The secret to happiness is to leave it alone. There are so many theories concerned with achieving happiness, so much energy devoted to its manifestation in our lives; in fact, we are so culturally obsessed with being happy that we have included `the pursuit of happiness’ as one of the basic tenets of the most influential constitution in the current political world.
Yet, despite all this avowed commitment to being happy, (and partly due to it) much of humanity remains miserable, or, if not miserable, depressed.
One of the reasons for all this depression is due to the fact that we are so compulsively driven to becoming happy, but
`Those only are happy . . . who have their minds fixed on some object other than happiness’
Sir John Stuart Mill
Reality is created on paradox, perhaps this is why in Zen teachings so much emphasis is placed on Koans (contemplation of the paradoxical) – because it is here that we can make contact with what exists and begin to drop our attachment to the illusion.
Buckminster Fuller explained the natural law of paradox in geometric terms; he describes the honey bee searching for nectar; when the bee approaches the centre of the flower two events take place; the bee gets the nectar, which is directly in front of it, but also, apparently unknown to the bee, at a 90 degree angle to the direction of the intention of the bee (the nectar), pollination takes place as its legs and body rub the sexual organs of the flower. This 90 degree angle is a crucial perception of the nature of reality; it is a principle that runs through all life and gains more and more significance as one begins to study ancient science and sacred geometry. What Fuller has realised and demonstrated so gracefully, is that any action sets up a lateral complementary action that may have more far reaching consequences than the intention behind the original action. Thus the bee’s intention is to get the nectar for its local community (the hive) and in doing this, it is responsible for pollinating the world.
If the bee were human and realised this responsibility, it would probably suffer a stroke at the overwhelming nature of the task before it, or it might try to do the job more efficiently through delegation and division of labour etc. Either approach would probably be catastrophic for the future pollination of the planet.
The point is, that it’s essential to focus the intention where it naturally needs to be focussed, then all things fall into place and the web of life operates blissfully, effortlessly. And this is where humans miss the whole nature of life; they forget the nectar (their dharma) and try to create the blissful, effortless state of mind through a myriad varying avenues of thought and action. We forget that the deeper reaching effects of our actions occur laterally at 90 degrees to our intention. So if we drive toward happiness, we invite what lies at 90 degrees to that intention – depression! A simple equation it would seem.
So, if craving happiness is inviting misery into our lives, what can we focus on that will invite happiness? The Buddhists have provided this answer for centuries in the concept of dharma; dharma is the natural path to tread, one’s dharma is the life one has been created to follow. For a bee, dharma is collecting nectar, for a human? Here we can turn to the mystical traditions of the Sufis (the Dervishes). For the Sufis, humanity’s dharma is to serve. This is described in the story of a sage who repeatedly saves a scorpion from drowning as the creature wanders in to the river. Every time he saves the scorpion, he is stung by it, yet he continues in this way. When asked why he saves the scorpion when it will invariably sting him, he replies that is the scorpion’s dharma to sting, whilst humanity’s dharma is to save.
And thus we find within the Sufi tradition a beautiful and practical way to invite happiness into our lives; to be of service. This is an attitude of mind, not necessarily an action; in other words, we must be service, not do service. One Dervish once said
`any other person I happen to be with, I just think of as the Master’s Guest, therefore good to be served at the highest level’
Could anyone put it better than that?
The Sufi is the servant of all humanity, indeed of spirit, and their teaching is simple; through genuine service we fulfil our dharma, and when we fulfil our dharma we become joy. Not only do we become joy, we begin to overflow with joy so that we cannot help but infuse those around us with it. How different is this joy from the happiness that we so ardently desire for ourselves; now, instead of trying to create inner peace and contentment for the ego (to which there must be a finite limitation – i.e. the intention is to create enough happiness for me personally, there is no real thought in this intention to create happiness for anyone else), there is an intention to serve, and joy bubbles up and flows on into all life around. And thus, the following of our own individual dharma, creates the environment in which all life begins to benefit,`First we receive the light, then we impart the light, thus we repair the world’, Kabbalistic Saying.
And in the process, we become happiness!
Jonathan