Happiness-Khushwant Singh's prescription
One on the most convincing pieces on happiness
Khushwant Singh at his best. The rationale applied to each preference is
absolutely top class.
EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS
By- KHUSHWANT SINGH
Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should
strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I
put forward for the readers' appraisal.
1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can
never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.
2. Second, A HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores but should be
enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation,
like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the
hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on
credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes.
3. Third, A HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug
feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a
garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow
and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them.
4. Fourth, AN UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there
are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is
better to be divorced than to bicker all the time.
5. Fifth, ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen
higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid
comparing yourself with others.
6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup. By the time
you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their
gossip-mongering.
7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfilment,
such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music.
Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal
waste of time.
8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes toINTROSPECTION. In the
morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in
listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still
the mind again, and ten to go over what you had undertaken to do.
RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More Or Saving More, but ...
"RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU NEED NO MORE"
Khushwant Singh at his best. The rationale applied to each preference is
absolutely top class.
EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS
By- KHUSHWANT SINGH
Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should
strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I
put forward for the readers' appraisal.
1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can
never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.
2. Second, A HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores but should be
enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation,
like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the
hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on
credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes.
3. Third, A HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug
feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a
garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow
and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them.
4. Fourth, AN UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there
are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is
better to be divorced than to bicker all the time.
5. Fifth, ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen
higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid
comparing yourself with others.
6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup. By the time
you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their
gossip-mongering.
7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfilment,
such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music.
Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal
waste of time.
8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes toINTROSPECTION. In the
morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in
listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still
the mind again, and ten to go over what you had undertaken to do.
RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More Or Saving More, but ...
"RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU NEED NO MORE"
No comments:
Post a Comment