For a few days, I can’t get my mind away from this “happiness” business. After tried to comb through my life and listed out what really makes me happy and my heart singing, I come to the conclusion (at least to me) that happiness is a quality of my soul and anything that will increase the capacities of my soul will make me happy. It is almost like that happiness is an indicator of the state of my soul. If the needs of my soul are satisfied, I am happy. Otherwise I will feel the void in my heart and become increasingly restless and unhappy. Just as physical pain is a sign that something is wrong with my body, unhappiness (we may call it spiritual pain) is a sign that something is wrong with my soul.
Then what are the needs of our soul?
We have discussed this in a previous blog that there are three fundamental capacities of our soul that need to be developed and must be developed in order to achieve inner happiness (contentment):
1.The knowing capacity: our intellect, rational thoughts. It is through this capacity we are able to discover the mysteries of the universe and our self. With the help of this capacity, we are able to discern the truth. Ultimately, the truth we are enabled to know is the truth about God, which is equivalent to the truth about ourselves (remember that we are made in the image of God and able to reflect all the attributes of God).
“Supreme happiness is man’s, and he beholds the signs of God in the world and in the human soul.”
2.The loving capacity: our feelings, our emotions and our desires. Perhaps, nothing has brought human hearts as much happiness as love has done. Love is a relationship that brings happiness to both lover and the beloved. And ultimately all love comes from God. The whole universe exists because the love of God.
“The greatest gift of man is universal love... It attracts realities and diffuses life with infinite joy.”
3. The willing capacity: our ability to take action. When we use this capacity to do what is good, when we know we are contributing to the good of the general society, it brings happiness and fulfillment to our heart. It is our deeds to define who we are, not our words after all.
“That which is truly spiritual must light the path to God, and must result in deeds.”
In conclusion, it is from our striving to know the truth, to love the beautiful and to do what is good, we derive our true and lasting happiness.
One more point, how do we differentiate what is material and what is spiritual? There is, in fact, distinctive and fundamental difference between the two: the material things, when shared, will diminish. So we are always in a position of competition for material things. On the contrary, the spiritual entity, when shared, will multiply (math doesn’t work here). For example, if I have a good idea, when share with you, we both have a good idea. So we will never be short of spiritual thing if we choose to share with each other. This will ultimately make every one happy. So the value of spiritual entity is universal.
superb! explanation.
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