Why are We Unhappy?-1

Why are We Unhappy?-1

Everyone of us wants to know why is there so much unrest in the world, and more importantly, is spirituality a panacea for happiness? The faster we are progressing, the quicker we seem to be derailing. The more comforts we acquire, the more uncomfortable we get with our lives. More and more of us are becoming increasingly impatient, distracted, depressed and dissatisfied with where, who and what we are. We are doing everything we possibly can to be happy, to be at peace, yet happiness and peace look like the ever elusive summer clouds. Why?

Personally, I think inner unrest, discontent and unhappiness are not the causes we need to worry about. For, they are not even the causes to begin with, they are only the symptoms. We are not dissatisfied because we are unhappy. We are not distracted because we are impatient. These are like acnes on an oily skin. They blemish the skin but it’s the impurity in the skin that has created them at the first place. So, if unrest, intolerance, violence, impatience, unhappiness are not the causes then what are, you may ask? And whatever be the causes, is spirituality the universal answer?

The truth is that the source of all good and bad in our world stems from one thing. In my view, it is resistance. Just look around and you’ll find most of us lead a life of great resistance. We are trying to resist other people, ideas, circumstances, beliefs, situations and everything else we want to avoid. And, this leads me to the crux of the matter: what do I really mean by resistance? Here, in simple terms:

Almost everyone of us has only two key problems in life. They are, in fact, the only two challenges. Eliminate these and there is no resistance, unhappiness or stress.

First: people want something that they don’t have. Be it health, wealth, power, love, attention or anything else.

Second: they have something that they don’t want. Once again, be it anything. We sail through, often against the winds, a life of several decades constantly working towards what we think we must have in our lives or evading what we think we shouldn’t have.

From this ideology of wanting what you don’t have and avoiding what you don’t like, are born the demons of unrest and unhappiness. They are the result of an inner turmoil, they are born out of resistance, they are the outcome. And, any outcome is not determined by our preferences or desires, it is but sealed by our actions. Therefore, resisting the outcome is foolish. You must focus on the path. If you are sailing in the sea, sooner or later, the waves will get choppy, they will rock your boat. God won’t make the sea calm just because you are praying for it in the middle of the ocean. He can’t afford to because countless aquatic creatures’ lives depend on those tempestuous waves.

Om Namah Shivay