For people, existence in the world, after birth, are a lot of things. But, among all the things, one which is important is that the life is a challenge. Different beings perceive this challenge in different terms and equate it with being happy. For a lot many people, how to be happy means living a good life, which is through enjoying in different forms and in different ways. Happiness therefore, is a relative term as it differs according to the different strata of society, has economical and financial implications and is mostly synonymous with being satisfied.

For a lot of people, contentment is a great virtue that determines happiness. So for being happy, they try to be content and satisfied with whatever they have or have achieved. But, this is hard to come by and is very different from common perception. In the milieu of life, people tend to forget that contentment is not about the materialistic pleasure. It is rather, the sacrificing of all the pleasures, which are objective.

Heart and mind are the two things that decide about satisfaction. When people buy a new television, they are contended that they now have a flat screen television and they keep on boasting that now, they are happiest. But then, the same question will elicit a negative answer. They would want a newer and bigger television. More money, more power and the liberty to do anything they want is the rule behind the thinking pattern of people.

Everything that is done pales the moment it is completed and humans yearn from more. The quest is never ending. People keep on searching for newer means to satisfy themselves. In other words, the self of the person, which objectively is terms as the ego, doesn’t let people to remain satisfied for long. And thus starts the journey of sadness and distances people from happiness. Hence, a common sermon in today’s life is about how to be happy.

Many saints, preachers, and even books are telling people that living a healthy life, utilizing one’s resources for helping others and keeping faith in god would lead to a person being happy. When birth has happened, the next inevitable event is death. This is the realization, which is required to be infused in every person as such a realization distracts people from the worldly pleasure.

Some proponents also argue that getting involved in continuous meditation and not carrying out one’s duties of the mortal life, is not a means to be happy. So how to be happy, even though one is leading a normal social life This is the question that many people are asking in the modern day. One thing that is always true, in every century, is the duty that has been assigned by the virtue of birth as a human being. People should leave out the element of ego from their lives and dedicate the birth to the service of mankind. One form of carrying this out is by not harming other, which would amount to doing good also.