Dr. Jai Narayan Vyas
What is the definition of happiness? Everyone has their own way of understanding something. Where one sees the glass as half full, another sees it as half empty. Both of these answers are correct, if considered only in terms of the water and the cup. However, there is a third answer, according to which the same glass is half filled with water and the rest with air. This answer is not wrong either, right? Context is important. Context establishes the reality of truth. A person should pray to God daily, 'O Lord! Rain rupees in my house!' One day, taking pity on this devotee, he showered rupees in his house. The man was shocked. He also did not imagine that rain of rupees will rain in his house. Squealing with joy, he ran to his bed. It was seen that all his neighbors were also dancing, because it had rained rupees in all their houses. For God, all his children are the same, right? As the man heard that the neighbors had rained rupees there too, his heart stopped beating in shock. The fact of the matter is that, we are happy that it rained rupees there, but the shock of this happening to the neighbors was more intense than the joy. If you get the thing which you are longing for, which you are eagerly waiting for, you will be happy, but if someone else gets it, it will not be fun. Reverend Shankarlal Padhyasaheb, who taught us Sanskrit during my secondary school education, told us a short story explaining the word 'Vaishakhnandan'. According to him, when the monsoon comes and the earth begins to be drenched by thick clouds, the earth seems to take off its green sheet. Everywhere you look, grass will start growing in the open ground. A donkey standing in the middle of this grass gets worried. The thought comes to his mind that so much grass has grown together, he will eat all these cattle and I will get nothing. In this worry, the donkey gets wet in the monsoons. Then after winter, summer begins and fire starts raining from the sky. The heat is such that animals seek shade and birds hide under trees or in hollows. At exactly such a time the donkey falls into the field. The village's roots are turned upside down. He will gain weight in joy, thinking that there is no competitor who will eat the udders of the cattle and eat his own udders. Padhyasaheb then explained that the animal that gets special pleasure in the month of Vaishakh is Vaishakhnandan meaning donkey. The soul of this donkey resides in the bosom of many. His definition of happiness is that he gets all the fame he likes and no one else. 'If you like, don't let Alya Gunje Ghali; This idea of “Gamatano Kari Gulal'' does not even come close to it. He does not get happiness just because he gets something for himself, his second condition is that the thing should not be received by others. Giving an understanding about happiness, it can also be said that man is not happy with his achievements, but thinking about what he does not have makes him sad. For this reason, the definition of happiness is interdependent. In olden times it was said that, if we don't have it, we have nothing, if our neighbor has it, it will work someday. This kind of value dries up in the current lifestyle. There was a lesson in primary school. A railway engine driver who is happy in any situation and helpful to others, loses one of his legs in an accident. When someone comes to inquire about it and exclaims, 'Too bad, you're going to have a lot of trouble now', the man naturally smiles and says, 'No, no! There are many who do not have both legs and yet live contentedly. I have lost only one leg. I will be running with a wooden donkey. Thank God that he left one leg.' This is another type of instance in which a man is happy despite the loss of his limb. The fun of this kind of ephemeral pleasure is different. No force in the world can defeat you if you don't let the situation ride you. You only lose when you lose your mind. Always remember the following lines of prayer: 'Itni shakti hame dena data, mana ka vishwas kamjor ho na.'
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
