What is happiness?

Sep 11, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – This time, I went to Guru, I asked him what I thought was the most important question of all. “Guru,” I said, “what is happiness?”

He smiled. “You have come a long way to ask a very difficult question.”

“Isn’t happiness simply being happy?”

“No,” he said. “That is pleasure. Happiness is something deeper.”

I waited.

“Tell me,” he said, “when you get something you desperately want, how long does the happiness last?”

I thought about it. A new car. A promotion. A new house. A successful investment. A holiday. Even something as simple as buying something I had wanted for a long time. There is an excitement when we finally get it. But eventually, the excitement fades. The car becomes ordinary. The house becomes familiar. The promotion becomes the new normal. And then, somehow, we begin wanting something else.

The Guru nodded. “You have discovered the problem,” he said.

Modern life has become remarkably good at giving us pleasure and remarkably bad at teaching us contentment. Everywhere we turn, we are being told that happiness is just one purchase away. Buy this. Own that. Travel here. Drive this. Look like that. Become more successful. Earn more money. Get more followers. And then, we are promised, happiness will arrive.

But it rarely does. Not for long, anyway.

The Guru spoke about the distinction between the fleeting pleasures of the senses and the deeper peace that comes from within. He reminded me that Krishna teaches Arjuna about controlling the restless senses and freeing oneself from endless desire. “Desire is not always your enemy,” he said. “But when desire becomes your master, you will never have enough.”

That struck me as particularly true of our age. We have more than previous generations could have imagined, yet many of us remain dissatisfied. We have larger houses but sometimes less peace. We have more ways to communicate but sometimes feel lonelier. We have more entertainment but struggle to sit quietly. We have more possessions but often less contentment. We have become experts at acquiring things and beginners at appreciating them.

“So should we have no desires?” I asked.

The Guru shook his head.

“No. Desire gives energy to life. You should have aspirations. You should work. You should build. You should love. You should dream. But learn the difference between wanting something and needing it in order to be happy.”

That distinction may be one of the great secrets of a peaceful life. There is nothing wrong with wanting a better job. But if you believe you cannot be happy until you get it, you have handed your happiness to your employer.

There is nothing wrong with wanting more money. But if you believe you cannot be content until you have more, you have made yourself permanently poor. There is nothing wrong with wanting recognition. But if your peace depends upon other people’s applause, you have surrendered control of your own mind. The Guru told me that Hindu philosophy places santosha, or contentment, among the important disciplines of a good life. Contentment does not mean giving up ambition. It means being able strive for more without despising what I already have.

The person without contentment keeps moving the finish line. “I will be happy when I get married. I will be happy when I have children. I will be happy when the children grow up. I will be happy when I retire. I will be happy when I have enough money.”

And one day, perhaps, the person looks back and discovers that he spent his entire life waiting to become happy.

The Guru looked at me.

“Where is happiness?”

I hesitated. “Inside us?”

He nodded.

“But don’t misunderstand me. Happiness is not simply a feeling you can manufacture by repeating positive thoughts. It comes from how you live.” He spoke of dharma, living according to one’s responsibilities and moral obligations. He spoke of self-discipline, compassion, service, gratitude and the ability to quiet the restless demands of the ego. A meaningful life, he suggested, creates a different kind of happiness from the temporary thrill of getting what we want.

The Guru then told me something I found difficult. “If you want to know whether you are happy,” he said, “sit alone in a quiet room with nothing to entertain you.”

I laughed.

“That sounds more like a test of suffering.”

He laughed too. “But it is a test of whether you can be at peace with yourself.”

Perhaps that is the real challenge. We are surrounded by noise because silence forces us to meet ourselves. We fill our days with activity because stillness can reveal our anxieties. We scroll endlessly because our own thoughts can be uncomfortable company. We chase possessions because wanting is sometimes easier than understanding why we are dissatisfied.

As I prepared to leave, I asked the Guru one final question.

“So, what should I do tomorrow to become happier?”

He smiled.

“Tomorrow morning, before you ask what you want from the day, ask what the day already gave you. Be grateful. Do your duty. Serve someone. Enjoy what you have. Want what is worthy. And when you receive what you desire, enjoy it but do not make it your god.”

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• guru, happiness, Peeping Tom

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