The Art Of Happiness.

Recently, we met a girl who is in the 9th grade. She was very good in her studies before the pandemic. She is in her adolescence, and with the sudden shift to online schooling and digital learning, she lost her grip on writing for exams. She has more interest in sports, so now she has practically given up on studies. She is now barely passing with grace marks. Her parents got worried and started meeting with counselors to find out exactly what was wrong. They came to me as a counselor suggested getting her eyes and ears tested, thinking she might have a learning disability. When she came to the clinic, she had a blank expression on her face, no smile, as if she was forced to come for these tests. We did her hearing test, and it was absolutely normal. I did another test and found out she doesn't have a learning disability either. Somehow, we still don't know what is wrong with her.

I did a bit of counseling from my side. I said that even my younger daughter never had a keen interest in studies or writing, and today, after graduation, she is writing screenplays and web series. I used to tell her, "Do whatever you like in life. You must enjoy what you do, and wherever you go, you need to have basic education to survive." Suddenly, there was a spark on this girl's face. Her mother promptly replied, "Yes, I also have two daughters. My elder one is doing well in education, but somehow I don't know why she is losing interest." I suddenly realized the mother was comparing the elder child to the younger one, who was quite different. The younger daughter looked at her mother with so much anger. Then, the mother said to cover up, "You know, my both daughters are also very smart.

Why do I narrate real stories every time? It is because I feel that what we perceive is not always real. The art of happiness lies in how we look at things. In today's scientific world, we have forgotten that the real art of happiness is in loving yourself, your family, your community, your country, your loved ones, and nature. I visited Africa recently and was so happy to see the freedom of animals and birds to breathe natural air so happily. I came back with so much positive energy. When I started my exercises again, I was so happy to do them that my trainer commented, "It's great to see you coming back with so much energy, please maintain it." I promptly said, "Now I have learned the art of happiness, which is to just be natural."

Social media and apps like WhatsApp teach us every day how well and aggressively we need to market ourselves. They pull us into a fake world of fashion and glamour, telling us what to eat and what not to eat, what exercises to do, and what brands will make us look great. They even dictate which foods will taste good or make us feel healthy and which medicines we should take, among other pieces of advice. We have become so occupied with this thought process that we have forgotten what is real, what makes us happy, and what is natural. Just look at the birds and animals; all these years, they have survived on what God has made for them, and they know the real art of happiness.

Sometimes we parents, caught up in the rat race, become overly conscious about every act of our kids. We don’t give them the freedom to think and start comparing them with others. The mother also mentioned that her daughter goes to two or three tuitions but still isn't doing well. We have this very wrong perception that kids won't do well if they don't attend tuition and classes. They are so busy running around for their classes that they don’t enjoy what they need to do at their stage of life. I have seen two extremes in parenting: either parents are too strict with their kids or they are not bothered about them at all. To bring the real art of happiness into our lives and our kids' lives, we need to learn to balance everything.

As I said earlier, "The real art of happiness is to love yourself, your family, your community, and your country without any selfish motives. To love and to be loved is the true essence of happiness." From my Africa visit I gained so much energy that my perception of looking at things has changed. A positive outlook towards nature helps me to analyse and understand how much nature gives us in the form of energy but these energies are unheard and unseen. Nature has got all teachings for in our surroundings only but all in positive form with those calm winds blowing, lush greens telling us to be positive and those flowers blossoming early morning and birds chirping give us a reason to smile. Animals too struggle to survive according to changing seasons but yet they don't complain but instead look for the flexibility of freedom to survive. Now this is the real art of happiness when you find positivity and happiness in your bad and good days equally.

I was writing this article while sitting in my clinic when a child I had helped from Nathdwara came to meet me. I was so happy to see him. When I first gave him hearing aids, he was a small, tiny 10-year-old. Now he has grown into a handsome young man, has completed his BA and MA in Sanskrit, and is running his own shop in Nathdwara near Udaipur. He was feeling grateful for what he has become now. Since I was writing about happiness, I asked him, "What is the art of happiness for you?" He promptly said, "Since the time I’ve been hearing well and able to use my potential, being independent in what I do is my real happiness. I’m content and take care of my loved ones; that is my happiness." When I heard him, I became speechless. In a few words, he made me understand the real essence of happiness in life.

He says, "I live in a place where Lord Krishna, Shrinathji, is present. He is our guiding force. Whatever he does is for our good. Lord Krishna performed all his leelas with both good and bad things happening in his life, yet he never lost his smile and never let his loved ones lose theirs either. For me, the art of happiness lies in having faith in God, believing in myself, and doing good deeds so that my next birth is better. My art of happiness is total surrender to God in my thoughts. He brought me to this level, and he will raise me to the next. Jai Shree Krishna...

We'll talk further in part 2."