Is happiness non-Indian ?

[Guest guest]

The usual sanskrit word for happiness is "ananda"; but it is usually

reserved for professional religiosi like Vivekananda, Paramananda

and so on. Hence the concept of "ananda" in Indian traditions seem

to be entwined with certain religous states and religious seekers

who usually are renunciates from ordinary worldly engagements. Even

in post-Upanishadic period aranyakas stress the life away from the

ordinary social world. In Buddhism, the concept of pain is taken to

new heights, with pain being the foundation of life.

 

To some extent this view comes closer to Fruedian world view where

happiness is absense of pain. As Frued's ironic advice to sufferers

of neurosis to exchange unbearable neurotic misery for ordinary

human unhappiness, implies modern or pre-post-modern view comes

close to this Indian - or an Indian - view of life. But while modern

view of a cure is meant for everyone, the Indic view of happiness is

meant for a spiritual elite

 

Is happiness as it understood now i.e. a man being happy at his son

getting a well paynig job, or a connoiseur of wine tasting something

an utterly new brew or a woman winning a lottery of a million pounds

or a child getting an icecream, are these kind of human experiences

don't come under the rubric of 'happiness' in ancient literature in

India.

 

Are there examples in ancient Indian world view of this conecpt of

happiness? Of course, the Tamil Sangam lit. comes closer to this

view, but would like to see more examples

[Guest guest]

Most Indian literature of old is religious. With this you cannot

treat the whole society based on such ideals.

 

Traditional Brahmins, monks of Buddhism and Jainism would definitely

view what normal people consider as happiness as that which leads to

suffering and pain. Their worldview is based on absolute ideals - not

relative living which thrives on momentary pleasures.

 

But this doesn't mean that the rest of the society lived in such a

fashion. The truly religious population at any point in time were

only a very small minority - albeit a very influential one. The great

majority lived the normal life enjoying the transient pleasures of

the world - read the kaama literature.