In our day-to-day life all of us are engaged in some activity or the other, presumably in pursuit of happiness. We may not be all the time aware of or conscious of the fact that the ultimate aim of all our activities is happiness. Happiness that we are after is that which comes from fulfilling our desires. We work to earn to keep our families in comfort, though we may not be quite liking the work that we are doing. Then, it is not the immediate happiness that keeps us on our jobs and business activities, but the happiness that can be procured from performing the activities that may not, per se, we like. It is said that altruistic people do good deeds and help others not really to meet the need s of the underprivileged or helpless people, but it gives them a sense of fulfilment and happiness. People loot and murder not because these deeds give them happiness (may not be true in case of sadists or psychopaths!) but to fulfil the other desires. When we analyse thus, we would reach the conclusion that we are always in pursuit of happiness. How lasting is this happiness is something we hardly bother to ponder. Most of the happy events are not even noticed in our lives, but if the desires are not fulfilled, however small the desire is, there is a positive pain, very recognizable and nagging.
But happiness that we derive from wealth, security and other material objects, is known to be short lived and desire for these keep growing endlessly until our last day on earth. There is never a point of satisfying all ones material desires.
In western societies happiness is mainly derived from material pursuits, physical activities such as water sports, bungee jumping, wind surfing etc and a whole lot of other activities, which for one thing the majority of Indians can hardly afford. What does the Indian do for happiness then? He has to find activities that he can afford, because most of the leisure activities cost a lot for the ordinary Indian to indulge. The most affordable activity of the ordinary Indian is pilgrimage. People go on pilgrimages for different reasons. Faith in God has great healing powers because the poor has nowhere to go except go in search of God.
When the French colonial rule ended in 1956, Habib Bourguiba, who advanced secular ideas, led Tunisia for three decades and these included emancipation for women - women's rights in Tunisia are among the most advanced in the Arab world - the abolition of polygamy and compulsory free education. But the people of Tunisia were far from happy due to a feeling spiritual vacuum and it was reported that at one time people thronged and crowded around a replica of the Kaaba in an exhibition and waited for several hours in long serpentine queues to have a glimpse of the sacred place of the Muslims. They prayed with tears in their eyes as though they were witnessing the original. Immediately following the Bourguiba regime there was a strong surge of religious activities in the country, as though the people where longing for a spiritual revival and many women who threw away the veil earlier adopted it again.
Like in the west, affluent societies do not need spiritual pursuits for happiness, since they have the resources for seeking happiness through many material alternatives – if that can be called happiness. But these societies also come to a point of saturation after a time and the heart will seek for spiritual fulfillment. We see the revival of religious or spiritual revival in many affluent societies. One difficulty with spirituality is that the seeker does not know what he is seeking. The seeker can at best wait for an experience, which is new and exhilarating but can one explain what it is that he is waiting for. A true seeker may be one who abandons everything in pursuit of the “Unknown” but when one embarks on this pursuit, can any one be sure of any kind of outcome? It is said that, knowing the “Unknown”, that is the realization of the truth, that is realization of God is the ultimate happiness, which is endless and which does not expire after a time!
The Hindu thinking is that, life is all about seeking the ultimate truth. The purpose of birth is to strive towards realization of God. God Realization is the ultimate experience, the ultimate knowledge of all. A realized person has no desire for any further knowledge because he knows everything. The law of Karma does not bind realised person. He is one with God. That is to say “He is”. He is bliss itself!