From the Desk of Prof. Ashok Kapoor
‘If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things’.
The pursuit of happiness is certainly a lofty goal but ironically speaking, it eludes our grasp as we are not evolved enough to realize it .
Does it not prompt us to inquire as to why we are unhappy? Can we cultivate happiness by making conscious efforts? If it were so, we could have attained happiness and solved the nagging problem by following some set of principles.
But it has been observed that our conscious efforts to achieve this goal do not cut much ice and we are left floundering in choppy waters of a rough sea.
Our endeavour to tie it to a goal doesn’t make much headway. Seers and ascetics often preach by saying that our irresistible attachment to material assets and our dear ones leads to unhappiness. Our attachments deprive us of the goal of happiness.
For instance, Lord Buddha regards desires as the main cause of misery and sorrow.Desirelessness is the only way to experience Nirvana.
But, it is easier said than realised; it doesn’t mean that we are debunking Buddhism .
We are simply probing that a layman , reeling under the burden of his struggle for existence,hankers after material possessions thinking that these will enable him to realize his goal.
But, the painful irony sets in motion paradoxes and contradictions confounding our wits beyond any remedy. This is the common predicament facing most of us.Our efforts to be happy are thwarted by situations and circumstances intractable and baffling.
We are always on tenter hooks in the uncontrollable sweep of uncertainties and perplexities rattling our rational faculties.
Religions will always inspire humanity to concentrate on the Divine in order to be happy but skeptics and agnostics question faith as it breeds illusions and hallucinations.
Then the question arises what mortals should do. Each one is anchored in some belief hoping that their suffering will end sooner or later.But there are some who think that we should face life as it is without being conditioned by rituals or other religious disciplines.They feel that our attempt to avoid the painful multiplies our problems and leave us in mess.Our hedonistic pleasures also push us on the precipice of disgust and satiety by bogging us down in the quagmire.
Should we not accept life as it is while observing every moment whether we are in the midst of a problem or we are in the lap of Nature, watching her myriad panoramic scenes and listening to sounds of birds animals?
Is our perception not keen enough to watch the flow of life?
Our unbiased and dispassionate awareness of this life may be the way to bring us close to the complexities and puzzles of our existence.
The first step is to accept as it is. Who knows our quest may help us solve the riddle of life to some extent?
Does life not demand patience, acceptance and the curiosity to discover the unknown without any preconceived ideology or creed ?
Prof. Ashok Kapoor has been an illustrious alumnus of SCD Govt. College, Ludhiana-India.
Prof. Kapoor also taught English for scores of years in PG department of this premier college .
Always proud of our Alumni. —- https://theglobaltalk.com/
Friends :
Please do give your valuable opinion on these considered views of Prof Ashok Kapoor on ‘Art of Living-Art of Happiness’. An interaction will mature us all further on this important enigma of life. Your interaction on this website comment box will be a permanent feature for all times to come .Readers will learn from every interaction.
—- https://theglobaltalk.com/
4 comments
Prof.Kapoor,
Through your blog you have shown us the right path.GBU
Prof Ashok Kapoor has his own style of awakening us
His prose has its own poetic style
I am blessed to be his student.
You have rightly said that in the pursuit of happiness we have to accept our situations and uncertainties. We also must acknowledge the fact that worldly goods may not bring the eternal happiness that we so much yearn for.. I believe that eternal bliss lies in bringing a smile on the face of your family, to share their little joys and to bring cheer in the lives of fellow brethren. Happiness is really a complex subject, for one may be happy one moment and the next something happens which bring to the fore a lot of anxieties and insecurities as we all are facing in the present corona pandemic. Sir, I feel that along with acceptance, we should also be content and lend a helping hand, whenever we can. Thank you sir for writing on this complex subject of Happiness.
You raised pertinent questions in the hope of engagement of a dialogue and interaction. In pursuing destinations, short and long ones, we forget to celebrate the journey. Participate and yet be an observer. Nature has many hidden truths and revelations. Ironically we have moved away from it and this pandemic is a reminder to us to stop destroying nature. Also ironic is that we have all along been wearing a mask to avoid having any encounter with ourselves. The very fact that I pen randomly without first’organizing my thoughts implies that I don’t wish to destroy the sanctity of the moment I pen. That’s why I say and feel that thoughts penned randomly are pure, undiluted and are cathartic. Why should we look out outside us? It’s within us. But to prep inside requires courage, unpalatable areas of our persona. ILLUMINATION within not outside. Why should everything be concrete, standardized and one dimensional? Why not open various doors and windows ?????