Happiness-a contagious gloom

It first struck me a few months back while in a transport on a road in jhansi one of d many cities that have witnessed my childhood(yes am a child at heart !). I happnd to see a young poor boy f inconsiderable means - a street urchin as the sort is referred 2,he could be compared wid one of our BIET Jhansi's mess workers. He was laughing, his head thrown back in mirth, possibly over sum comment of his begging companion or on witnessing sumthng on d road. In dat one moment, his means, the dirt, the hunger, the bleak future - they were all forgotten, sacrificied in favour of the mirth he hd dipped his mind into. I wondered how convenient it would be if one could freeze time to that one moment - the boy then would be in happiness forever - no adversity would face him. We are not lacking in moments of joy - whatever our circumstances or station in life - our problem is that they are only temporal.

Some months back,when we aere being alloted rooms at New Boys Hostel,as I was with some amusement and some pain, reflecting on my own state f mind, which hd frm relative happiness, plunged to some pain nd with the passage of time and some more events, jumped to an even happier frame than before it sank. It seemed that ny feeling of joy or sorrow seemed particularly intense (if not exclusive) to only those times when a change in circumstance happened. That it to say, there seemed to be no inherent elation or despair in any particular state (or set of conditions) - these feelings manifested themselves only when dere was a change. So a change for a poorer set of conditions would generate sorrow and for d better - joy.

If I were 2 illustrate wid an aid of a very simplified exmple - if u were on an income of Rs 100,000/- a month nd I were on Rs. 5000/-, and if both of us hd been at our respective levels for some time, we would both be (all other things being equal) equally happy / unhappy. If however, I found my income the next day increased to Rs 100,000 my joy would be intense, equalled by the depth of your despair should you find your income fall to Rs. 5000. There is a side road here on the relation between hope / expectation nd happiness, but I will go down that some other time filhaal to Ashu ka blog pad raha hun :)

So, d point being - happiness is a function of state change nd nt of any state in itself. Actually, 2 be more general, there are two sources of happiness - that of a state itself (HPst) and that of state change (HPchng) where HPchng seems many times higher than HPst.

HPchng however, fades wid time - it is felt keenly in the immediate aftermath of the state change, and fades with time as one becomes accustomed to the new state - and memories of the old fade.

Therefore, HP = HPst + HPchng(t) [HP=Happiness,St=state,Chng-Change]

With HPst negligibly small as compared to HPchng(t)

so, HP ~= HPchng(t)

Which makes me look like one of those Adobe placed guys frm our collg BIET Jhansi who illustate their points wid equations or pyramids or concentric circles or if they be more accomplished - with equations below pyramids surrounded by concentric circles but am nt one of them.

Anyway, taken in conjunction with the first case, we see that to have HP as high as possible for as long as possible (which seems to be in some form or another, a common goal of man), our state itself does not matter if we were to rest on it - what gives happiness is only rapidly changing each state for the better, without resting much on our laurels. Meaning, money or fame for example, are of no use but more money and more fame are to be welcomed. Which also leads to a painful conclusion - no matter how much one gathers or achieves, one can hold onto happiness only by gathering or achieving more. If you can see a Tantalus somewhere - yes, continually longing for more (and getting it) is the only known way to happiness.

Now, for a spanner in the works. We have referred so far to happiness. Change the signs and we're talking sorrow. So,

SW ~= SWchng(t) [SW=SORROW]

with an understanding that there is an SWst, but which is inconsiderable as compared to Sc(t) (remember the boy).

Now SWct(t) is a sorrow caused by the worsening of conditions. It too, thankfully, fades with time and memory, but always lurks around as long as there is a set of conditions worse than the current. Which means that the more one gathers or achieves, the more one is at the risk of SWchng(t). So the most impoverished, fate slapped survivor is at little risk of an SWchng(t). He has to contend only with SWst.

So, you see that your goal of eternal happiness can occur only by freezing time, or by rapidly changing states for the better. However, with each ascension of state, you risk losing it and landing up with SWchng(t).

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
-Hemant Kumar
the unknown