Meditations: Statistics don’t lie

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Meditations: Statistics don't lie, money can't buy happiness

Mukunda Goswami

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What's the happiest place in the world? According to recent research

led by the London School of Economics, the happiest place in the

world is, would you believe?, Bangladesh.

Interestingly, the United States came in at 46th place in this World

Happiness Survey, with Britain at the 32nd mark.

 

India came in fifth. Not a bad for a land of nearly a billion people

with many different races, creeds, and ...well... castes.

 

The study reveals how in general happiness is inversely proportional

to peaks of economic development. Thus, although the British have

twice the amount of money they did 40 years ago, their perceived

quality of life has not improved. In fact, it has decreased, the

survey tell us.

 

According to one of the researchers, a financial colossus is seducing

people all over the world and not meeting their essential personal

needs. So, however amazing it may seem, some now prefer TV to food.

 

The Gita confirms that "one whose happiness is within, who is active

and rejoices within, is the perfect mystic. Such a person is

liberated in the Supreme and ultimately attains the Supreme."

 

Meditation doesn't mean other-worldly contemplation, or concentration

on a distant future. It means happiness in this life, plain and

simple.

 

But, we argue, there's no thrill to mediation, no zap. There's no

happiness in simply thinking about God and the spiritual world all

day. Just what kind of joy is there in so-called inner happiness? Is

that not the same kind of escapism that's been embraced throughout

history and that's even been held responsible for massive violence,

all in the name in the name of God? Is that happiness?

 

On the other hand, we know we can be happy with good jobs, lots of

money, TV, pizza, ice cream, and by seeing our favourite films.

 

How can hundreds of hermetic sages be happy? They see no one for

years on end, have little to eat, dress in rags, never watch TV or go

to movie theatres. They don't shop in malls, eat ice cream, or

burgers, and they never wear blue jeans, listen to rock, or surf the

Net.

 

OK, so how to 'download' happiness into our lives? Where do 'I' fit

in?

 

For starters, let's read instead of staring at the TV for hours at a

stretch. We can spend quality time with spiritual people, instead of

with materialists. We can engage in some form of devotional service.

Let us find the culture of life instead of what the Pope once

called "the culture of death".

 

The writer is emeritus member of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission

 

 

(source: Hindustan times)