1

UNIVERSAL HUMAN
VALUES
(UHV)

Asst.Professor: Swapna S Banasode (Dept. Of CSE)

 Chapter 4

Understanding
Happiness
And
Prosperity
Exploring the Meaning of Happiness
Happiness and Unhappiness is Within

What I am What is Naturally Acceptable to Me

My Desire, Thought, Expectation My Natural Acceptance
My Competence My Intention-What I Really Want to be

When these are in Harmony

Happiness

When these are in Contradiction

Unhappiness
 Exploring the Meaning of Happiness
• Happiness is something real, something definite.
• It can be
defined
Understood
Make effort

• The state or situation, in which I live, if there is harmony/synergy in it, it is Naturally

Acceptable to me to be in that state/situation.
“To be in a state/situation which is Naturally Acceptable is Happiness”
i.e., “To be in a state of Harmony/ Synergy is Happiness”.
Happiness = Harmony
 Unhappiness
• Unhappiness is where there is lack of harmony within,
lack of harmony between us
lack of harmony the outside world.

• The state or situation, in which I live, if there is disharmony/contradiction in it, it is

Naturally Acceptable to me to be in that state/situation.
“To be forced to be in a state/situation which is Naturally Acceptable is Unhappiness”
i.e., “To be forced to be in a state of disharmony/ Contradiction is Unhappiness”.
Unhappiness = disharmony
 Program For Continuity Of Happiness
• As a human being what is the total expanse of our living?

• The expanse of our living is at 4 levels:

1. As an individual human being
2. As a member of a family
3. As a member of society
4. As a unit in nature/existence
 Program For Continuity Of Happiness
1. As an individual human being
Desires,
Thoughts,
Beliefs,
Imagination
Memories
Future Plans etc..

2. As a member of a family
Mutual Happiness
physical needs
Caring Of Family Members
 Program For Continuity Of Happiness
3. As a member of society
The Family
Outside Of our family
Our Village, town/city

4. As a unit in nature/existence
We are a part of a large interconnected, interdependent eco-system along with the air,
water, soil, plants, trees, birds and animals which we call nature.
The Earth
The Galaxy
There is all-pervading space.
All that exists, units of nature in space, is called existence.
We, human beings, are also units embedded in nature/existence.
 Program For Continuity Of Happiness
The program for ensuring the continuity of happiness is:

at all levels of being:

To understand the harmony 1. At the level of the individual human being
and 2.At the level of family
To live in harmony 3. At the level of Society and
4. At the level of nature/existence
 Exploring the Meaning Of Prosperity
Prosperity is related to “material things” or what we have been referring to as “physical
facility”.
 Exploring the Meaning Of Prosperity
• When we are able to see that we have more than adequate physical facility, we feel prosperous.

Prosperity is the feeling of having more than required physical facility.

There are 2 basic requirements:

1. Right assessment of the need for physical facility, along with its required quantity.
2. Ensuring the availability/production of more than required physical facility.
 Exploring the Meaning Of Prosperity
• Today, most of the wealth(money) in the world is owned by a very tiny percentage of people.
Many such people are seen exploiting others, and exploiting the Earth, in an effort to
accumulate even more.

• Without clarity about how much is required, the effort is for an unlimited quantity of physical
facility, and by almost any means.

• First the efforts may be by legal means, and then slip to even illegal means.

This is all because the quantity required is undefined and there is a feeling of deprivation.
 The Prevailing Notions Of Happiness
• The Continuity of happiness is possible through consumption of physical facility and
enjoyment of favourable sensations.
• People may go to almost any extent to get the taste of their favourite sensation.
• It could be
1. Touch
2. Sound
3. Sight
4. Taste
5. Smell
Continuity Of Happiness From Physical Facility?

• Is it possible to ensure continuity of Happiness by the consumption of Physical facility and

the enjoyment of favourable sensation?

Physical thing Contact with Body Sensation(from Body) Tasted by Self

--- If taste is favourable Happiness(Temporary)

--- If taste is unfavourable Unhappiness(Temporary)

 The Prevailing Notions Of Happiness

1. When you start eating food, it seems tasty( for you) and necessary ( for the Body). You are
eating for happiness ( for you) as well as for nurturing your body.
 The Prevailing Notions Of Happiness
2. Once your stomach is full, it still seems tasty( to you), but it is now unnecessary (for your
Body).

3. If you continue to eat some more and you are full up to the neck, what is your state?
 The Prevailing Notions Of Happiness
4.But if Someone forces you to eat further, eating the same sweets become intolerable. Now, it
turns into a source of unhappiness for you; and you have to deal with the
stomachache on top of it!
 The Prevailing Notions Of Happiness

Conclusion
Some sort of Happiness from the Sensation.
However, this happiness is momentary, very short lived and it seems pass through the
following stages.

Tasty-Necessary

Tasty-Unnecessary

Tasteless-Unnecessary

Intolerable
 Continuity Of Happiness From Favourable Feeling
from Others?
• Getting happy by favourable feelings from others

1.Paying attention on Us 2.When others praise us

 Continuity Of Happiness From Favourable
Feeling from Others?

3.Care for Us 4.Respecting

5. Expressing any favourable feeling to us

 Happiness is not the same as Excitement
• Excitement is short lived, not sustainable. It may create a disharmonious state within.

• Happy or Harmonious state is something which can be continuous and sustainable.

 Other Prevailing Notions about Happiness
Questions:
• I will be bored of happiness if I am always happy.

• It is simpler to refer to our natural acceptance. “ Do I want to be happy or unhappy”?

• And to further ask “do I want continuity of happiness?”

• If we become happy, progress will stop?

• What is the purpose of all my progress- is it for sustained human happiness or something else?

• I need to be unhappy to recognize that I am happy

• We think of others only when we are unhappy. Thus, it is important/useful to be unhappy so that
one can help others.
 Other Prevailing Notions about Happiness
Questions:
• My happiness depends on the others. What can I do about it?

• We do not want happiness for ourselves, but we want to make others happy(while we may
stay unhappy)

• If you can give what you don’t have. If you don’t have harmony(happiness) within, can you
give it to the other?
 Observations On Various Efforts For Happiness
• The happiness from outside do not necessarily ensure harmony within, the underlying
disharmony continues, the frustration keeps building up.
• When the unhappiness continues, we try to escape from it.
 Observations On Various Efforts For Happiness
Figure shows the side effects observed at every level- exploitation of human being as well as
exploitation of nature.
 The Program for Happiness
• The expanse of our living encompasses 4 levels- individual, family, society and
nature/existence.
• The program for harmony is to make the necessary effort to understand harmony and to live
in harmony at all levels of our being.
The Program for Happiness
 The Program for Happiness
The program to fulfil basic human aspiration is:

at all levels of being:

To understand the harmony 1. In the individual human being
and 2. In the family
To live in harmony 3. In the Society and
4. In nature/existence
 Natural Outcome of The Program
• The natural outcome of understanding harmony will be to

Be in Harmony within  That is to be in a state of happiness within.

• When we are in harmony within, we will naturally make effort to share and extend that
harmony in every action-from the smallest thing to the biggest thing that we do.

Happiness is to be in harmony means

• Our participation with ourselves will be- to be in harmony as an individual human being.
• Our participation in the family will be- to ensure harmony with the other member of the
family.
• Our participation in the society will be- to make effort for harmony in the society.
• Our participation in the nature will be- to work to maintain harmony with every unit in
nature.
The Program for Happiness
Thank You