By Dr Palakh Jain | FPM 2013

I am a teacher by profession, and once a student of MBA came to me and said I want to be exactly like you! I opened my eyes wide open and asked, “You want to do Phd from IIM-A or want to be an author or an independent director on the board of companies”? To my surprise, he answered that all this aside, I want to stay happy like you all the time. According to him, I was the only teacher whom he felt was happy in life! It took me a while to grasp what he was saying, but I reflected back and found that behind my happiness lies a series of struggles and hardships that people cannot see or appreciate with an open eye. Having said that, I felt deeply that he was right. I observed and found that though I was single, I was happy within myself. It is this anecdote that led me to write this piece, which I truly hope will benefit many in their journey to happiness.

According to ancient wisdom, God Bahubali’s message to humanity: 

अहिंसा से सुख,

त्याग से शांति,

मैत्री से प्रगति,

ध्यान से सिद्धि।

Translating into English:

From non-violence comes happiness,

From renunciation comes peace,

From friendship comes progress,

From meditation comes perfection (or spiritual attainment).

At first, observation about myself on this contained the following processes I follow:

1. I am generally deeply immersed in whatever I am doing. It can be a task as small as writing notes for drafting Minutes of the meeting. All components of mindfulness, staying in the present, etc., are incorporated when you enter the state of “FLOW” as described by Mihaly in his book. 
2. As suggested by Mihaly, I do not take very challenging tasks, but something just a notch above my normal skill set, so that it is an incremental challenge for my brain and doesn’t lead to the creation of a situation of stress.
3. I try to tap into my Intuitive mind by sincerely following the three things: a). Following the first instinct b). Trusting my Gut feeling c). Listening to my body
4. Towards all living beings and especially the ones who have put me into the space of hardship(s), I try my best to practice forgiveness as it releases the emotional blockages in my system and allows the energy of happiness to follow freely.
5. Having seen and observed not-so-abled people, I practice gratitude for the limbs I have and all my body parts and organs. Despite doing it at the level of mind, I still feel I have a long way to go to feel the iota of gratitude in each cell of my arms and legs. There is just so much that I have to be grateful for.
6. “Listen”- the first word I was taught at IIM-A. I try to practice this with all my force to become more absorbent to the body of knowledge and receptive to the information around me. I do not do it as a way of giving importance to others but as Acharya Tulsi, a revered Jain monk,  said: “ The more you listen, the more knowledge will increase”. 

Author Bio:

Dr Palakh Jain is  Director and Professor at Delhi School of Business. She is also an independent director on the board of various companies.