Happiness, often we see people asking questions like
“What is happiness?” “What does it feel like?”
“Where do we find it?” “How do we find it?”
And although these four questions may sound easy to answer. As you begin to ponder over it and get deeper into the concept, you realise that its answer is not as easy as it seems.
What is happiness?
The definition of happiness states that happiness is an emotion, a feeling that comes when something good happens to us or around us. It is not something that can be quantified. It’s that warm feeling we get when we feel completely at peace with ourselves and with the world around us. It is the feeling you get when you genuinely do something with all your heart without expecting anything in return.
Where do we find it?
That’s the most common mistake people make, assuming that happiness can be found outside. Many philosophers believe happiness is not something that can be found but something that you experience from within. Sometimes we feel happy when we do the things we love, sometimes we feel happy when we do something for someone just for the sake of doing it and sometimes just watching a loved one achieve something is enough to make you feel happy. That is true happiness, the feeling that comes as you look deeper into yourself and appreciate ‘what is’ instead of dwelling on ‘what could be’.
How do we find it?
Happiness is not hard to find. It is not complicated. It comes from living a simple life. When you detach yourself from materialistic things and become less concerned about what you do not have and begin to realise that what you possess within it enough. That is True Happiness.
What does it feel like?
It feels like the lullaby from heaven that automatically draws your cheek in a bow and brings a smile to your face. It’s the transition of going from the outer world (Material world) to the innermost world of the self. It feels like freedom, as pure as a baby’s smile. It is peace from within. Various yoga instructors have tried to explain this concept but none of them can explain it like Fr Joe Pereira has explained it in depth.
Fr Joe Pereira, the founder of the Kripa Foundation, has been practicing Iyengar Yoga for the past 49 years. Mentored by Guruji B.K.S Iyengar himself, Fr. Joe Pereira has been working on rehabilitating HIV patients and people afflicted with drug abuse and alcohol abuse through his holistic approach to yoga.
Fr Joe was awarded the Padma Shri Award in 2009, the highest civilian award bestowed by the government of India. He also received the National Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 from the President of India. Father Joe has recently published his latest book ‘Addiction – A Spiritual Paradox’ co-written with Dr. Ashok Bedi, a Jungian analyst in Chicago. The book is the end product of drug-addiction research conducted for several years.
