humans to sinful acts. Only when we can make decisions freely, uninfluenced by our internal impulses, can we claim to be free. Whether good or bad, the ability to determine whether following something is right or wrong is crucial. The fundamental difference between the wise and the ignorant can be grasped by observing their manner of accepting or rejecting any matter.

Our desire to obtain something does not depend on any external or internal characteristics of that thing, but rather on how important or unimportant we consider it to be. The same thing may be important to one person and insignificant to another. Consequently, our interest or disinterest in something is what makes it precious or worthless. Rather than yearning desperately for something, it is wiser to consider how possible it is for me to obtain it, or whether it is possible at all, and to plan accordingly. But what we mostly do is this: in searching for what we want, we eventually align our desires with what is possible for us to obtain, with however much we can get. Whatever nature teaches us creates various beliefs, thoughts, and aspirations within us. We live within those confines. Humans love life most of all, and dislike death most of all. Sometimes there comes a time when a person no longer wishes to live. This is not because they no longer love their life. Rather, it is because they can no longer accept what is happening in their life, and so they do not want to drag their present days forward any longer. People wish to die because it becomes painful to drag or carry life along, not because anyone wishes to die out of hatred for life. Life is truly a wonderful thing, something deeply beloved, not something to be despised. Disgust with living creates disgust with life itself. When the mind is agitated about some matter, it refuses to listen to any reasoning; it wants to understand only what it already comprehends. Whatever our mind desires, we arrange all our reasoning to suit that desire, regardless of what the real or true reasoning might be. Therefore, all the order and disorder within the mind comes primarily from how the mind receives the events around us. In that case, our will controls our mind. Beautiful desires make a person the possessor of a beautiful mind; ugly desires make a person the possessor of an ugly mind. There are some people who, even after suffering greatly, will never do anything they consider wrong, even if it means death. Such genteel people rarely see worldly success, but they live remarkably meaningful lives according to their own principles. A meaningful life is worth far more than a successful life. Before their meaningfulness, the world’s greatest successes appear trivial. What altruism, justice, righteousness, legitimacy, and honesty mean—even the most ordinary, uneducated, poor person understands this. If someone can hold onto these things in life and feel happiness as a result, then they are fulfilled. Perhaps their basket of worldly success may be empty, but a jewel greater than success adorns their basket, and that is meaningfulness. To choose the right path in life requires no education, scholarship, or learning—only mind and conscience, which everyone possesses. Whatever path someone loves to walk in life, if they can walk it with patience, accepting all sacrifices, then until death no poverty or sorrow can touch them. They learn to adapt themselves to all of life’s hardships. Our happiness and sorrow both depend upon our willpower and our mental readiness to sustain that power.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-three. Human beings are inherently bad by nature. Whatever goodness exists in humans is acquired by some through conscious effort. The less this effort exists in someone, the worse they are. This means that evil tendencies are innate to humans, while good qualities are achievements. Humans never do anything that brings them no material or immaterial benefit. When someone does something apparently unprofitable, they do it because the act gives them peace or satisfaction. This too is a kind of profit. The value of profit invisible to the naked eye is the highest of all. The love of profit makes humans arrogant and greedy, causing them to forget humility. Pride and greed can be either positive or negative. There exists no creative person in this world who lacks pride and greed. By creative person I mean one who can develop their innate qualities. A successful businessman is undoubtedly a creative person because he has been able to do justice to his business acumen and intelligence. Those who are not creative have no capital to be proud of. They also lack greed, for there is nothing much to be gained from themselves. Curiously, pride and even arrogance do not diminish a creative person’s creativity. Though textbooks may comfort us with the saying that “pride goes before a fall,” reality speaks differently. Even extreme pride cannot cause the downfall of an extremely capable person. Humans are born loving to envy and hate. Human inclination naturally tends toward violence and crime. In committing organized crime or wrongdoing, human enthusiasm multiplies manifold. Humans in groups are always fierce and frenzied. Given the right environment and opportunity, humans can reach the extreme limits of cruelty. In that state, human instincts become several times more terrible than animal instincts. In the animal kingdom, no creature except humans takes supreme joy in witnessing another’s destruction and downfall. This characteristic is uniquely human, distinguishing us from other animals. The human mind is shaped by what the eyes see and the ears hear. If humans judge everything by these alone, their moral decline becomes inevitable. Most truths of the world lie hidden where our eyes and ears cannot reach. The majority of humans lack the desire to view the world through intellect, intuition, and knowledge, and consequently that vision never develops within them. If humans were given unlimited opportunity to fulfill their desires, we would find that most of their desires are harmful and sinful. Since rising through sin is easier, humans choose the path of sin over virtue to protect themselves from downfall—they walk and run on that path, keeping virtue’s road at a distance. The desire to sin is such a desire that when indulged, it grows remarkably. Human freedom essentially means liberation from the slavery of those desires that incite humans to sinful acts. Only when we can make decisions freely, uninfluenced by our internal impulses, can we claim to be free. Whether good or bad, the ability to determine whether following something is right or wrong is crucial. The fundamental difference between the wise and the ignorant can be grasped by observing their manner of accepting or rejecting any matter.

Our desire to obtain something does not depend on any external or internal characteristics of that thing, but rather on how important or unimportant we consider it to be. The same thing may be important to one person and insignificant to another. Consequently, our interest or disinterest in something is what makes it precious or worthless. Rather than yearning desperately for something, it is wiser to consider how possible it is for me to obtain it, or whether it is possible at all, and to plan accordingly. But what we mostly do is this: in searching for what we want, we eventually align our desires with what is possible for us to obtain, with however much we can get. Whatever nature teaches us creates various beliefs, thoughts, and aspirations within us. We live within those confines. Humans love life most of all, and dislike death most of all. Sometimes there comes a time when a person no longer wishes to live. This is not because they no longer love their life. Rather, it is because they can no longer accept what is happening in their life, and so they do not want to drag their present days forward any longer. People wish to die because it becomes painful to drag or carry life along, not because anyone wishes to die out of hatred for life. Life is truly a wonderful thing, something deeply beloved, not something to be despised. Disgust with living creates disgust with life itself. When the mind is agitated about some matter, it refuses to listen to any reasoning; it wants to understand only what it already comprehends. Whatever our mind desires, we arrange all our reasoning to suit that desire, regardless of what the real or true reasoning might be. Therefore, all the order and disorder within the mind comes primarily from how the mind receives the events around us. In that case, our will controls our mind. Beautiful desires make a person the possessor of a beautiful mind; ugly desires make a person the possessor of an ugly mind. There are some people who, even after suffering greatly, will never do anything they consider wrong, even if it means death. Such genteel people rarely see worldly success, but they live remarkably meaningful lives according to their own principles. A meaningful life is worth far more than a successful life. Before their meaningfulness, the world’s greatest successes appear trivial. What altruism, justice, righteousness, legitimacy, and honesty mean—even the most ordinary, uneducated, poor person understands this. If someone can hold onto these things in life and feel happiness as a result, then they are fulfilled. Perhaps their basket of worldly success may be empty, but a jewel greater than success adorns their basket, and that is meaningfulness. To choose the right path in life requires no education, scholarship, or learning—only mind and conscience, which everyone possesses. Whatever path someone loves to walk in life, if they can walk it with patience, accepting all sacrifices, then until death no poverty or sorrow can touch them. They learn to adapt themselves to all of life’s hardships. Our happiness and sorrow both depend upon our willpower and our mental readiness to sustain that power.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.

Forty-three. Human beings are inherently bad by nature. Whatever goodness exists in humans is acquired by some through conscious effort. The less this effort exists in someone, the worse they are. This means that evil tendencies are innate to humans, while good qualities are achievements. Humans never do anything that brings them no material or immaterial benefit. When someone does something apparently unprofitable, they do it because the act gives them peace or satisfaction. This too is a kind of profit. The value of profit invisible to the naked eye is the highest of all. The love of profit makes humans arrogant and greedy, causing them to forget humility. Pride and greed can be either positive or negative. There exists no creative person in this world who lacks pride and greed. By creative person I mean one who can develop their innate qualities. A successful businessman is undoubtedly a creative person because he has been able to do justice to his business acumen and intelligence. Those who are not creative have no capital to be proud of. They also lack greed, for there is nothing much to be gained from themselves. Curiously, pride and even arrogance do not diminish a creative person’s creativity. Though textbooks may comfort us with the saying that “pride goes before a fall,” reality speaks differently. Even extreme pride cannot cause the downfall of an extremely capable person. Humans are born loving to envy and hate. Human inclination naturally tends toward violence and crime. In committing organized crime or wrongdoing, human enthusiasm multiplies manifold. Humans in groups are always fierce and frenzied. Given the right environment and opportunity, humans can reach the extreme limits of cruelty. In that state, human instincts become several times more terrible than animal instincts. In the animal kingdom, no creature except humans takes supreme joy in witnessing another’s destruction and downfall. This characteristic is uniquely human, distinguishing us from other animals. The human mind is shaped by what the eyes see and the ears hear. If humans judge everything by these alone, their moral decline becomes inevitable. Most truths of the world lie hidden where our eyes and ears cannot reach. The majority of humans lack the desire to view the world through intellect, intuition, and knowledge, and consequently that vision never develops within them. If humans were given unlimited opportunity to fulfill their desires, we would find that most of their desires are harmful and sinful. Since rising through sin is easier, humans choose the path of sin over virtue to protect themselves from downfall—they walk and run on that path, keeping virtue’s road at a distance. The desire to sin is such a desire that when indulged, it grows remarkably. Human freedom essentially means liberation from the slavery of those desires that incite humans to sinful acts. Only when we can make decisions freely, uninfluenced by our internal impulses, can we claim to be free. Whether good or bad, the ability to determine whether following something is right or wrong is crucial. The fundamental difference between the wise and the ignorant can be grasped by observing their manner of accepting or rejecting any matter.

Our desire to obtain something does not depend on any external or internal characteristics of that thing, but rather on how important or unimportant we consider it to be. The same thing may be important to one person and insignificant to another. Consequently, our interest or disinterest in something is what makes it precious or worthless. Rather than yearning desperately for something, it is wiser to consider how possible it is for me to obtain it, or whether it is possible at all, and to plan accordingly. But what we mostly do is this: in searching for what we want, we eventually align our desires with what is possible for us to obtain, with however much we can get. Whatever nature teaches us creates various beliefs, thoughts, and aspirations within us. We live within those confines. Humans love life most of all, and dislike death most of all. Sometimes there comes a time when a person no longer wishes to live. This is not because they no longer love their life. Rather, it is because they can no longer accept what is happening in their life, and so they do not want to drag their present days forward any longer. People wish to die because it becomes painful to drag or carry life along, not because anyone wishes to die out of hatred for life. Life is truly a wonderful thing, something deeply beloved, not something to be despised. Disgust with living creates disgust with life itself. When the mind is agitated about some matter, it refuses to listen to any reasoning; it wants to understand only what it already comprehends. Whatever our mind desires, we arrange all our reasoning to suit that desire, regardless of what the real or true reasoning might be. Therefore, all the order and disorder within the mind comes primarily from how the mind receives the events around us. In that case, our will controls our mind. Beautiful desires make a person the possessor of a beautiful mind; ugly desires make a person the possessor of an ugly mind. There are some people who, even after suffering greatly, will never do anything they consider wrong, even if it means death. Such genteel people rarely see worldly success, but they live remarkably meaningful lives according to their own principles. A meaningful life is worth far more than a successful life. Before their meaningfulness, the world’s greatest successes appear trivial. What altruism, justice, righteousness, legitimacy, and honesty mean—even the most ordinary, uneducated, poor person understands this. If someone can hold onto these things in life and feel happiness as a result, then they are fulfilled. Perhaps their basket of worldly success may be empty, but a jewel greater than success adorns their basket, and that is meaningfulness. To choose the right path in life requires no education, scholarship, or learning—only mind and conscience, which everyone possesses. Whatever path someone loves to walk in life, if they can walk it with patience, accepting all sacrifices, then until death no poverty or sorrow can touch them. They learn to adapt themselves to all of life’s hardships. Our happiness and sorrow both depend upon our willpower and our mental readiness to sustain that power.

Forty-four. The first step in acquiring knowledge of any new subject is to free the mind from all previously acquired knowledge and preconceptions. The more the mind remains burdened by past knowledge, the more obstructed becomes the entry of new knowledge. In the fulfillment of any desire, it is the practical aspects of new knowledge that come into play. Two kinds of desires operate within our minds. One kind of desire is fulfilled individually, another kind is fulfilled collectively along with other desires. Desires can be material or immaterial or both. It often happens that what I can possibly obtain, I can obtain separately, but not together. Because when I try to obtain them together, a conflict arises between them or some external factor renders the entire acquisition meaningless. Simply put, perhaps I need X, and I also need Y. I might obtain either of these, but not both together. In this case, which should I abandon and which should I accept? This decision can be made in only one way: I will write down on one paper all the reasons why I need X, and on another paper all the reasons why I need Y. Then, comparing their importance, I will choose whichever has greater significance. The conflict of desires that runs ceaselessly within our minds is not solely due to differences between the objects we desire, but is also influenced by external factors, such as our financial or other inadequacies, limited capabilities, or the temporal and spatial limitations of human existence. Even the most detached person has some desires, and even the most powerful person cannot fulfill all their desires. Neither becoming desireless nor fulfilling all desires is ever possible. Human beings are never completely satisfied. Therefore, the more one can reduce the pursuit of satisfaction in life, the more one experiences a sense of completeness while living. The fewer one’s desires, the richer one becomes. Human dissatisfaction, discomfort, unhappiness, and discontent operate when a person places too little or too much importance on what they want, relative to its necessity. How can we determine what deserves how much importance? Let us see. Whenever any desire arises within us, we will examine whether this desire can be fulfilled at this very moment, and whether fulfilling this desire might create any harm in the present or future. If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and to the second is ‘no’, then it is better to fulfill this desire immediately. Because later, there may not be the means, will, or lifespan to fulfill that desire. Whatever will not lead our lives on an easy path but will complicate them, it is better to leave unfulfilled despite having some means and opportunities. This brings balance to life. What does bringing balance to life mean? Keeping oneself away from what makes our way of living difficult instead of easy—that is bringing balance to life. This task of bringing balance is quite difficult. There are many things that are important for us or for our surroundings, but at the same time complicate our lives. In such cases, what should we do? We must focus on fulfilling those desires which, when fulfilled, have the possibility of bringing peace, comfort, and happiness to our lives or to the lives of the environment, circumstances, or people important to us.

Deciding to take the easy path doesn’t always make life easier. In such cases, one must either change the path or change oneself according to the path’s demands. Someone who has no teacher in life, no one to learn from, finds their mind in much the same condition as their mouth and stomach—accepting whatever comes their way. The primary reason for this is that human beings are emotion-driven creatures. Whatever emotion compels a person to do, they construct some rationale behind it, convincing themselves while acting that they’re doing nothing unreasonable. Thus we can say that the grammar of reason varies according to individual, time, and place—what is necessary or unnecessary. There is no absolute reason; reason is always relative. Just as love and hatred do not follow reason, so too our desires and aversions do not walk hand in hand with logic. What we want from each person differs. In this regard, the nature and intensity of desire depends on interpersonal relationships. If what is good today brings something bad tomorrow, then surely it should be rejected. If what is bad today brings something good tomorrow, then it should be accepted. The better one understands this balance between present and future, the more accurately one can correct one’s mistakes. The task is not easy. Suppose, at this very moment, you desperately want to buy an expensive house. You have the money saved for the house purchase. However, your savings aren’t enormous—if you buy the house now, should an urgent need for money arise, you’ll have no option but to beg from others. On the other hand, if you don’t buy the car and keep the money saved, it’s also possible that you might die before enjoying the money. What is the solution to this psychological duality? There are many solutions. In my view, the simplest solution is to reduce your needs. Generally, things with high external value tend to have low internal value. Once you learn to live with just what is absolutely necessary, there’s no more fear—you can live with great abundance. We render the priceless worthless, and think of the worthless as priceless. Therein lies the trouble. Our words can bring terrible disasters, our actions can initiate disgrace in our lives. Yet we speak such words, commit such acts. Why? Contradictory desires compel us to speak thus, to act thus. When our will runs against all reason in terms of timing, either intense light sweeps us away, or deep darkness drowns us in infinite blindness. The more the mind works under situational excitement, the more our intellectual excellence diminishes. Then the mind cannot use its full capacity, and through continuous practice of this, humans become inferior creatures. When one becomes accustomed to finding joy in mental narrowness, the harmony of beautiful thoughts and actions is always disrupted. A narrow mind cannot tolerate high thinking and people of high thought; association with higher levels of thinking makes the narrow mind envious and vicious.

Forty-five. Some of our feelings endure for a lifetime. One such feeling is our experiential sense of the world around us, based on how much we are using or are able to use our mind and brain. Various religious rules and regulations narrow and limit many of our thoughts. This raises the question: how necessary are those regulations? Or is there any necessity at all? If we think about it, we see that we cannot attain everything we want or have the capacity to obtain, or even if it’s possible, we shouldn’t, because getting everything might create unstable conditions in society. What our various religious regulations do is keep us away from many things we want or could easily obtain, but which, if acquired, might bring catastrophe to society and individual life. This keeps society safe. There are many religious customs which, if followed, can make optimal use of a country’s limited resources and address the nation’s resource deficit. Two aspects of human character are clear: diversity and decline. Through religious discipline, these two aspects of human character can be largely controlled. The internal order of a family is also maintained through this. Brothers fighting over property distribution is a very natural occurrence. In such cases, if a religious teacher or religious custom compels them to follow a path that is socially approved, and failure to do so would result in social ostracism or banishment from society, then potential conflicts between them can be avoided from the outset. Sometimes religion keeps our society protected within its own sphere. Many religious rules prevent us from actions that, if they occurred, could create extreme instability both in family and social life. Dissatisfaction and discontent are natural human tendencies. When someone follows religious rules and reduces their life’s demands, and lives that way until death, they can largely free themselves from these two tendencies. In most cases, when the question of profit arises, the human mind leans toward gain rather than fraternal feeling. Consciously or unconsciously, humans favor self-interest over relationships. When humans put relationships before self-interest, most of the time they do so out of family or social obligation. Often we see that people don’t fall into greed because they are influenced by any particular evil desire, but rather because everyone around them has fallen into greed for that thing, so they too fall into greed. What everyone calls good, they too call good. What everyone strives to obtain, they too strive to obtain. This happens due to a lack of intellectual excellence. The incompetent and blind cannot control the temptation to imitate. One whose knowledge and intention are pure can conquer the world with their willpower. When someone does a right action, they don’t do it because doing the action is right, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Similarly, when someone does a wrong action, they don’t do it because doing the action is wrong, but rather they do it that way because doing it that way is their natural characteristic. Therefore, the feelings that work spontaneously in humans have much greater influence and importance. Environment, experience, and knowledge largely control human emotions.

Human behavior and conduct depend upon external incentives, environment, and needs. Thus by considering these three factors and placing humans within specific arrangements, it is possible to achieve predetermined outcomes. The fundamental difference between humans and animals is that humans can generate alternative desires for or against any particular action or wish, and can act accordingly—something animals cannot do. Those who cannot generate alternative desires typically exhibit animal characteristics. If an addict cannot survive without taking drugs, then he is essentially animal-like, because he is incapable of generating any alternative desire in his mind other than drug consumption. Freedom of will and freedom of action are not the same thing. A person can indeed bring whatever desires he wishes into his mind, but he can never act exactly as he pleases. Family, social, and religious disciplines and habits restrain him from many actions.

Forty-six. Life holds both happiness and suffering. We must find joy within this duality. Even in suffering there exists a kind of joy—the joy of dreaming boundless happiness once the difficult days end. The less one can perceive this joy, the more enduring becomes the suffering in their life. When are we happy? What is happiness? The first question is easier to answer. I find happiness when those I love are near. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky bring me happiness soft as cotton floating in the wind. Watching a good film makes me feel, life is here! A wonderful evening can easily pass with hand in hand with Jibanananda. One can remain intoxicated for hours in the lingering magic of certain songs. How good it feels when work flows smoothly! What joy is there in closing one’s eyes and stroking the pet cat? Standing beside someone whose heart is heavy, someone who needs help—such profound peace it brings. Devouring hot seafood platters with friends at the seaside restaurant, or sitting quietly face to face with one’s beloved in the evening mist of coffee steam, when eyes become fierce rivals to lips—what an exquisite moment! Imagine! When one sits submerged in silent, still meditation, how waves of peace come and drench the heart. When, in skilled passion’s intensity with one’s desired companion, the entire body and soul blazes like a roaring volcano—can anything on earth compare to such ecstasy? Only while writing do I feel such intoxication! The first sip of morning tea—does its essence fade even by day’s end? The feeling of one’s first child’s birth—the world’s incomparable, ethereal treasure! Looking at a child laughing with abandon—doesn’t a strange current of joy flow through the heart’s river? Mountain wandering—even imagining it with closed eyes brings such thrilling shivers! Watching the night sky with loved ones beside a campfire in deep forest—such joyful watching—let the stars fade that night, let the moon sink! These things make me happy. Is happiness, then, a collection of such moments? I think not! If that were so, why isn’t everyone’s happiness identical? Why do things that make me laugh bring tears to others’ eyes? I know many people who get headaches listening to Mozart, who shrink in disgust at the mere mention of seafood, who find nature’s proximity unbearable or pretentious, who throw stones at dogs without reason, who have intense aversion to tea and coffee, who cannot bear silence at all. Yet they too live perfectly well, don’t they? They’re not even particularly irritating—talking with them isn’t unpleasant either! Actually, happiness is defined differently by each person. What doesn’t please me cannot make me happy, no matter how wonderful it might be. I am diurnal—why shouldn’t another be nocturnal? Again, what once brought me happiness no longer does. Eyes that once intoxicated me now make my blood boil at the mere thought. What then is happiness? Something measured by the sweetness of my relationships with others? Or is material wealth happiness’s final destination? Or does happiness’s home lie within our minds, unaffected by any external force? The memory of experiencing happiness never before felt is worth a hundred thousand rupees.

Who is poorer than one whose memory of their first kiss has grown dim? In the midst of a busy life, one must learn to find happiness within that very busyness. The search for happiness lies in freedom from hatred, in the discipline of love. Even in hating those we despise, there exists a certain kind of joy. Happiness dwells not in logic, but in logic’s collapse. Some pleasures are fleeting, and we pay their price in endless torment. The thought of the certain suffering that follows the euphoria of intoxication makes one’s eyes instinctively close in fear. Sometimes gentle alternative joys are far better than intense pleasures. Those who discover such alternatives lead beautiful lives. Even when happiness lies within reach, we cannot always claim it. Fear, doubt, desire, emotion, pride, ignorance, prejudice—countless internal catalysts prevent us from being happy. Can we simply escape from all that keeps us unhappy, if we so choose? The death of loved ones wounds us deeply, the sudden premature end of love makes us weep, when the body falls ill the mind follows suit, and even the most stoic person cannot accept career catastrophe with equanimity. Happiness is an exceedingly subtle, complex, and ethereal matter—there before our eyes, yet gone the moment we reach for it; seemingly so distant, yet we stumble against it when groping in the dark. Happiness is essentially personal well-being, while sorrow is personal misfortune. Even the happiest person can suddenly become miserable. Illness, professional setbacks, family troubles, or any number of other causes can bring unexpected dissatisfaction into life. When someone says they are happy or content with their life, it means they have somehow found joy in living, or their life is moving forward in the balance they desire, or they are satisfied with their professional, familial, social, spiritual, and emotional circumstances. Unhappiness enters life when our sources of joy disappear one by one, when conflicting desires leave us breathless, when the intensity or numbness of feeling drowns us in anguish, when separation or socioeconomic failure consumes us. The primary reason for unhappiness in life is this: thoughts of life’s dark aspects overwhelm us more than thoughts of its illuminated sides. Yes, to survive we must first learn to recognize danger and prepare ourselves accordingly. But let not constant anxiety about potential threats prevent light from entering our lives. When our feelings and thoughts toy with us, let us have equal influence in that game—not just theirs. Sometimes let us allow light, not just darkness, to win. This allowing light to win is what we call balance. Do we like the life we are living? If the answer to this question is ‘yes,’ then we are happy. If it is ‘no,’ then to see ourselves as happy, we must mentally prepare to do whatever needs doing, and then do it. But with time, both what people like and dislike changes. So the life we now imagine would make us happy—it may well be that by the time we reach it, time will have changed, and with it the address of what we find appealing. The pain of being unable to live at that new address will again leave us unhappy. The life we are living now is surely someone’s dream life. This life is mine—how is that any less? So wouldn’t it be good to drink deeply of all this life’s beauty, to live touched by handfuls of small happiness, as much as we possibly can?

Forty-seven. To be happy means learning to choose. Not just which pleasure is right for me, but which path is mine, what profession I want to pursue, how I want to live, what work brings me love, how I want to spend my leisure, choosing friends or establishing life’s values—all these are fundamental steps to happiness. To live well doesn’t mean getting everything we want, but rather obtaining those things that won’t bring catastrophe to our lives while still allowing life to pass in joy. Life is walking toward our goals according to our values. Even if something becomes our dream, if it doesn’t align with us or our society, walking that path is not beneficial. When setting life’s goals, we must decide which work suits our heart and which doesn’t. If we choose as our profession something that doesn’t suit our heart, professional disaster may strike. If the profession we’re in keeps us constantly dissatisfied, it’s impossible to properly settle our mind in that work. Again, someone will marry, have children, raise them, have a beautiful organized family—for some people, this is the very meaning of their existence. We also see people who find life’s meaning in helping those around them, in fighting against injustice or standing beside the suffering. Why? There’s no particular reason. They do it because it feels good to them, it brings them peace, that’s all. How we want to spend our lives determines what our life’s meaning is. Well, between life’s meaning and life’s joy—which is more important? Which makes our lives positive? The answer is simple. If someone lives joyfully in some way or another, they find positive meaning in their lives. Understanding the interrelationship between joy and happiness is very important. Freud tells us that whatever humans do, they do for pleasure; no one bothers their head about life’s meaning. Victor Frankl, who survived the death camps, wrote based on his terrible experience in that realm of death that humans fundamentally search for life’s meaning. Two different views. Which is true? Actually, both are true. People become happy only when there is joy in their lives and they find some meaning to live by. The road to our goal is more important than the goal itself. It’s crucial to make very good use of the time during our journey toward dreams. Well, who are the happy ones? The foolish live very happily. Does that mean any of us want to become foolish? The more knowledge one has, the more desires one has, consequently the less happiness one has. To live in a transparent way, one must accommodate many things. Does this mean that transparency in living makes us unhappy? Few desires, more happiness. Is this the rule? I remembered a story by Voltaire—the story of the good Brahmin. There was a wise Brahmin who constantly asked himself various kinds of spiritual questions. He found answers to some of these, others he didn’t. Consequently, there was no peace in his mind. Near his house lived an ignorant, bigoted woman whose sole purpose was simply to survive by eating and wearing clothes. No questions ever came to her mind, so she remained quite happy. Looking at her, it seemed there was no woman happier than her in this world.

Someone once asked a wise man, “Don’t you want happiness like that?” He replied, “Yes, I have told myself countless times that if I could live as foolishly as that woman, I would undoubtedly be as happy as she is. But I don’t want to be happy in that way.” In every society, the number of foolishly happy people is greater. What’s the harm in living like that? They remain happy as long as no major problem comes knocking at their door. As long as foolishness doesn’t land us in trouble, it’s quite a delightful thing. One can only be happy by banishing thought and knowledge to exile, in the land of fools alone. The permanence of false happiness is momentary. Even counterfeit joy cannot deceive for long. When intoxication wears off, happiness no longer endures. A man presents himself as unmarried and makes a girl fall in love. The girl too floats quite happily in the ocean of love. When she discovers the man is married, will that happiness remain? One cannot always be happy through irrational means. It’s impossible to remain happy forever by being foolish. Now the question is, does everyone want to be happy? To want happiness, the first requirement is to want to be happy. No one can be happy against their will. Is happiness universal? Not everyone wants to be happy, that’s not true. Many exist who are not happy but want to be content. Their joy lies in the very journey toward that contentment. Another group wants happiness but doesn’t want to do what’s necessary to obtain it. Each person’s happiness lies in different places. Without denying present pleasures, one cannot glimpse profound joy. Suppose music intoxicates the blood of two friends. One of them practices music for hours upon hours, abandoning all entertainment. Through much labor, dedication, patience, and concentration, he eventually becomes a good artist. The other friend had the same dream but never came close to the discipline, effort, and devotion it required. He enjoyed his life and kept music only in his heart, not bringing it much into practice. Perhaps after many years he could claim that his soul has music, his life has music, his thoughts have music. But to one whose voice carries music, such a ‘connoisseur of music’ image has not the slightest value. When I was a teenager, I often thought, if only I too could have a love like theirs! I could write beautifully about love, recite long love poems magnificently, impossibly romantic thoughts would drift like clouds through my mind; the only thing I couldn’t do was to gather courage, ignore my mind’s barriers, and suddenly tell someone, “I love you!” This is difficult work indeed. One can easily slash one’s own throat, yet cannot tell someone, “I love you!” For some, happiness lies in surrendering oneself to the current of extreme moments. Their happiness resides in sports, hard music, drugs, alcohol, or sex. When sensitivity reaches extreme levels, some of these people can be seen bringing terrible danger into their lives or destroying themselves entirely. How can smoke or darkness bring light to life? Can life’s emptiness really be filled with artificial accompaniments?

Forty-eight. What brings us happiness? Why do we want to be happy? We want wealth for comfort, we want power to gain recognition from people, and we want happiness simply for the sake of being happy. A life that contains joy is a happy life. What is joy? Joy is the fulfillment of desire. I find joy in drinking water because I am thirsty, I find joy in sleep because I am tired, I find joy in learning something because I want to know, I feel tremendous joy when I get what I want. Many other things bring us joy as well. If we could obtain all happiness, life would come to a standstill. Thus the incompleteness of happiness keeps us alive. A life without any sorrow—would not the mirror image of such a life be death itself? To save us from death’s grasp, the Creator has given us some measure of sorrow. There are many joys in life that require no extra effort to enjoy, or whatever effort is needed actually gives us pleasure. Like eating ice cream, making love, watching a good movie, listening to music, reading an enjoyable book, gazing at the sky, looking into the face of someone beloved. Some joys diminish even as we experience them. Suppose, for instance, we become terribly hungry. Then it seems as if we could grasp all the world’s happiness in our palm if we could just eat something at that moment. But the more we fill our stomach with food, the more our joy diminishes. Eating one or two apples brings pleasure, eating four or five apples brings displeasure, and beyond that it becomes downright torture.

The literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was a magistrate by profession. Being a magistrate in those British days was no small matter. Bankimchandra had to pass an extremely difficult examination to become a magistrate.

In that examination, along with other subjects, he also had to take a Bengali test. In the oral Bengali examination, the head of the board, an English gentleman, asked Bankimchandra his first question: “Well babu, you know Bengali well, can you please tell me the difference between apad and bipad?”

Bankimchandra respectfully said to the saheb, “Can I explain the difference by giving you examples?”

The saheb consented.

Bankimchandra began: “Once I was traveling by steamer from Dhaka to Goalanda. In the middle of the vast Padma river, a storm arose. The launch was in a sinking condition. Everyone began weeping and wailing. This was bipad [calamity].”

“And me, being Bengali, taking a Bengali examination from an Englishman like you—this is apad [indignity].”

I don’t know what the saheb understood, but Bankimchandra got the job.

A little wealth becomes a calamity, and great wealth is truly a great disaster. People say, “Still, it’s much better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than to cry sitting in a rickshaw.” Hearing this, one feels like saying, “Oh really? Is that so? Are you sure? I don’t think so! How many times have you wept sitting in a Ferrari? Do pearls fall instead of tears when one weeps in a Ferrari, brother?” Tears are just tears. All tears in the world are the same. I think one can weep much more peacefully in a rickshaw. Ferrari’s tears are measured tears, suppressed tears, mute tears; rickshaw tears are simply tears. Actually, happiness doesn’t have such a simplified equation. Some people find joy in causing others pain. Some people find joy in killing other living beings. Some people find joy in watching others suffer. Why does this happen? There’s no explanation for it. Joy has no relationship with morality. Joy has no beginning or end, joy follows no grammar, joy doesn’t last long—therefore joy can never be life’s sole driving force. If one can keep oneself away from joy that causes others pain, harms others, or gives rise to fears of future danger, then in the search for happiness one can certainly knock on the door of any joy. Love, friendship, influence, fame, meditation, philanthropy, standing by the distressed—many such joys make people happy. The joy of spiritual attainment has much greater impact on the human psyche than the joy of worldly gains. The most important component of joy or happiness is a healthy body. There’s no greater achievement than physical well-being. Regular practice of courage, restraint, generosity, humility, magnanimity, sense of humor, and justice makes people happy. Now let’s see what the Greek scholar-philosopher Epicurus tells us about happiness. He believed that to be happy, we must first remove all irrelevant and baseless fears from our minds. Two such fears are the fear of death and the fear of God. He didn’t say that God doesn’t exist, that deities don’t exist. He said they exist, let them exist. Let them stay where they belong. There’s nothing to disturb them about. Experience tells us they have no influence on human life. Trying to please them with prayers and offerings is meaningless. To live with the idea that the soul is immortal means to live with the fear of severe punishments after death. This way of living does nothing but destroy life’s joy. What’s the point of living with death as a companion even before death? The human body is a collection of atoms that ends with death. Fear of death and related lifestyle are merely human imagination. Everything ends with death, there’s no life after that. The absence of life means the absence of thought and creation. What is there to think about such emptiness? When does a person become unhappy? Let’s learn from Epicurus himself. Our unhappiness begins with persistent dissatisfaction. Desires are of three kinds. One: Natural and necessary desires, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, sleeping, the wish to have shelter. Two: Natural but less necessary desires, such as good cooking, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing. Three: Less natural and less necessary desires, such as power, honor, luxury. He said that to be happy, we need only fulfill the first type of desires; the farther we can keep ourselves from the second type of desires, the happier we can be. The third type of desires certainly brings troubles and unhappiness into our lives. Many people misunderstand Epicurus’s thoughts about happiness. They think Epicurus said sexual gratification is the only path to happiness.

Epicurus advocated for consuming simple, modest food and advised becoming accustomed to ordinary clothing. He used to say that the more artificiality there is in pleasure, the less happiness that pleasure contains. It is not external things but inner tranquility that makes humans happy. The more we can distance ourselves from unnecessary fears and prejudices, the more the qualitative value of our joy will increase. Epicurus’s words can be summed up in one phrase: fearless simple living is the sole source of happiness. Exercise, meditation, and good food play important roles in keeping the body healthy. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said beautifully: “Ninety percent of our happiness depends on health. A healthy cobbler is happier than a sick king. We need at least two hours of exercise in the open air daily. When our body is not well, nothing feels good to us.” I have seen from personal experience that trees understand the needs of our hearts, mountains have arranged food for our minds, the ocean takes us to a world where we often dream of living, the intoxication of forests is no less intoxicating than the fragrance of all the mysterious folds of a woman’s body, walking alone along a riverbank brings such peace that envelops body and mind. These are supreme blessings for dispelling anxiety, keeping the mind calm, sharpening thought, and erasing the fatigue of living. Even a stone rolling down a hill can give you infinite peace; seeing a tiny drop of water flying in the wind from one flower to another on a tree can make the heart dance; a piece of cloud or a small restless bird’s fluttering can keep you enchanted all day long. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to lie on grass? What peace there is in losing oneself for hours in the infinite silence of a garden! How tremendously enjoyable it is to sit quietly on a bench in a corner of the park and watch what everyone is doing! Playing with a child in their own way and the blissful imagination of rediscovering one’s own childhood—what compares to this? The taste of delicious food is best experienced when shared with someone. Prayer, meditation, laughter, sports, nascent love. All these control the secretion of our hormones in such a way that creates feelings of happiness in our brain. Yet after all these words, we must keep in mind: like ten other feelings in the world, the feeling of happiness is also relative—each person finds happiness in different places.

Forty-nine. 1. Life’s two principal problems are: harboring false perceptions within ourselves, and acting upon those misconceptions. 2. If we can discern what is right for us at the right time, we can advance ourselves considerably along the correct path. 3. The renunciation of temporary self-gratification and unwavering dedication to work are the infallible means to personal and universal prosperity. 4. Let each of our actions be as beautiful and sincere as prayer. 5. It is impossible to be happy while holding onto ego within ourselves. To win, one must first learn to lose. Sometimes not fighting at all is the greatest battle. 6. Living means surpassing oneself little by little each day. There is scarcely any difference between remaining the same person daily and being dead. 7. If we do not apply what we learn, then the time spent learning is nothing but waste. 8. As long as there is life in the body, one must never surrender to oneself. Death is more honorable than surrendering to oneself. 9. Through properly valuing what we possess, it is possible to increase both self-confidence and the quality of our work. What I have received in life thus far—I have received much—gratitude to the Creator. Such awareness makes a person wealthy and courageous. 10. Let us preserve in our memory only the beautiful feelings from the world around us. Cultivating happiness increases happiness; cultivating suffering increases suffering. 11. The only way to perceive truth is to abandon all preconceptions and fixed ideas of the mind, and attempt to know what the actual facts are, free from ego and emotion. None of our knowledge is final knowledge. “What I know is the only truth”—this itself is ignorance. 12. The continuous practice of beautiful thoughts makes us beautiful; the practice of ugly thoughts makes us ugly. 13. However temporarily false and ugly things may make us happy or satisfied, as long as we cannot remove ourselves from them, we shall remain worthless and base in the eyes of others. 14. Rather than living completely on someone else’s path, it is more peaceful to lie like a dog on the path of one’s own dreams. 15. There may be many things before us to do. Among all these, we shall always prioritize that work which brings peace and honor to us and our beloved ones. 16. There is no greater reward than living well and living virtuously. One must practice being well oneself; because most of the time it is seen that others only know how to be unwell, and consequently that is what they teach. 17. The peace gained by revealing one’s weaknesses to others is repaid with compound interest by manifold unrest in the end. Telling someone your weak points means paving the way for them to exploit your weaknesses in the future. Not pleasant work, but right work empowers a person. 18. Whether joyful or sorrowful, keeping away whatever I do not need at this moment, or removing myself from their vicinity—this is life. Those who know how to live on little can live in abundance.