Anupam- The Dreamer

No matter what we do (or not do) in life, it ultimately sums up to just one thing. It is the raison détre of doing (or not doing) anything. And what is that elusive (or as it seems elusive) thing? It is nothing other than the desire to seek happiness. The common denominator of our any activity is our innate desire to seek happiness. But, this is an oversimplification of the process. Although “happiness” is just one word, but it is so subjective that it cannot be defined in an objective, crude, straight-jacketed and simple manner for every person. Happiness is a very complex conceptualization, so much so that the generations have delved into this mystery and yet when it seems that we are very close to defining it, we are still found wanting on many counts. I will try to deal some of the complex aspects of this enigma called “happiness”.

It is not that the modern way of living is the “happiest way of living life”. Some would argue that modern gadgets like mobiles, computers, internet revolution, cars, airplanes, etc etc are essential to lead a happy life. Also, availability of basic needs of life like good food, high-tech home, having enough money to fulfill desires, good job/profession etc are also the essential needs of today’s times. All this is fine but do these things guarantee you happiness? I am afraid that the answer is a big NO! Nothing can “guarantee” you happiness, unless you are at peace with yourself. These gadgets and material things are essential to sustain life, but they are at best a “means” which can help you reach your goal of “happiness”. It is often seen that even today’s modern life has not ensured happiness for many people. It may have provided you with more avenues of temporary and instantaneous pleasures, but happiness seems as elusive today as it may have been in any era that came before us.

Today, I went to a tribal museum and it was a moment of deep reflection for me. There, you could learn about various aspects of tribal life like their lifestyle, their clothing, food, utensils, tools, their art and craft, their agrarian way of life, their festivals and culture etc. One peculiar thing that struck me while watching the faces of the models/mannequins of the tribal people was that- they seemed to be happy!!! Although, I haven’t visited tribals in their natural habitation, but can you say that they are not happy, as they don’t have “basic essential” means of living a high-tech and modernized life? I don’t think so! They are as happy, or maybe more happy than the modern civilization people living in ultra-modern cities. They don’t have many varieties of foods to eat. So what? They are happy to eat what they grow with their hardwork and collect from the forests. They don’t have modern tools of entertainment like internet, mobiles, clubs, travelling to different places via long distance journeys. Again, they have their own means of entertainment like festivals, games, folk songs etc. where they enjoy with their own community. Infact, they seem to me more social than the people connected through social media! Because we are connected more “artificially” through social media with less of real interaction, whereas tribal people value more face to face communication and community way of life. You want to see the world! But, they don’t want to or need to, because they don’t have much bigger aspirations from life! You have modern healthcare innovations and drugs to cure your illness! The tribals have developed their own medicines and healthcare techniques over hundreds of years, and they are still healthy than many of us. Basically, they are happy in what they are doing things, and they don’t envy us for living a more “advanced” life. They are happy the way they are!

But, I think we have made such a common, straight-jacketed, and water-tight notion of happiness that we have come to believe that if the people are not getting some “particular things”, then they are not happy or they cannot be happy! This I believe is very superfluous and unjustified approach to looking at the larger picture of being happy. The problem is that we want people to be happy in the same way as we perceive our happiness. Or if I could take a step further, we as a community of some people (e.g. a nation) want other community of people (e.g. some other nation) to live a way of life as ours, for them to be happy. But, I am afraid that is not the reality. At individual level, a person may derive pleasure/happiness from some things, but the other person situated in some very different circumstances may find that from doing other things. For example, one person may find happiness in having luxuries of life, while the other person may find the same happiness in exploring the world and learning new things. For both the persons, their own approach is the right one. The problem starts when one starts preaching the other person about his/her own way. At best, one can open dimensions of happiness to the other person, and it is upto the other person to adopt/explore that dimension which is suggested by the first one. If the second one also starts to enjoy the same things, then it is not an issue. But, if the second person doesn’t enjoy the same things, then also it is not essential that there is something wrong with him/her. At the country level, the US citizens may think that the way of life in the USA is the best. It maybe for them, but maybe for the people in India or any other nation for that matter, it is not the only best way. The hyper-modernization that is being adopted in some societies/countries may be good for them, but may not be good for others. And there is absolutely nothing wrong in both the approaches.

Having said that, it does not mean that there cannot be some basic common factors that make us happy. Afterall, we all are a part of the human race and we have many things in common. Being healthy, physically, mentally and socially, is an essential part of happiness, anywhere in the world. It is often said that “Health is wealth”. There will hardly be anyone in the world who will say that being disease-ridden is a happy or fun thing! Similarly, having basic opportunities and facilities that help is elevate our skills, knowledge and understanding, and help us reach our own potential, are again common among all. Although, the manner in which they are provided may vary from group to group, but one cannot deny that enhancing knowledge of any person can be detrimental to his/her own well-being. For example, the modern education may serve the urban people well, however the tribal children and the rural children may need some skill-based education blended with their ethos and traditions, so that the latter are not dissociated from their roots. It should not happen that in the process of making them “modernized”, we ultimately make them more unhappy. Any change that does not come from within and adopted by anyone whole-heartedly will always remain an artificial one, and can never give everlasting happiness.

This is a complex issue and not matter how much we ponder over it, we come back to the square one! On one hand, the goal of life is very simple- to be happy! On the other hand, if we seek to define happiness- then it seems to be the most difficult question in the whole world. There are no set benchmarks for this! You can see a rich, modern and well-established person to be unhappy at times. Also, you can see a poor gardener doing his work peacefully with immense happiness. It’s just a matter of looking at things from your own perspective and the perspective of other people. I hope maybe we all can do something to increase our own happiness quotient and the happiness quotient of others as well, even if by a miniscule margin. Maybe, we can build a more humane world with the goal of enhancing happiness for whole of the world. Maybe, one day we can also rank the nations based upon their Gross National Happiness (GNH). Maybe….