Happiness Index
What is the ultimate aim one wants to achieve in life? Name, fame, money, houses, cars, dogs, beautiful hubby, illicit relations, hanger-on, butlers and servants or fine jewellery/ dress. But is it not that each of these things are wanted so as to give us happiness. Is it not for pleasure or contentment or happiness or satisfaction (though these words do not mean the same thing, in fact they have vast difference in their inner meanings)? If any of the above-mentioned things do not give us happiness, is it worth it? What is the use of such a thing?
Having thought over this in depth, thankfully an organization by the name of New Economics Foundation has come up with a new index, what you might call the Happiness index. We already have a large number of index to measure so many of the economic, political and social parameters but there was none which could measure this intangible and immeasurable soul-value. How can one measure the degree of happiness or sorrow prevalent in one person’s heart? But in today’s world, where we have come so far-away in the field of science, technology and other developments, the New Economics Foundation did not find it very difficult to come frame a mathematical scale where the relative happiness of people could be measured. Then adding up the happiness of the people of a country, they could arrive at the average happiness of a nation.
Having gone through these rigours, which country do you think came first? It must have been the United States of America. After-all which country can come anywhere near USA in terms of wealth, power, natural/manmade resources and scientific/technological comforts. But, surprisingly, it is a small and almost unknown country of Vanuatu that stands on the top. This country, if you are unaware of its existence, is a small South Pacific atoll, hardly ever in news, either for good or bad reasons. What about our own USA, the leader of the pack, the Sole Super-power? They come poorly at the 150th rank. Its old bete-noire, the archrivals of the classical Cold war years, Russia does even worse. It is almost at the end of the list, at 172nd rank.
This simply means that happiness and development, happiness and material comforts, happiness and economic wealth are not one and the same thing. It is also a pointer to advanced nations that they are missing something in their life- a very vital one. They may have everything except the ultimate urge- being happy.
It is time that some serious thought is given to this and ways and means devised to make the people of these countries more happy. The same goes for many of the countries of the third world, which face double indemnity- they neither have material comfort nor have soul-pleasure.
Lord Buddha said much earlier in the sixth century BC- There is sorrow in this world. The reason he enumerated was- Trishna (desire). He also gave a way out of this cycle of desire and sorrow. Many people tried to emulate his ways, some with success, many without any considerable gain. So, whether you agree with Lord Buddha’s given means to get rid of sorrow, you cannot differ with his first two statements regarding the prevalence of sorrow and the assigned reason for this.
Amitabh Thakur
Having thought over this in depth, thankfully an organization by the name of New Economics Foundation has come up with a new index, what you might call the Happiness index. We already have a large number of index to measure so many of the economic, political and social parameters but there was none which could measure this intangible and immeasurable soul-value. How can one measure the degree of happiness or sorrow prevalent in one person’s heart? But in today’s world, where we have come so far-away in the field of science, technology and other developments, the New Economics Foundation did not find it very difficult to come frame a mathematical scale where the relative happiness of people could be measured. Then adding up the happiness of the people of a country, they could arrive at the average happiness of a nation.
Having gone through these rigours, which country do you think came first? It must have been the United States of America. After-all which country can come anywhere near USA in terms of wealth, power, natural/manmade resources and scientific/technological comforts. But, surprisingly, it is a small and almost unknown country of Vanuatu that stands on the top. This country, if you are unaware of its existence, is a small South Pacific atoll, hardly ever in news, either for good or bad reasons. What about our own USA, the leader of the pack, the Sole Super-power? They come poorly at the 150th rank. Its old bete-noire, the archrivals of the classical Cold war years, Russia does even worse. It is almost at the end of the list, at 172nd rank.
This simply means that happiness and development, happiness and material comforts, happiness and economic wealth are not one and the same thing. It is also a pointer to advanced nations that they are missing something in their life- a very vital one. They may have everything except the ultimate urge- being happy.
It is time that some serious thought is given to this and ways and means devised to make the people of these countries more happy. The same goes for many of the countries of the third world, which face double indemnity- they neither have material comfort nor have soul-pleasure.
Lord Buddha said much earlier in the sixth century BC- There is sorrow in this world. The reason he enumerated was- Trishna (desire). He also gave a way out of this cycle of desire and sorrow. Many people tried to emulate his ways, some with success, many without any considerable gain. So, whether you agree with Lord Buddha’s given means to get rid of sorrow, you cannot differ with his first two statements regarding the prevalence of sorrow and the assigned reason for this.
Amitabh Thakur
posted by Amitabh Thakur | 9:02 PM
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