It was Gandhiji who said, “Happiness depends on what you can give, not on what you can receive.” This, I think, is what happiness is all about. People, in general, equate happiness with acquiring material things. People feel that the more possessions they are capable of acquiring, the happier they will become.

I remember once, when my friend had a bout of pneumonia, he had become very weak and found it difficult to study. He requested me to help him with his studies. I went regularly to his home and spent about two hours per day, helping him with his studies. I continued this for about one month, before the examinations were to be held. There were many things I had to explain to him. And in explaining them to him I found that I understood things better myself. I was benefited a great deal by this experience and felt much happier for it.

I also realized that good health is very necessary for happiness, for a healthy body and healthy mind are a means to enjoyment. 

We spend most of our lives worrying about ourselves and what we should have and what we could get. Lack of money drives away our piece of mind. The desire  for a pair of shoes of the latest style makes us go insane. We look greedily at someone else's good clothes and making ourselves restless wishing we, too, had such a dress. With the popularity of TV, our age is becoming more and more consumeristic. Slowly, people are made to believe that goods, and goods alone can procure happiness.

There are many people in this world who would believe in Francis Hutcheson's dictum : That action is best which procures the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers. What better example of this can we give than of our own loving and caring Mother Teresa. Her life was devoted to the good of others and she found happiness in her good deeds. It was a pleasure for her to help the dying and destitute. Baba Amte's almost single handed contribution for the upliftment and settlement of the leprosy-afflicted can never be forgotten. In spite of an ailing back he scours the innermost parts of India providing solace to those afflicted with leprosy.

Such people are not only happy but also great. They have learnt the secret of wanting things not for themselves but for others. As Lord Buddha has said : The root of all sorrow is desire. If one wishes to be happy one should weed out desire. Even the renowned American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie has said : “The best secret of happiness is renunciation.”

                      THANK YOU :)