The Secret to Abundant Happiness

Great is the thirst for happiness, and equally great is the lack of happiness. The majority of the poor long for riches, believing that their possession would bring them supreme and lasting happiness. Many who are rich, having gratified every desire and whim, suffer from ennui and repletion, and are farther from the possession of happiness even than the very poor. If we reflect upon this state of things it will ultimately lead us to a knowledge of the all important truth that happiness is not derived from mere outward possessions, nor misery from the lack of them; for if this were so, we should find the poor always miserable, and the rich always happy, whereas the reverse is frequently the case. Some of the most wretched people whom I have known were those who were surrounded with riches and luxury, whilst some of the brightest and happiest people I have met were possessed of only the barest necessities of life. Many men who have accumulated riches have confessed that the selfish gratification which followed the acquisition of riches has robbed life of its sweetness, and that they were never so happy as when they were poor.

The desire for happiness is great, and the lack of happiness is just as great. Most poor people long for riches, believing that wealth would bring them the greatest and most lasting happiness. Many rich people have satisfied every desire and whim, yet suffer from boredom and overindulgence. They are even farther from happiness than the very poor. If we reflect on this, we will eventually come to understand an all-important truth. Happiness does not come from possessions alone, nor does misery come from lacking them. If it did, the poor would always be miserable and the rich always happy. Yet the reverse is often true. Some of the most miserable people I have known were surrounded by wealth and luxury. Some of the brightest and happiest people I have met had only the bare necessities of life. Many men who have gained wealth have admitted that selfishly satisfying their desires afterward robbed life of its sweetness. They have confessed that they were never as happy as when they were poor.

What, then, is happiness, and how is it to be secured? Is it a figment, a delusion, and is suffering alone perennial?

What, then, is happiness, and how can we find it? Is it an illusion, and does only suffering last forever?

We shall find, after earnest observation and reflection, that all, except those who have entered the way of wisdom, believe that happiness is only to be obtained by the gratification of desire. It is this belief, rooted in the soil of ignorance, and continually watered by selfish cravings, that is the cause of all the misery in the world. And I do not limit the word desire to the grosser animal cravings; it extends to the higher psychic realm, where far more powerful, subtle, and insidious cravings hold in bondage the intellectual and refined, depriving them of all that beauty, harmony, and purity of soul whose expression is happiness.

After careful observation and reflection, we will find that all but those who have entered the way of wisdom believe happiness can only be found by satisfying desire. This belief is rooted in ignorance and constantly fed by selfish cravings. It is the cause of all the misery in the world. And by desire, I do not mean only the more basic animal cravings. Desire also reaches into the higher realm of the mind, where far more powerful, subtle, and insidious cravings hold intellectual and refined people captive. These cravings deprive them of all the beauty, harmony, and purity of soul that find expression in happiness.

Most people will admit that selfishness is the cause of all the unhappiness in the world, but they fall under the soul-destroying delusion that it is somebody else’s selfishness, and not their own. When you are willing to admit that all your unhappiness is the result of your own selfishness you will not be far from the gates of Paradise; but so long as you are convinced that it is the selfishness of others that is robbing you of joy, so long will you remain a prisoner in your self-created purgatory.

Most people will admit that selfishness causes all the unhappiness in the world. But they fall for the soul-destroying delusion that someone else’s selfishness is to blame, not their own. When you are willing to admit that your own selfishness causes all your unhappiness, you will be near the gates of Paradise. But as long as you believe that other people’s selfishness is robbing you of joy, you will remain a prisoner in the purgatory you created for yourself.

Happiness is that inward state of perfect satisfaction which is joy and peace, and from which all desire is eliminated. The satisfaction which results from gratified desire is brief and illusionary, and is always followed by an increased demand for gratification. Desire is as insatiable as the ocean, and clamors louder and louder as its demands are attended to. It claims ever-increasing service from its deluded devotees, until at last they are struck down with physical or mental anguish, and are hurled into the purifying fires of suffering. Desire is the region of hell, and all torments are centered there. The giving up of desire is the realization of heaven, and all delights await the pilgrim there.

Happiness is an inner state of complete satisfaction, joy, and peace, free from all desire. The satisfaction of getting what you desire is brief and illusory. It is always followed by a greater demand for gratification. Desire is as impossible to satisfy as the ocean. It cries out more loudly as its demands are met. It demands ever more service from its deluded followers. At last, they are struck down by physical or mental anguish and thrown into the purifying fires of suffering. Desire is the realm of hell, and all torments are centered there. Giving up desire is the realization of heaven, and all delights await the pilgrim there.

Heaven and hell are inward states. Sink into self and all its gratifications, and you sink into hell; rise above self into that state of consciousness which is the utter denial and forgetfulness of self, and you enter heaven.

Heaven and hell are states within you. Sink into yourself and all your pleasures, and you sink into hell. Rise above yourself into a state of mind that completely denies and forgets the self, and you enter heaven.

Self is blind, without judgment, not possessed of true knowledge, and always leads to suffering. Correct perception, unbiased judgment, and true knowledge belong only to the divine state, and only in so far as you realize this divine consciousness can you know what real happiness is.

The self is blind, lacks judgment and true knowledge, and always leads to suffering. Only the divine state offers clear perception, unbiased judgment, and true knowledge. You can know real happiness only to the extent that you attain this divine consciousness.

So long as you persist in selfishly seeking for your own personal happiness, so long will happiness elude you, and you will be sowing the seeds of wretchedness.

As long as you selfishly pursue your own happiness, it will escape you. You will also be sowing the seeds of misery.

In so far as you succeed in losing yourself in the service of others, in that measure will happiness come to you, and you will reap a harvest of bliss.

The more you lose yourself in serving others, the more happiness will come to you. You will reap a harvest of joy.

Cling to self, and you cling to sorrow, relinquish self, and you enter into peace. To seek selfishly is not only to lose happiness, but even that which we believe to be the source of happiness. See how the glutton is continually looking about for a new delicacy wherewith to stimulate his deadened appetite; and how, bloated, burdened, and diseased, scarcely any food at last is eaten with pleasure. Whereas, he who has mastered his appetite, and not only does not seek, but never thinks of gustatory pleasure, finds delight in the most frugal meal. The angel-form of happiness, which men, looking through the eyes of self, imagine they see in gratified desire, when clasped is always found to be the skeleton of misery. Truly, “He that seeketh his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life shall find it.”

Cling to self, and you cling to sorrow. Let go of self, and you enter into peace. Seeking things selfishly costs us not only happiness but also what we believe brings happiness. Consider the glutton, always looking for a new delicacy to stimulate a dulled appetite. In the end, bloated, burdened, and diseased, the glutton gets pleasure from hardly any food. But a person who has mastered their appetite finds delight in the simplest meal. Such a person not only does not seek the pleasure of eating but never even thinks of it. Looking through the eyes of self, people imagine that happiness appears like an angel when they satisfy a desire. But when they embrace that angel, they always find it is the skeleton of misery. Truly, “Whoever seeks their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will find it.”

Abiding happiness will come to you when, ceasing to selfishly cling, you are willing to give up. When you are willing to lose, unre servedly, that impermanent thing which is so dear to you, and which, whether you cling to it or not, will one day be snatched from you, then you will find that that which seemed to you like a painful loss, turns out to be a supreme gain. To give up in order to gain, than this there is no greater delusion, nor no more prolific source of misery; but to be willing to yield up and to suffer loss, this is indeed the Way of Life.

Lasting happiness will come when you stop clinging selfishly and become willing to let go. Be willing to give up completely that temporary thing you hold so dear. Whether you cling to it or not, it will one day be taken from you. Then you will find that what seemed like a painful loss is actually a supreme gain. There is no greater delusion than giving something up in order to gain. Nothing is a more abundant source of misery. But being willing to let go and suffer loss is indeed the Way of Life.

How is it possible to find real happiness by centering ourselves in those things which, by their very nature, must pass away? Abiding and real happiness can only be found by centering ourselves in that which is permanent. Rise, therefore, above the clinging to and the craving for impermanent things, and you will then enter into a consciousness of the Eternal, and as, rising above self, and by growing more and more into the spirit of purity, self-sacrifice and universal Love, you become centered in that consciousness, you will realize that happiness which has no reaction, and which can never be taken from you.

How can we find real happiness by centering our lives on things that must, by their very nature, pass away? Lasting, real happiness can only be found by centering our lives on what is permanent. So rise above clinging to and craving temporary things. You will then become aware of the Eternal. Rise above self and grow ever more into a spirit of purity, self-sacrifice, and universal Love. As you center yourself in this awareness, you will find happiness that has no reaction and can never be taken from you.

The heart that has reached utter self-forget fulness in its love for others has not only become possessed of the highest happiness but has entered into immortality, for it has realized the Divine. Look back upon your life, and you will find that the moments of supremest happiness were those in which you uttered some word, or performed some act, of compassion or self-denying love.

A heart that has forgotten itself completely in love for others has found the highest happiness. It has also entered immortality, because it has realized the Divine. Look back on your life. You will find that your happiest moments were those when you spoke or acted with compassion or selfless love.

Spiritually, happiness and harmony are synonymous. Harmony is one phase of the Great Law whose spiritual expression is love. All selfishness is discord, and to be selfish is to be out of harmony with the Divine order. As we realize that all-embracing love which is the negation of self, we put ourselves in harmony with the divine music, the universal song, and that ineffable melody which is true happiness becomes our own.

Spiritually, happiness and harmony mean the same thing. Harmony is one aspect of the Great Law, whose spiritual expression is love. All selfishness is discord. When we are selfish, we are out of harmony with the Divine order. As we come to know the all-embracing love that leaves no room for self, we enter into harmony with the divine music, the universal song. Its indescribable melody becomes our own, and that melody is true happiness.

Men and women are rushing hither and thither in the blind search for happiness, and cannot find it; nor ever will until they recognize that happiness is already within them and round about them, filling the universe, and that they, in their selfish searching are shutting themselves out from it.

Men and women rush blindly from place to place in search of happiness, but they cannot find it. They never will until they recognize that happiness is already within and around them, filling the universe. In their selfish search, they are shutting themselves out from it.

These beautiful lines of Burleigh’s express the secret of all abounding happiness. Sacrifice the personal and transient, and you rise at once into the impersonal and permanent. Give up that narrow cramped self that seeks to render all things subservient to its own petty interests, and you will enter into the company of the angels, into the very heart and essence of universal Love. Forget yourself entirely in the sorrows of others and in ministering to others, and divine happiness will emancipate you from all sorrow and suffering. “Taking the first step with a good thought, the second with a good word, and the third with a good deed, I entered Paradise.” And you also may enter into Paradise by pursuing the same course. It is not beyond, it is here. It is realized only by the unselfish. It is known in its fullness only to the pure in heart.

These beautiful lines by Burleigh express the secret of all abundant happiness. Give up what is personal and temporary, and you rise at once into what is impersonal and permanent. Give up the narrow, confined self that tries to make everything serve its own petty interests. Then you will enter the company of angels, into the very heart and essence of universal Love. Forget yourself entirely in the sorrows of others and in helping them. Then divine happiness will free you from all sorrow and suffering. “Taking the first step with a good thought, the second with a good word, and the third with a good deed, I entered Paradise.” You too may enter Paradise by following the same path. Paradise is not somewhere beyond us. It is here. Only the unselfish find it. Only the pure in heart know it fully.

If you have not realized this unbounded happiness you may begin to actualize it by ever holding before you the lofty ideal of unselfish love, and aspiring towards it. Aspiration or prayer is desire turned upward. It is the soul turning toward its Divine source, where alone permanent satisfaction can be found. By aspiration the destructive forces of desire are transmuted into divine and all-preserving energy. To aspire is to make an effort to shake off the trammels of desire; it is the prodigal made wise by loneliness and suffering, returning to his Father’s Mansion.

If you have not experienced this boundless happiness, you can begin to make it real. Keep the noble ideal of unselfish love before you, and strive toward it. Aspiration, or prayer, is desire directed upward. It is the soul turning toward its divine source, where alone lasting satisfaction can be found. Through aspiration, the destructive forces of desire are transformed into divine energy that preserves all things. To aspire is to try to break free from the bonds of desire. It is like the prodigal, made wise by loneliness and suffering, returning to his Father’s home.

As you rise above the sordid self; as you break, one after another, the chains that bind you, will you realize the joy of giving, as distinguished from the misery of grasping—giving of your substance; giving of your in tellect; giving of the love and light that is growing within you. You will then understand that it is indeed “more blessed to give than to receive.” But the giving must be of the heart without any taint of self, without desire for reward. The gift of pure love is always attended with bliss. If, after you have given, you are wounded because you are not thanked or flattered, or your name put in the paper, know then that your gift was prompted by vanity and not by love, and you were merely giving in order to get; were not really giving, but grasping.

As you rise above your selfish nature, you will break the chains that bind you, one after another. As you do, you will discover the joy of giving, rather than the misery of grasping. You will give your resources and your intellect. You will give the love and light growing within you. Then you will understand that it is indeed “more blessed to give than to receive.” But your giving must be of the heart, free of selfishness and any desire for reward. A gift of pure love always brings bliss. But perhaps you feel hurt after giving because you are not thanked or praised, or your name is not in the paper. If so, know that vanity, not love, prompted your gift. You were giving only to get something in return. You were not really giving, but grasping.

Lose yourself in the welfare of others; forget yourself in all that you do; this is the secret of abounding happiness. Ever be on the watch to guard against selfishness, and learn faithfully the divine lessons of inward sacrifice; so shall you climb the highest heights of happiness, and shall remain in the never-clouded sunshine of universal joy, clothed in the shining garment of immortality.

Lose yourself in caring for others. Forget yourself in everything you do. This is the secret of abundant happiness. Always guard against selfishness, and faithfully learn the divine lessons of inner sacrifice. In this way, you will reach the greatest heights of happiness. You will remain in the ever-clear sunshine of universal joy, clothed in the shining garment of immortality.