Inner Tranquility and Compassion

One of the most significant questions that lies beneath our existence is-What is the purpose of our existence? I believe that it is to remain happy. Happiness is what every human longs for right from the time they are born. It is what the world is chasing.

If you take a look at my first post, you will find that I deem happiness to be the state of just being; the state of inner tranquility. From my experience, I have felt that the greatest amount of inner tranquility comes from the development of compassion. The more love and compassion we show to others, the greater our own sense of happiness becomes. The reason being, the need for love is one of our most basic needs. Love and compassion are feelings that we treasure above all. However independent a person might be, but at the end of the day he depends on the support of others. We are all interdependent on one another.

Most of us have a tendency to get attached to the people we love. We tend to magnify their goodness and overlook their negativity and thus, these people appear good to us. The love and compassion we are talking about must not be mixed with the feelings of desire and attachment. Compassion is not a sentimental response but it is an unyielding allegiance. A person who is truly compassionate does not show consideration to selected people but towards all other fellow beings. This feeling of compassion does not change even if others behave negatively.

Developing this kind of compassion is one of the most difficult tasks. First of all, we must acknowledge that all beings want happiness and their right to obtain it is as much as one’s own self. Once we develop this feeling we instinctively experience a sense of empathy towards all individuals. Although, developing compassion isn't easy, but given time and persistence, it is possible.

Compassion does not only contribute to achievement of individual happiness and tranquility but also towards improvement of the human community as a whole. It is the key to a happier world.

“I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the practice of compassion.”

--Dalai Lama

Lessons learnt along the way

I battled an Eating Disorder for a long time. Yes, it was one of the worst days of my life. I felt like it was impossible for me to get out of that vicious cycle. But this isn't about my experience through that phase. It is about the lessons that I learnt. These are the lessons that made me a stronger and a wiser person and they are to stay with me for the rest of my journey through life.

One very important lesson that I learnt was about perception. Perception is like our glasses. We look at the world through it. It is perception that creates our reality. But the truth about perception is that perception itself is an illusive contraption. We never perceive anything as it actually is. Our perception is spiked by our psychological state and our beliefs. Therefore. perception and reality don't always match up.

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing. it is possible that i may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if i have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning"
--Mahatma Gandhi 

These perceptions of life, whether real or false, make us the people who we are. Our identity is based on our perception. We can bring about a huge change in us and our quality of life by bringing about a change in our perception. This is exactly what helped me. 

One of my favorite quotes is- "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For a man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern"
--William Blake

Once we become aware of the fact that we can construct our own reality, we can take charge. Human power lies in the capacity to choose. This power lies inside of us. We can reach closer to reality by becoming more conscious, becoming more aware and becoming more sensitive to ourselves as well as the world outside. We must trust our own ability to take the helm through life based on our own inner truth. Ponder more! Don't just believe. 

You have a choice. What will you choose?

What is the world running after?

If we take a look at this world; a look at life as a whole, we will find that everyone around here is running- running after something. The question is "What is that Something"? I would say One word~ Happiness.

At this very point another question arises - What is Happiness?

Some define Happiness as a state of mind or an emotional state whereas there are other who define happiness as an expression of a good life. I guess every other person would have their very own customized definition.

What I believe is somewhat different to the opinion others might hold. According to me happiness is not an emotion rather it is a state of being. It is an essential state of being. It is something that lies within us.

As I said earlier, everyone is running after Happiness. Yet hardly any of us are happy. The answer lies right here. Most of us try to find happiness in external objects. Although it might seem to us that we are deriving happiness out of peripheral objects or experiences, but the happiness so enjoyed actually comes from within us.

In the core of our being, there exists a state of absolute peace. It can be compared to the calm in the eye of a tempest. Desire and fear incite our minds, which causes it to lose sight of its own innate happiness. Once the turmoil comes to a rest, our mind savors its own natural state of peace and joy i.e; happiness.

Thus, true happiness comes from just being. It is something that is beyond intellectual capacity. It is a state of being conscious of one's own essential being.

So, Stay Calm and Stay Happy. ☮