Every human being in this world makes life-long efforts to attain eternal happiness or constant and ever lasting Peace. In fact, man's all actions are directed towards the achievement of this goal. But, the great turmoil and unrest in the world, despite all efforts, makes one ask: "What really is the way to realise this universal aim?"
Can man have full measure of peace and happiness if he can have abundance of material objects to gratify his senses?
Evidently not, because from one's observation of the nature of things as they are, one can easily conclude that success in material pursuits does not necessarily lead one to inner happiness as there are other factors also involved. The source of true happiness and transcendental bliss lies not in material objects, rather it springs from the equanimity of mind; it comes by stabilising the mind in the self. We all know well that if man's mind is disturbed, then even the choicest dishes served to him, great honour showered on him and even a grand reception accorded to him would be tasteless or unpleasing to him.
Moreover, man's indulgence into sense-objects or his acts of consuming material things 'consume' him also in the process, for we all observe that, gradually, man's physical organs become unserviceable, his frame becomes frail and weak, his senses become feeble, his body becomes wearied and outworn, the sap of his life gets sipped up and the zest and vigour spent up.
We also notice that one man likes an object fondly whereas to another man this same thing is an anathema and he wants to get rid of it as soon as possible. Does this not prove that happiness is not dependent upon or proportionate to the material objects one can store up, rather it has its bearing on one's mental attitude and one's inner state of being?
Further, we observe that worldly objects are constantly changing; by their very nature they are ephemeral. So, how can that, which has no permanence, be a source of constant peace or permanent happiness? Furthermore, we all know from our own experience and from experiences of others that man spends his whole life-time in acquiring objects, storing them up, making them fit for consumption, then consuming them up and, if by force of circumstances, arising from his past actions, he loses these objects, these same things become a cause for mental agony.
The above analysis is not meant to lead one to conclude that man should not work to fulfil his material needs. As long as one has physical existence, one will require such things as food, clothes, shelter etc. and, if one does not have these, the unfulfilled material needs can upset man's mind. Further, passivity would gradually lead to sloth which is a vice too. So, what was meant to be conveyed in the foregoing para was that the pursuit of objects or amassing of wealth alone does not lead one to the fulfilment of the inner urge for eternal and complete peace. Rather, one requires health, mental rest, clamness and good relations with other beings also in one's life.
The Law of Action
Deep reflection would lead one to conclude that all the above-said four kinds of happiness depend on what kind of action we do. "As you sow, so shall you reap, thus goes the well-known saying. Even the atheists should have faith in the Law of Karma because this law is the spiritual version of what is called by the scientists as 'Newton's Third Law of Motion.' Action never goest waste i.e. without producing any effect. Man cannot escape the result of what he has done. Whether one is a saint or a sinner, one has to reap his Karma- this is an inviolable rule. One may or may not be able to see, with his gross eyes, the effects of his Karma, but there definitely is just dispensation. Things may take sometime to happen, but, in this worid which runs according to some eternal laws, there is no inequity and floundering. The man who causes some harm to others, suffers instantly mental unrest and, if he does not suffer at that moment, he dies a sad man, or if his end be not so grievous, he does have to suffer in the next life.
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