Secret of happiness

 
We are all in search of happiness. Some get only a few drops, others have oceans full of them. When we focus on the external aspects, it appears that money, power and fame bring us happiness. However, that is not the case always. Money and power work to some extent to make us happy but they don’t last forever.
 
There are two prerequisites to join the ranks of true human beings. One is obedience. Not just to others, but to one’s own inner voice or conscience. The conscience never lies or misleads. It may not have a loud voice, but it is clearly heard when the mind is silent. When we listen to the inner voice, the natural outcome is that we respect others. When a permanent listening post is set up in the mind where the voice of conscience is always heard, permanent happiness is not too far away.
 
Death is waiting to attack any second. Danger lurks in every moment. Yet the beauty is that there is also great happiness waiting to be had in every moment. When we are focused on inner obedience and outer respect, the seeds of that type of living will sprout all around us and our family will gradually grow to include the entire world. Just as a mango tree grows from the seed of a mango tree and not from that of a coconut tree, what we sow within grows into and becomes the mind. A peaceful mind comes from our own hard work. We also unknowingly work hard to create a diseased mind through our constant focus on the negative aspects of our existence.
 
When death comes knocking, money, fame and power have not role to play in saving us. Inner obedience will give us the strength to face the inevitable. The unwritten universal law states that whatever help we may have rendered to others in the spirit of helping without expecting will come back to us in another form. That is the only true wealth that death and time respect. The only thing we carry after we leave are the good wishes of people.
 
Blessings to all
 
Swami Ponnurangam