I'm
often confounded by my observations of happiness people - I find
underprivileged people, such as our watchman kaka, happy most of the
time, despite facing every challenge / disaster in the book - and I find
healthy and financially fit people complaining all the time. Why is
this so?
I analyzed, and found that there seem to exist four levels of intellectual maturity:
1. Subhuman - they seem to
have a reduced degree of sensitivity to bad events, probably as they're
accustomed to tragedies, and hence small gestures can also make them
happy. They hardly know any philosophy or geography or what exists
outside their world. They usually believe in God and miracles, which is
why they don't simply commit suicide realizing their hopelessness.
2. Transactional - they get happy and sad as reactions to events around
them. Their memory is weak enough to let them quickly get over some
displeasure by the next material gain. Their interactions with God are
also mainly transactional. Their world revolves around themselves, and
they don't care much to know beyond.
3. Worried - they (think
that they) know about the world, and realize how terrible it had become.
Some believe they can improve it, others find those efforts futile.
They may show faith and religion, but inside aren't so sure if God
really exists. They all have every reason to remain in pain - be it
financial insecurity, weight gain, family fights, corruption in the
system, bad state of education, global warming or even piracy in
Somalia. They mock the ignorant yet envy their bliss.
4. Buddha
- those who attain this state enjoy every aspect of the world around
them. They know beyond economics and geography and politics - they have
and seek spiritual maturity. Faith in God gives them security. They find
the variety in human behavior and challenges in the world to be
creations of God and delightful means to learn. They seek and find
pleasure in opportunities to serve others and enrich the world around
them. They practice the true form of nishkam karma. They are always
happy.
What do you think about this classification?
