M. Saadat Noury
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Some Observations on Happiness
17-Aug-2011
Cambridge Dictionaries Online defines Happiness as the feeling of being happy (in Persian: Shaad bodan, Khosh-Haal bodan, Khorsand bodan, etc.). Oxford Dictionary identifies it as a term meaning the state of being happy. Webster Dictionary describes Happiness as the pleasure mingled in varying degrees, intense happiness, quiet happiness, etc. According to the Free Encyclopedia of Wikipedia, the Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. In this article, the Happiness in Different Religions and Cultures, the Happy Planet Index, the Human Development Index, and Some Quotations about Happiness are studied and reviewed, and Some Happiness Poems are presented.
Happiness in Different Religions
1. In the Zoroastrian Texts, there are some quotes on Happiness:"Happiness comes to them who bring happiness to others."
"Abiding happiness and peace is theirs who choose goodness for its own sake, without expectation of any reward."
“The goal of our lives is to achieve abiding happiness, spiritual resplendence and peace: humanity at peace with itself and an individual at peace with oneself.”
2. Happiness forms a central theme of Buddhist teachings. For ultimate freedom from suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path leads its practitioner to Nirvana, a state of everlasting peace. Ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming craving in all forms. More mundane forms of happiness, such as acquiring wealth and maintaining good friendships, are also recognized as worthy goals for lay people (see sukha). Buddhism also encourages the generation of loving kindness and compassion, the desire for the happiness and welfare of all beings.
3. In Hinduism and Buddhism there are two types of happiness: mundane and supramundane. Mundane happiness is the limited happiness that can be found within samsara (The cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound), such as the happiness of human beings and gods. Supramundane happiness is the pure happiness of liberation and enlightenment.
4. In Christianity, the ultimate end of human existence consists in felicity (Latin equivalent to the Greek term of Eudaimonia), or "blessed happiness", described by the 13th-century philosopher-theologian Thomas Aquinas as a Beatific Vision of God's essence in the next life.
Happiness in Different Cultures
It has been well-documented that happiness and celebrating the joyful events like Mehregan, Yalda, Sadeh, Nowrooz, and Sizgah Bedar have been always a part of Iranian Traditions and Persian Cultures (View the articles on First Iranians and the notes on Missing Moments written by this author).In their research paper on “Are Iranians Happy?” published in 2000, Mahnaz Kousha and Navid Mohseni reported a comparative study on happiness between Iran and the US.
In his article on the Pursuit of Happiness published online in October 2003, the famous English author Thomas Michael Bond noted that, “Different cultures value happiness in very different ways. In individualistic western countries, it is often seen as a reflection of personal achievement. Being unhappy implies that you have not made the most of your life. Latin American countries, which also report high happiness levels, have a similarly high regard for those with an upbeat attitude.
Meanwhile in the more collectivist nations such as Japan, China and South Korea, people have a more fatalistic attitude towards happiness. ‘They believe it is very much a blessing from heavenly sources,’ says Suh. ‘One of the consequences of such an attitude is that you do not have to feel inferior or guilty about not being very happy, since happiness does not reflect your ability.’ Indeed, in Asian cultures the pursuit of happiness is often frowned on, which in turn could lead people to under-report how happy they feel.
What is more, the things that give people happiness, satisfaction and meaning in their lives vary considerably between cultures. Shinobu Kitayama at Kyoto University in Japan and Hazel Rose Markus at Stanford University, California, believe that how satisfied a person is with their life depends largely on how successfully they adhere to their particular Cultural Standard.
In the US, satisfaction comes from personal success, self-expression, pride, a high sense of self-esteem and a distinct sense of self. In Japan, on the other hand, it comes from fulfilling the expectations of your family, meeting your social responsibilities, self-discipline, cooperation and friendliness. So while in the US it is perfectly appropriate to pursue your own happiness, in Japan you are more likely to find happiness by not directly pursuing it. And there is another twist. The happiest nations, mostly western and individualistic ones, also tend to have the highest levels of suicide.”
Maia Szalavitz in an article entitled as “Why the Happiest States have the Highest Suicide Rates?” wrote that, “World wide surveys have consistently ranked the Scandinavian countries with their generous family-leave policies, low crime, free health care, rich economies and, yes, high income taxes as the happiest places on earth. But this happiness has always been accompanied by a paradox: the happiest countries also seem to have the highest suicide rates. Is it the long, dark winters facing Finland and Denmark that cause the problem? Or (it is due to) some kind of Nordic depression gene? Or (may be) none of the above? A new study suggests the problem is not specific to Scandinavia, finding that high suicide rates accompany high rates of happiness in comparisons of US states as well.
Sadly, this may mean that increasing happiness by reducing economic inequality could paradoxically produce more suicides as a Side Effect. But this is one problem we are unlikely to have, as economic inequality is high and rising in the US.”
The Happy Planet Index
This is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation in July 2006. The index is designed to challenge well-established indices of countries’ development, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (View below), which are seen as not taking sustainability into account. In particular, GDP is seen as inappropriate, as the usual ultimate aim of most people is not to be rich, but to be happy and healthy. Furthermore, it is believed that the notion of sustainable development requires a measure of the environmental costs of pursuing those goals.Here is the list of top ten countries with the highest Happy Planet Index as reported in 2009
1 Costa Rica 76.1
2 Dominican Republic 71.8
3 Jamaica 70.1
4 Guatemala 68.4
5 Vietnam 66.5
6 Colombia 66.1
7 Cuba 65.7
8 El Salvador 61.5
9 Brazil 61.0
10 Honduras 61.0
Out of 143 countries, Iran ranked 81 with the Index of 42.10 after Iraq and Cambodia indicating that Iranians have not been so happy at the time!
The Human Development Index
This is a composite index measuring average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: a long healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living; intended to capture the essential dimensions of the quality of human life or human development. According to the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report of 2010, Iran was ranked 70th out of 169 countries in the world!
Some Quotations about Happiness
1. “Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it”: Fyodor Dostoevsky 2. “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up”: Mark Twain 3. “If you want to be happy, be”: Leo Tolstoy 4. “The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself”: Author unknown, commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin 5. “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be”: Abraham Lincoln 6. “She (Madame Bovary) had that indefinable beauty that comes from happiness, enthusiasm, success, a beauty that is nothing more or less than a harmony of temperament and circumstances”: Gustave Flaubert
Some Happiness Poems
1. “How happy is the little Stone
That rambles in the Road alone,
And does not care about Careers
And Exigencies never fears
Whose Coat of elemental Brown
A passing Universe put on,
And independent as the Sun
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute Decree
In casual simplicity”: Emily Dickinson
2. “He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise”: William Blake
3. And here is a part of a poem composed by the famous Iranian poet Hafez as translated in English by Professor Shahriar Shahriari
“I said, your sweet and red wine
Granted no wishes of mine
You said, in service define
Your life, and your time spend.
I said, when will your kind heart
Thoughts of friendship start?
Said, speak not of this art
Until it's time for that trend.
I said, happiness and joy
Passing time will destroy.
Said, Hafiz, silence employ
Sorrows too will end my friend”
The Full Texts of the poem in English and Persian may be viewed here
View also these Persian Poems (1, 2, and 3) on Happiness as composed by this author.
And let us remember that happiness and celebrating the joyful events like Mehregan, Yalda, Sadeh, Chaarshanbeh Soori, Nowrooz, and Sizdah Bedar have been and will be always a part of Iranian Traditions and Persian Cultures.
Manouchehr Saadat Noury, PhD
References
Bartlett, J. and J. Kaplan (2003): Bartlett's Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature (17th Edition)Bond, T. M. (2003): Online Article on “Pursuit of Happiness”
Cambridge Dictionaries Online (2011): Note on the Definition of Happiness
Kousha, Mahnaz and N. Mohseni (2000): Are Iranians Happy?
Oxford Dictionary (2011): Note on the Definition of HappinessPoetry Website (2011): Online Poems on Happiness
Quotation Website (2011): Online Quotations about Happiness
Saadat Noury, M. (2011): Various Articles on Persian Culture
Saadat Noury, M. (2011): Online Articles on First Iranians and Missing Moments
Shahriari, Sh. (2011): Online Poems on Happiness Szalavitz, M. (2011): Online Article on “Why the Happiest States have the Highest Suicide Rates?”Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary (2003): Note on the Definition of Happiness
Wikipedia Encyclopedia (2011): Online Articles on “Happiness”, “Happy Planet Index”, and “The Human Development Index”
Zoroastrian Heritage Website (2011): Online Article on “What is Zoroastrianism?”
Read more about Joyful Moments of Celebrations on MISSING MOMENTS
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آفریدگار | 7 | Nov 04, 2012 |
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Songs of Joy
by All-Iranians on Mon Jun 25, 2012 02:59 PM PDT//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXOFUgzsEmY
Dear Dr. Noury: THank you
by vildemose on Thu Aug 18, 2011 05:22 PM PDTDear Dr. Noury: THank you so very much for that beauftiul poem.
"Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe." Robert Browning in 'Ceuciaja'
ای شادی ای آزادی: شاهکاری ا ز شجریان
M. Saadat NouryThu Aug 18, 2011 03:05 PM PDT
To All-Iranians
هدیه روز کارگر: "ای شادی ای آزادی" شاهکاری ا ز شجریان//www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXChHMRqpCI
For Dear Anahid
by M. Saadat Noury on Thu Aug 18, 2011 02:51 PM PDTGlad you liked those poems and may be this
شعر شادی از فریدون مشیری
غم دنیا نخواهد یافت پایان
خوشا در بر رخ شادی گشایان
خوشادل های خوش، جان های خرسند
خوشا نیروی هستی زای لبخند
خوشا لبخند شادی آفرینان
که شادی روید از لبخند اینان
نمی دانی -دریغا- چیست شادی
که می گویی: به گیتی نیست شادی
نه شادی از هوا بارد چو باران
که جامی پرکنی از جویباران .... : فریدون مشیری
//razsms.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=273:1390-02-13-15-03-11&catid=42:1389-08-19-09-05-10&Itemid=52
شادی : راهی به سوی نور
All-IraniansThu Aug 18, 2011 12:56 PM PDT
طرح
شب با گلوی خونین
خوانده ست
دیر گاه.
دریا نشسته سرد.
یک شاخه
در سیاهی جنگل
به سوی نور
فریاد می کشد.
احمد شاملو
//avayeazad.com/shamloo/baghe_ayne/4.htm
Dear Ostaad Noury, thanks for beautiful poems from
by Anahid Hojjati on Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:32 AM PDTShafee Kadkani and Akhavan Sales
For All-Iranians
by M. Saadat Noury on Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:16 AM PDTطفلی به نام شادی / دیریست گمشده ست
با چشمهای روشنِ براق/ با گیسویی بلند به بالای آرزو
هرکس از او نشانی دارد / ما را کند خبر
این هم نشان ما : یک سو خلیج فارس سوی دگر خزر
محمدرضا شفیعی کدکنی
//www.kaleme.com/1390/05/15/klm-68211/
For Disenchanted
by M. Saadat Noury on Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:13 AM PDTچون میهمانان به سفره ی پر ناز و نعمتی
خواندی مرا به بستر وصل خود ای پری
هر جا دلم بخواهد من دست می برم
دیگر مگو : ببین به کجا دست می بری
با میهمان مگوی : بنوش این ، منوش آن
ای میزبان که پر گل ناز است بسترت
بگذار مست مست بیفتم کنار تو
بگذار هر چه هست بنوشم ز ساغرت
هر جا دلم بخواهد ، آری ، چنین خوش است
باید درید هر چه شود بین ما حجاب
باید شکست هر چه شود سد راه وصل
دیوانه بود باید و مست و خوش و خراب ... : مهدی اخوان ثالث
//www.avayeazad.com/mehdi_akhavan_sales/zemestan/9.htm
For JavoonDeerooz
by M. Saadat Noury on Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:10 AM PDTنگاه کن که غم درون دیده ام/ چگونه قطره قطره آب می شود
چگونه سایه ی سیاه سرکشم/ اسیر دست آفتاب می شود ...
نگاه کن تو می دمی و آفتاب می شود : فروغ فرخ زاد
//iranian.com/main/blog/noosh-afarin-68
For Vildemose
by M. Saadat Noury on Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:08 AM PDTکاش یکی پیدا بشه خواب_ گل را تعبیر بکنه
به کویر آب بده تا اونا رو سیر بکنه
کاش یکی پیدا بشه با ابرها صمیمی تر باشه
نذاره بارون واسه باریدنش دیر بکنه
کاش یکی پیدا بشه که دلش مث آینه باشه
لااقل دعا واسه بقیه تاثیر بکنه
کاش یکی پیدا بشه آب بده به آدمای خوب
نکنه خوش بختیا تو گلوشون گیر بکنه
کاش یکی پیدا بشه زندگی بده به کلبه ها
خونه ی شادی ها رو یه جوری تعمیر بکنه .... : مریم حیدرزاده
//www.avayeazad.com/maryam_heidarzade/mahe_tamame_man/11.htm
The 1979 devolution took happiness away from Iran
by All-Iranians on Thu Aug 18, 2011 09:52 AM PDTby Anonymous Observer on Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:03 PM PST
Khomeini was right. The devolution was "for Islam," and Islam, of course, is the religion of death, war, endless jihad, sorrow and fear. Fear from an unforgiving desert God that wants you to be consumed with death and afterlife. It's the religion of "too sar zani" and "rozeh khooni" and tears, which is the antitheses of the celebration oriented Iranian culture (i.e., Mehregan, saddeh, Teergan, etc.) That inherit conflict between the Iranian inner culture and the imposed Islamic ideology has been going on for 1400 years. Post-Islam, the Iranian part of the culture has always been oppressed by the influential clergy and opportunistic kings. What the Shah managed to do for a very brief period in Iran's post-Islam's history, was to allow the inner Irani culture flourish despite the efforts of the mullahs. And the result was what we used to see...happiness, laughter, optimism and a positive outlook on life. But just like other futile efforts at doing the same in the past 14 centuries, it failed because of the influence of the clerical class, and the result is what we see today...war, death, sanctions, destructions, beatings, rapes, etc...unhappiness, death and gloom.
Comment Window: //iranian.com/main/2011/jan/childhood-tehran-and-abadan
خدا ما را برای شادی آفریده نه غم
All-IraniansThu Aug 18, 2011 08:11 AM PDT
//www.forum.persianfal.com/topic-t7765.html
Here is what brings sadness:
by Disenchanted on Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:35 AM PDTI can think of two causes of sadness. The loss of what one has and desire of what one does not have! Basically our attachments and desires make for unhappy life! One way to remain immune from these two is to dismantle the center of it all: Self! The best way to stay happy is to get out of ourselves and be selfless.
Happiness cannot be a goal in life
by JavoonDeerooz on Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:34 PM PDTyou will be happy if you lead a balanced life, pure and simple. However, a recent American philosopher thinks differently
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAU6HYpvzUU
REGRETS OF THE
by vildemose on Wed Aug 17, 2011 06:40 PM PDTREGRETS OF THE DYING
//www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html
I also believe happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And... once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it ~Elizabeth Gilbert
Thank you Dr. Nouri for your generous heart and spotlighting this very basic human need that seems to be so illusory to many.
"Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe." Robert Browning in 'Ceuciaja'
Life is a process of
by vildemose on Wed Aug 17, 2011 06:39 PM PDTAre you happy, His Holiness?
"I cannot answer that question without making sure that we understand the word "happiness" in the same way. If you are talking about a continuous state of mind, a permanent interior disposition where there is no regret, no suffering, no feeling of dissatisfaction, that state is foreign to me. But I believe that the state of mind is simply not human. In human life, happiness is a victory: the overcoming of doubt, despair, temptation. If this is how you understand happiness, then yes, I am happy!" Karekin I (1932-1999) and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe." Robert Browning in 'Ceuciaja'
Dear Soosan Khanoom
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 03:47 PM PDTThanks for your comment. You are quite right of course; please accept this in return: Introduction to the Science of Happiness
//www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/?gclid=COPcqdyx16oCFQHf4Aodsj-08g
Dear Anahid
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 03:44 PM PDTThanks for your comment. You are quite right of course; please accept this in return: Happiness Tip
//www.happiness.com/web/happiness_tip.html
Dear AI
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 03:28 PM PDTThank you for your informative link; please accept this in return: The Road to Happiness Trailer
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4M_kXyDJw8
Dear Vildemose
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 03:24 PM PDTThank you for your interesting quotations; please accept this in return: kid cudi - pursuit of happiness //www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KmWZXNDx5s
What ever happiness is
by Soosan Khanoom on Wed Aug 17, 2011 02:03 PM PDTWhat ever happiness is , it can not be a permanent feeling because life has shown us that how in the flash of a second it can take away the happiness only to replace it with sadness ....
The same is true with sadness.
May be we should accept life as it happens.
Rumi says:
This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Happiness has to do a lot with comparison
by Anahid Hojjati on Wed Aug 17, 2011 01:43 PM PDTMany of us compare how we feel with how we felt at times past and then we say that we are happier than those times or less happy. Without that comparison with previous times in someone's life, concept of happiness would be hard to grasp.
Happiness is neither
by vildemose on Wed Aug 17, 2011 01:30 PM PDTHappiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing. ~ William Butler Yeats
As I go through all kinds of feelings and experiences in my journey through life -- delight, surprise, chagrin, dismay -- I hold this question as a guiding light: "What do I really need right now to be happy?" What I come to over and over again is that only qualities as vast and deep as love, connection and kindness will really make me happy in any sort of enduring way. ~ Sharon Salzberg
"Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe." Robert Browning in 'Ceuciaja'
Road to Happiness
by All-Iranians on Wed Aug 17, 2011 01:25 PM PDT//utilitarianism.com/prof-ng/index.html
To crack
by vildemose on Wed Aug 17, 2011 01:14 PM PDTTo crack open 'happiness', you have to do a lot of work hauling years of oppression off (internal and external) of your psyche. But it can be done and it's very doable when you are ready.
"The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove. "
~
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)"Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe." Robert Browning in 'Ceuciaja'
Dear Anahid
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:42 PM PDTThank you for your kind comment ; please accept this in return
صبا به مقدم گل راح روح بخشد باز
کجاست بلبل خوشگوی؟ گو برآر آواز!
چه حلقه ها که زدم بر در دل از سر سوز
به بوی روز وصال تو در شبان دراز
دلا! ز هجر مکن ناله، زان که در عالم
غم است و شادی و خار و گل و نشیب و فراز
شبی وصال سحرگه ز بخت خواسته ام
که با تو شرح سرانجام خود کنم آغاز.... : حافظ
//ganjoor.net/hafez/montasab/sh13/
Dear AI
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:37 PM PDTThank you for your informative link; please accept this in return: The Mythology of Happiness by Mike George //focus21.wordpress.com/216/the-mythology-of-happiness/
Happy gods & Happy goddesses
by M. Saadat Noury on Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:34 PM PDTWho are the happy gods & happy goddesses? //www.happy-gods.com/happy-gods.html
Thanks Ostaad, just reading about happiness makes one happier
by Anahid Hojjati on Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:48 AM PDTYour blog about happiness is uplifting. It is great to see that there are countries where people are happiest and hopefully Iran can get in that list in a number of years.
Health and Happiness
by All-Iranians on Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:31 AM PDT"If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want": Elbert Hubbard //www.quotegarden.com/health.html