Simplest way of being happy in life

Our life has become much too mechanical. Worrying about present miseries has become our trend. We have turned what should be our enemy into our friend. We are in fact sleeping with our enemy. Waiting for happiness has become our stable condition. To get out of this mindset, we require new training. To listen to a discourse needs no great training. But to practise what it teaches needs full attention and effort. We need to unlearn what we have learnt and learn new ways of thinking and doing.

First, associate with people who are habitually happy. You will find simple recipes to be happy. Their presence teaches you more than pages of printed words can.
Misery is a by-product of a lazy mind. Happiness is a by-product of an alert mind. Stop kicking yourselves with regrets and guilt feelings. Learn from mistakes, and give up feelings of being guilty. You will find yourself happy.

Misery is a product of conditioning. On my first overseas trip, an Australian hugged and kissed me on my cheeks. I felt very uncomfortable. It was due to my conditioning. I had been used to people touching my feet. Let us be aware of how our conditioning compels us to react in set ways.

A statue of Lord Vishnu lay exposed on the ground following a storm that destroyed the temple in which it had been installed. After some years, the devotees started collecting funds for the reconstruction of the temple. Then the chief priest had a dream.

The Lord told him, "Do not build a temple. Now I am free from the prison of the temple. Let me be free under the open skies." Anything that limits the range of our experience is a prison. Conditioning limits our thoughts, actions, and reactions. We are prisoners of our conditioning. Let us break out of this prison. We are prisoners of our conditioning.

Which is the simplest way of being happy?

Just be happy. Just rejoice in the present. Be grateful for the present. See the good in others. Rejoice in others' success and don't consider yourself a failure in terms of others' success. You are unique, and so is everybody else. There are no other you except you. Enjoy the uniqueness of your being. Learn to keep your mind calm. Bid farewell to negative thoughts.

You won't allow a thief to enter your house, will you? Just like a 'stick no bills' sign on a wall, do not entertain negative thoughts. Likewise, don't allow negative and unhappy thoughts into your heart and mind.