Now that is the most legitimate question. The answer is surprisingly simple. Contrary to some pessimistic philosophies, joy is the very nature of life. Suffering comes as an interruption to this natural joy. The interruption takes place when the mind enters into a mode of restless want, of various hungers. The more these apparent vital hungers are satisfied, especially quickly, at the push of a button, the mind gets conditioned to demand more and more. It is like any other addiction where one needs an increasing dose to get the high. This applies not only to drugs but to practically everything from the latest gadgets to more gratifying relationships. As the demand and desires increase due to increased possibilities of gratification, the more we become internally restless, impatient and unhappy. It is a vicious cycle in which we get caught.
But if we simply step back and reflect what do we really need to be happy and why, we shall see that it is nothing but habitual association of happiness with certain activities. When we reprogram, or rather decondition ourselves by stepping back before rushing into gratification, we shall see that we are able to access a deeper unmixed natural source of joy within ourselves. It is in fact given to us by nature. It is the mind and vital that corrupt this natural joy within us by all these ideas about having and getting or even wanting acknowledgement and appreciation and reciprocation. Joy is the natural state of creation and it can be developed as far as getting joy even in the extremely challenging circumstances: the joy of striving, of getting up after every failure and fall.
There is a still deeper joy, but not all are ready to access it. But once found, it touches the very source of joy. It is the joy that comes through love, not receiving but giving love and the highest of this is love for the Divine. If one can love the Divine simply for the joy of loving without wanting anything, then there is no limit to the joy that one receives perennially from within and besides many other things that come to us as gifts from the Divine, such as peace and happiness, wisdom and strength and all the rest.
The secret lies in giving oneself; for it immediately widens us and we open to the Joy all around in creation. It is this joy that we feel in Nature. It is inbuilt in creation. Mankind has lost it because of the multiplication of wants and perpetual hunger, as well by all kinds of mental conditioning. Simply being in contact with plants or walking in a garden gives joy. There are of course many other sources of joy that do not require human interchange. In fact, the joy through human interchange is the most mixed. Not that one should shun human contact. Not at all. But to seek it from human beings in any form, even the most seemingly innocuous, such as acknowledgement of the good done or genuine appreciation, is to open doors to the mixed gifts of happiness and suffering. Human ego is generally too occupied with itself and when some good is done, it takes it as entitlement, yet is often quick to react to an inadvertent mistake.
Affectionately
Alok Da
