This morning as I sat in my quiet corner, I put to myself a question. I asked myself what it is that we are all seeking? We, who are treading the pathway of life, we who are engaged in different types of activities, what is it that we are seeking? If I were to put this question to you, and to many others, I know that I would get a variety of answers. Some would say that they are in quest of money, others would say that they are in quest of pleasures.
But if I were to put to them another question — why is it that you are seeking that which you are seeking? You say that you are seeking money, what is the reason? The one answer that I would get from everyone would be, because we want happiness. Those that are in pursuit of money, of this yellow dust that we call gold, they would tell me that they are seeking money because they feel acquisition of money would lead them to happiness. And those that are chasing the shadow shapes of pleasures they would tell me, that they are doing so in the hope that pleasures will make them happy. In its ultimate analysis my friends, everyone of us wants happiness more than anything else in this world.
But the whole world is unhappy. What is the reason? We are all walking different pathways of life. We are all in quest of happiness and yet we are all unhappy. The reason is that we are seeking happiness on the wrong track. What is the right road to happiness? Surely not the way of possessions and pleasures and power. Peace of mind is the secret to happiness and the practical aspect of the problem is how to attain peace of mind?
The answer is: Forget thyself. Do you wish to get happiness? To get happiness, you must forget yourself. And one way of forgetting yourself is to go out and serve others.
Remember, my friends, happiness moves in a circle. The happiness that goes out of you is sure, sure as the sun rises in the east, it is sure to return to you and will be to you as music at midnight. Forget yourself and bring joy into the lives of the joyless ones.
Dada J P Vaswani is a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader
