We all are searching for happiness that is unconditional — wherein the mind does not set conditions for itself to be happy and is happy regardless of what is going on. And, unconditional happiness can only come from keeping the mind peaceful. Effective techniques of meditation can help.
First an Analogy: Comparing the human body to a house
The human body is often compared with a house by Indian texts. In this comparison, senses (eyes, ears, nose, skin, tongue) are like windows.
Imagine living inside a very specific type of a house. Imagine the windows to be the only openings the house has to experience the world outside. Imagine also that the windows open and close randomly (akin to the mind focusing on a sense at random) and the open windows bring in random lights and sounds (akin to the unpredictability of the events in the world outside). Now imagine what would it be like to spend a lifetime inside such a house. What would you do as windows keep on opening and closing at random and you get bombarded with unpredictable lights and sounds through the open windows? This just keeps going on. Perhaps you would try and protect yourself from the flood of random signals that perpetually keeps coming into the house, close your eyes and ears, and try and find some peace within. Can you imagine happiness in this chaotic house in any way other than trying to look for some calm within?
This is how the human mind in this world is like. Our senses keep throwing a riot of signals at us every waking moment. The mind focuses on one sense or another (the open window(s) in the house). But many of us do not try and find any peace within. Trying to be happy in such a setting is like trying to be happy in a ship being tossed around in a storm.
Key Principles
Here are some key principles that I have learn from putting into practice what is taught in Indian texts about the human mind and happiness.
PRINCIPLE 1: A “normal” mind is always in a state of unrest
A “normal” mind is perpetually both bombarded by and thirsty for sense-signals (i.e. signals from sensory organs – eyes, ears, skin, nose, and tongue). In other words, we are always looking to get something from the world as sensory input(s). There is no shortage of such wants: owning money, meeting or spending time with people, having fame, enjoying vacations, living in luxury, driving nice cars, working with new gadgets, watching movies or games, spending time with someone, traveling …. and so on. This craving makes for a mind that is not at rest and makes itself dependent upon sensory inputs. Such a mind is as much at peace as a narcotic addict wanting the next high.
PRINCIPLE 2: A mind in a state of unrest cannot be truly happy
Given the description of the house above, it should be clear to a reader that the interfaces we have with the outside world (our senses that are like the randomly opening and closing windows of the house) create disturbances inside of us. A mind immersed in the random signals it receives from the outside world may be described as busy, distracted, or floating on auto-pilot. But, I would not describe such a mind as happy.
Instead, I would describe happiness (remember we are living inside that random windows house) as unconditional contentment regardless of the signals coming in through the windows.
Now, let’s look at what we usually settle for as happiness: an inert mental state interspaced by some highs. These highs are moments wherein we see ourselves as being happy. Pretty much most of the life is spent in memory of such moments or in wait or desire for them. In the house analogy above, such moments are like a few flashes of light through the window that we liked seeing. And then they were gone. Then at some points in time, a person remembers those signals and misses them – trying to re-live them in the mind. I would call this false happiness. Such a mind is living in memories of the past or desires for the future. A mind in this state is not happy for most of the time. It keeps restlessly looking for sensory signals to give it a momentary high. Worse, such a mind may look back at a handful of such high experiences and be convinced that it has lived a happy life. So, it would see no need to change.
Unconditional happiness cannot be achieved by a restless mind. It needs a mind in a state of peace as its foundation. This state of peace cannot be achieved by a “normal person” untrained by an effective meditation technique. A “normal” person would be engaged in constant, restless activity chasing one desire or another (knowingly or unknowingly). In his mind, the misguided belief is that happiness would come only if something was achieved. So, happiness is seen as conditional in a “normal” person. On the other hand, unconditional happiness cannot come from a constantly changing world. It can only come from within a peaceful mind.
When happiness comes from within, the person would not count 10 or 20 or 30 great moments of life and say that they are the reason he has been truly happy. Such a person would look within to find happiness moment after moment. Given that the mind keeps getting distracted from time to time, such a person would live a life that would be much more contented than another who counts 10 or 20 or 30 great moments in life as the fulfilling ones. A person at peace would also not depend upon outside events or conditions to be happy. He can just keep experiencing more and more happiness from within himself.
PRINCIPLE 3: Meditation provides the path to bring peace and happiness to one’s mind
When the mind is at peace, happiness naturally follows. In this state, the mind is not thirsty for anything that the world has to offer as sensory inputs. It is in its natural state of unconditional happiness. Ancient Indian texts assert that this is our true nature – to be happy every moment. Living in the chaotic house described above, we just don’t give ourselves the mental space to become our true selves again.
Surprisingly, such a state of peace is not hollow, in terms of mental satisfaction or happiness. It is a blissful state which comes hand-in-hand with happiness. It needs to be experienced to be understood, just as a beautiful picture cannot be adequately communicated through words alone.
Closing note
True (unconditional) happiness is not the initial state we find ourselves in. We start from the state of false happiness – wherein we believe ourselves to be dependent upon sensory signals to make us happy. To move from this state of false happiness to a state of true happiness, one needs to work. More specifically, we need to push against barriers within our own minds. The opposite is also true. Passively leave the mind to its own devices, and it will regress to the state wherein it thirsts for the next high and sees sense-signals as the only things that can possibly make it happy.
Recommended Readings
The Advanced Meditation Exercise (TAME): This meditation technique is an incredibly powerful way to keep the mind peaceful. It is prescribed in Bhagwad Gita, the primary book of Indian spiritual heritage. It derives its power by activating three key things in us: detachment, stillness, and transformation.
Float above reality …. to remain always happy: Use the TAME meditation technique to keep yourself emotionally detached from ups and downs of the daily grind. This can feel like physically floating above the world. Don’t get divorced from reality, but don’t get drowned by it either.
Why TAME meditation appears to work better than other techniques: TAME meditation appears to be more effective than other meditation techniques because it activates three essential elements of meditation: detachment, transformation, and stillness. Meditation needs all three.
Gita verse with the same premise as this article. My interpretation: “Without grounding oneself (i.e. without yoga),** there is neither spiritual intelligence nor understanding of the self. Without this self-understanding, there is no mental peace. And how can you have happiness without mental peace?”
Section on meditation articles
Footnotes
* Yoga is not really a set of physical exercises. It is all about brining lasting peace to the mind. The physical exercises done in its name usually provide the stability and poise needed to advance and perform the more evolved mental exercises that advance a person on the path of yoga. More information on yoga can be obtained from books on Yogasutra.
** Yoga, by definition, is the way to ground oneself (or connect with the Larger Entity (energy / God / Universal Being etc.) that underpins this creation. As I have commented elsewhere, a powerful way to do this “grounding” is through TAME meditation.
