Every person seeks happiness, peace and harmony. But often stumbles upon misery, stress and dis-content. Then, starts a journey. Each one takes a different route.
The most common route leads to a pleasant life. A life of material comfort and luxury. One studies in a good school, goes to the university and finds a rewarding job and climbs up and up the ladder. Or, he starts his own business, and flourishes. Such a life is a life full of pleasures. At times, this person wonders – am I really happy?
You may choose a different track. The road less traveled. You are passionate about something and love doing it. You get so absorbed in the activity that you lose track of time, even yourself. Such a life is a life of flow, an engaged life. You may find gratification in sport, science, design, or cooking. This is good life. One uses her signature strengths on an ongoing basis and feels happy.
Some others search for meaning in their lives. They have the greater good of humanity in their minds. They seek happiness for themselves and all around them. They strive for, and acquire, right wisdom and are full of compassion for others. One such enlightened soul visited this planet about two thousand and five hundred years ago. He saw misery all around and, by deep meditation, discovered a way out of it. That is why he is known as ‘Tathagata’ – one who has walked the Path and known the Truth! The path is the eight-fold noble path of morality, mindfulness and wisdom. Such a life is a meaningful life.
Swami Vivekananda, it seems, preferred a meaningful life over others. He once said, “They only live who live for others. Others are more dead than alive!”
But you may choose the life you wish to live. You can choose a pleasant life, or an engaged one, or a life full of meaning. You can aspire to be a Buddha, and you too can become a Buddha – the Enlightened One! The choice is totally yours.
As the Enlightened One blessed us: Bhavatu sabba mangalam! May all beings be happy!
“Vipassana means seeing things as they really are. It is the process of self-purification by self-observation.”
S N Goenka
Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques. Long lost to humanity, it was rediscovered by Gautama Buddha more than 2500 years ago…
A golden gateway to vipassana meditation is the 10-day vipassana course taught by S N Goenka in hundreds of centres all over the world. It initiates you to the technique beautifully and launches you successfully into the orbit of self-awareness and self-purification.
A human mind is often compared to a monkey – jumping all around. Vipassana is not just a technique to calm the mind or enhance concentration. It goes much beyond that. It purifies the mind of all impurities of craving, aversion and ego.
Goenka follows a scientifically structured three-dimensional approach taught to him by his Burmese Teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin. The technique as practiced by Buddha was preserved and passed on from generation to generation in its pure form in the Dhamma land now known as Myanmar.
The first dimension refers to discipline and moral conduct. Known as ‘Sheela’, this lays a strong foundation for the practice. During the course, the students maintain noble silence which means no verbal or non-verbal communications of any kind, no gestures, no physical touch and eyes downcast. Nutritious and wholesome food is served for breakfast and lunch. There is evening tea and simple snacks. No dinner. Your day starts at 4 a.m. and before 10 p.m. all lights are off. You clean your own room and wash your plates. No intoxicants or smoking for the duration.
On paper, this may look difficult to observe. But I have seen youngsters in their twenties’ and thirties’, the middle-aged and the old, and men and women of different nationalities comply with the code of conduct without any difficulty. In fact, it feels good. You get a first-hand feel of a monk’s life!
The second dimension is about taming the monkey mind. It is called ‘samadhi’ or concentration. Initially, we start with focussing our attention on our natural breath as it is. Yes, it seems difficult in the beginning. The mind simply sets to wander. Instead of meditating, your mind gets lost in fantasies. You find it very difficult to bring it back. After two or three days, the wandering lessens and you are there more and more.
Once you start experiencing a bit of focus, you move on to vipassana – purification of the mind. It begins with simple observation of your sensations. Then, we go deeper and deeper. Depending on how hard and diligently you work during the course, your experiences may be different, at different levels – gross or subtle.
Don’t ever think you will attain Buddhahood in these ten days. You just get introduced to the technique. Thereafter, it’s your hard work. It may take years, even whole life, sometimes many births. Don’t expect to see some Divine light or experience a state of sweet bliss. The process of metamorphosis or purification may be painful indeed. Be ready!
The third dimension is ‘panya’ or wisdom. Through daily discourses in the evening, insights are given into the activities during the day and the philosophy behind it. Nuggets of pure dhamma gradually build-up right understanding. The morning chanting and dohas give you fodder for thought.
On the tenth day, we practice ‘metta’ bhavna meditation. We wish happiness, peace and harmony for all beings. All our cravings, aversion and ego start dissolving by now. We feel lighter, better, transformed – ready to tread on the path of Dhamma, filled with gratitude towards Buddha who understood the misery of mankind and devised a tool to eradicate it.
The ultimate learning and insight we develop: May all beings be happy! Bhavatu sabba mangalam!
Nirvana is an Illusion, Serving for a Cause is Divine
I am penning this piece on the banks of the holy Ganga in the sacred land of Sages and Rishis on the foothills of the Himalayas.
I feel blessed as I am attending an international festival of yoga in Rishikesh. Around me are more than a thousand yoga gurus and yogis from more than a hundred countries. It is but natural to feel high on yoga, meditation and spiritual discourses from 4 am to 10 pm.
Last night was a restless one for me. Thoughts moved as fleeting clouds the whole night in my mind. Is nirvana a necessity or a luxury? Is it for real? Or, is it an illusion, delusion, confusion, or hallucination created by the spiritual guys?
I am an old man now by worldly standards. Even then, I stand on the crossroads like an Arjuna on the battle ground of Kurukshetra, with no Krishna around.
All my life, I tried all the available faiths and doctrines by hit and trial. I did not find much solace anywhere. Finally, I saw a silver lining – the path of the Buddha. Meditation is the quintessence of his teachings. I started practicing it.
I am just a step away from nirvana. Nirvana looks down upon me and gives a wry smile. I feel I am not interested in taking the next step. It seems futile. What will anyone else gain if I am enlightened?
I have seen the glow in the eyes of spiritual persons at the sight and smell of dollars. And feel saddened when they ignore us who have the most valuable currency – authenticity and happiness. It really hurts.
I do have a few vices remaining – ego which erupts from time to time, aversion towards those who play games, and craving for the beautiful ones. I sometimes feel that I am a sexual volcano on a human, spiritual journey.
I tried to attain all the perfections and succeeded to some extent. I admit that I have not been able to develop patience, temperance and humility. Why should I be polite to the hypocrites, scoundrels and rascals?
As I told you, I am almost in the neighborhood of Nirvana but I am not interested now. I feel disillusioned by the very concept of nivana.
Nirvana is non-productive. It makes people idle and alienates them from real world and their duties. To be here and now in the present moment, I feel one should be totally engaged in work, play, love and relationships. That is true happiness!
I feel the best form of spiritual life is serving for a social or humanitarian cause. One should strive to be a Mother Teresa, a Gandhi, a Martin Luther King, an Abraham Lincoln or a Malala or Satyarthi, instead of chasing a mirage called nirvana.
Vipassana Meditation: All You Wanted to Know About the 10-Day Retreat
Vipassana is an ancient technique of meditation discovered by the Buddha more than two thousand and five hundred years ago. It is non-sectarian and open to people of all colour and creed.
The 10-day retreat of silence and meditation is a unique experience which everyone should have at least once in lifetime. It’s a boot camp for the mind and gives you a first-hand feel of virtue, mindfulness and wisdom.
During the tenure of the course, you observe five precepts: abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lies and intoxicants.
You wake up at 4 am and meditation begins at 4.30 am. All through the day, you meditate, meditate and meditate! Of course, you have breaks for breakfast, lunch and evening meals. You are in your bed by 9.30 pm.
The accommodation is simple and hygienic, with basic amenities. No television. No internet. You live like a monk/nun for ten days of your life.
The food is simple and nutritious. Some people have an impression that they might starve there. That’s not correct.
On the zero day, you have to report at the centre by afternoon. You are required to deposit your mobile phone, cash and valuables in a locker allotted to you.
Please carry simple and comfortable clothing with you for the course. Don’t carry too many of those. Laundry service is usually available at the centre.
What you learn in the ten days is truly valuable and often life transforming. For the first three days, you learn to concentrate by focussing on your breath, next six days are for gaining insight into your body and mind, and on the last day you enjoy the bliss of loving kindness meditation.
The course also guides you subtly to a routine of moral discipline, purity of mind and loving kindness for all beings.
You learn the basic technique there and then go back home to continue meditating and progressing in the path of spirituality.
The course gets over on the eleventh day at 7 am.
It’s an experience you will cherish, adore and would like to repeat frequently!
You may register for a 10-day course at the global website for Vipassana Meditation.
May your life be filled with happiness, love, peace and tranquillity!
“Prana” means breath. “Ana(prana)” is the breath that comes in and “apana(prana)” is the breath that goes out. Both put together and shortened for convenient usage make “anapana”. Anapanasati is concentration on breath coming in and going out.
It is believed that mindfulness of breathing, cultivated and regularly practiced, is of great fruit and great benefit. Two thousand and five hundred years ago, Buddha outlined the method in Anapanasati Sutta – the discourse on mindfulness of breathing.
He begins elucidating the method, “A monk, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, established mindfulness in front of him, ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.”
The focus is on breath alone. The meditator observes his breath dispassionately. There is no attempt to modulate breathing. Just observation.
While breathing in a long breath, he knows, “I breathe in a long breath”; breathing out a long breath, he knows, “I breathe out a long breath.” Breathing in a short breath, he knows, “I breathe in a short breath”; while breathing out a short breath, he knows, “I breathe out a short breath.” Experiencing the body, he breathes in and out. Calming the bodily function of breathing, he breathes in and out.
The meditation takes him on an inner journey encompassing contemplations of the body, feelings, the mind, and mind-objects. During each step, he continues to observe his breath.
Experiencing rapture, or happiness, or the mental functions; he breathes in and out. Calming the mental functions, he breathes in and out. Experiencing, or gladdening, or concentrating, or liberating the mind; he breathes in and out. Contemplating impermanence, or dispassion, or cessation, or relinquishment; he breathes in and out.
The Blessed One recommends, “This concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and practiced much, is both peaceful and sublime, it is an unadulterated blissful abiding, and it banishes at once and stills evil unprofitable thoughts as soon as they arise.”
Meditation, Yoga, Laughter Yoga, The Science of Happiness, Spirituality
Can we be happy on a continuous basis?
How can we attain and sustain a tranquil mind?
Is it possible for us to develop a simple routine that can keep us charged throughout the day?
Can we prevent stress from arising in our daily life?
Is there a way to be child-like once again in body, mind and spirit?
These are some of the questions I have been pondering over for more than two decades now. Not just pondering but researching and experimenting. I feel happy and fulfilled that years of hard work has borne fruit and I can now share something worthwhile which will be of great benefit to many.
I began my journey as a behavioural science trainer facilitating people to discover their real self. Sometimes I was with them for long hours and felt satisfied that I was able to help them. But when I went back home, I found it difficult to share the experience I had during the day with my wife. It felt sad as some of them were valuable experiences indeed.
We, therefore, decided to take up an activity that we could do together. It proved to be our wisest decision ever.
Laughing together
We went to learn laughter yoga and thereafter conducted sessions to bring smiles on the faces around. It was our way of giving back. We had never imagined that we would go so deep into it and engage with participants coming from almost the whole world.
Laughter yoga is one of the happiest activities that one can imagine of. It generates a lot of positivity. It is good for health and generates instant joy.
Unconditional laughter many a times leads you to a deep meditative state freeing you of all stress and worries of life. It is also a sweet spiritual experience when you can make the depressed ones laugh and the tough ones crack like kids.
Despite numerous positives, we felt that it had its own limitations. It was like a pudding and human beings need wholesome meal for mind and body, heart and soul.
We started exploring yoga nidra – a systematic method for inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation. As we went deeper and deeper, we unearthed hidden treasures. That lead us to the ancient techniques of meditation and subsequently to Buddha’s mindfulness and insight meditation.
The Science of Happiness
Concurrently, I was following the latest developments in positive psychology. Per its founder, Martin Seligman, the five elements of well-being are positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Being a student of science myself, I have all the reverence for Seligman but, having delved a bit into spirituality, I believe that well-being is not only a construct but is multi-dimensional and much more complex.
Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology, describes the most effective happiness activities in her book entitled ‘The How of Happiness’. It is interesting that these activities include: practicing religion and spirituality, taking care of your body (meditation), taking care of your body (physical activity), taking care of your body (acting like a happy person).
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychologist, finds great similarities between yoga and flow. He considers yoga as a “thoroughly planned flow activity” as both try to achieve a joyous, self-forgetful involvement through concentration, which in turn is made possible by a discipline of the body.
Stephen Covey, Daniel Goleman, Matthieu Ricard and Richard Gere, to name just a few of the luminaries, practice meditation and have deep faith in meditation as a contributing factor for enduring happiness.
Experiments with happiness
Based on our study, we carried out some experiments with happiness. We created and administered four programmes to different sets of participants in different environment.
The first programme is named ‘The Wheel of Happiness and Well-Being’ for participants in a formal set-up like workplace or educational institution. It includes inputs of positive psychology, meditation, yoga, laughter yoga and spirituality. The sessions are well appreciated and the audience find great value in it.
Some people seek peace and serenity. For them we conduct a programme named ‘Meditate like Buddha’ once a week early in the morning. It’s only ingredient is meditation – pure meditation, nothing else. All the participants desire to have the programme daily.
We conduct ‘Happiness boot camp’ on weekends for families in a park. It includes yoga, meditation, laughter yoga and fun activities. The response has been getting better and better.
Then, we also have a longish, multi-dimensional retreat of a week’s duration named ‘East meets West’ which blends the best of modern science with ancient wisdom. Here you learn to make your life happier, meaningful and worthwhile and also train to be a versatile and multi-faceted Happiness and Well-Being Facilitator.
It has plentiful inputs from Positive Psychology, Yoga, Meditation, Laughter Yoga and Spirituality along with special offerings of Yoga Nidra, Surya Namaskara, Anapana Meditation, Sufi Meditation and Happiness Activities.
We have planned one such retreat on the bank of Ganga in the Himalayas at Rishikesh, India.
Having conducted sessions and interacted with thousands of people for years now, we feel that we have the recipe for happiness and well-being with us. Being able to touch lives is the ultimate fulfillment.
A Pathway to Authentic Happiness, Well-being and a Meaningful Life
Happiness, say the positive psychologists, is the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.
Twenty-three hundred years ago, Aristotle concluded that, more than anything else, men and women seek happiness. It is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. Different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life.
What is the pathway to authentic happiness, well-being and a meaningful life? How can we equip ourselves with sustainable scientific tools to cultivate a happy and fulfilling life with a greater sense of well-being? This article attempts to answer these questions.
Taking care of body, mind and spirit is of utmost importance. It’s like a tripod. All limbs must be equally strong for balance and harmony. We need to transform the entire experience of life by taking care of all the relevant dimensions – physiological, psychological and spiritual.
After years of deep study and practical sessions with people from all walks of life, a holistic approach has emerged that blends carefully the best of positive psychology, meditation, yoga, laughter yoga, and spirituality.
Positive psychology is the science of happiness. It provides authentic understanding of happiness and well-being and dispels myths and wrong notions about happiness. It is a treasure trove of evidence-based happiness-increasing strategies from which one may choose activities suitable for oneself.
Meditation is an invaluable tool for calming, concentration and purification of the mind. It clears clouds and lets you seek wisdom. According to Matthieu Ricard, happiest monk on this planet, “Meditation is a practice that makes it possible to cultivate and develop certain basic positive human qualities in the same way as other forms of training make it possible to play a musical instrument or acquire any other skill.”
Yoga can do wonders for your health by stimulating endocrinal systems and taking care of neuro-muscular systems. It is suitable for modern day lifestyle diseases and brings about body-mind union. If you don’t have enough time, even then surya namaskara can be easily integrated into your daily life as it requires only five to fifteen minutes’ practice daily to obtain beneficial results remarkably quickly.
Laughter yoga combines laughter exercises with yogic breathing. It is instrumental in oxygenation of the body, strengthening immune system, and stress relief as feel good hormones known as endorphins are generated during the process. Just ten minutes of gentle laughter in the morning can change the complexion of your day.
Spirituality provides right view and right understanding of life. It gives spiritual insight into right speech, right action and right livelihood. Inner wisdom steers us in the right direction. If you desire everlasting health and happiness, cultivate wisdom.
All the five components – positive psychology, meditation, yoga, laughter yoga and spirituality – put together, enable complete transformation of the entire experience of life.
The benefits include health, happiness and peace for individuals; stress relief, team building, higher productivity, leadership and positivity at workplaces; health, bonding and integration in communities; and creativity, better concentration, emotional intelligence, spiritual growth, strong immune system and all-round personality development of youngsters.
In conclusion, may we say that the practice of yoga, meditation and laughter yoga along with fundamental understanding of positive psychology and spirituality can lead you to lasting happiness and peace.
Jagat Singh Bisht, Founder: LifeSkills
LifeSkillsis a pathway to authentic happiness, well-being and a meaningful life!
