The toughest task in life, as is widely believed, is to be happy. At the outset, it may sound very simple as whatever we do in life is by and large to make us happy. Isn’t it? However, what may sound simple, might not be easy. If that is so, why do many people suffer from depression? Why do they commit suicide? Why are states flirting with the idea of holding happiness classes or adding happiness curriculum in the syllabus? It is precisely because the modern world with high-speed technology has taken away the element of containment and pleasure from our lives and replaced it with chaos and anarchy.
Speed has killed steadiness, both literally and metaphorically. The pleasure of being happy, the pleasure of feelings, the pleasure of emotions has all gone. It is the irony of our times that the stated objective of IT revolution, that was to ostensibly bring us closer to the world has exactly done the opposite! We feel more and more aloof.
As if it wasn’t worse, the lockdown that been enforced on almost half of the population of our planet would further exaggerate this feeling of aloofness as staying home may make many people feel purposeless and disillusioned. This does not, in any way demean the vitality of lockdown imposed by the state to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. Rather, it is one of the fall-outs of the epidemic that has already taken a toll on the human life and economy and is expected to grow further with time.
So, one should ask, how does one stay happy? This question has been pertinent since the time of Lord Buddha who, as Prince Siddharth, wandered in the jungles in order to seek the answer of this very question until he obtained Bodhisattva. In a way, we are all Prince Siddharth, desperately searching for our own happiness or ‘Bodhisattva’.
But our Buddha moment gets delayed due to distractions and illusions created by the modern world. ‘This-worldly’ becomes more pronounced than ‘other-worldly’, something that would work as a panacea to our problems of modern lifestyle where containment has become the most prized possession.
There are techniques such as yoga, meditation and physical exercise that are prescribed to overcome depression and become happy. But then, do they really work? The answer is very subjective as my own personal experience has been that they had worked at some point in time, but unfortunately, now they don’t.
So, what can be the alternative remedy? It is very difficult to give a conclusive answer. Had it been the case, the number of suicides due to depression would have fallen drastically. But the case is not so, in fact, more and more people have been committing suicide largely due to depression. This trend is more visible in the affluent section of society that has enough to satisfy its material and physical need. The emotional and spiritual crisis has become more daunting because of the refusal of people at large about its very existence.
People refuse to believe that depression is a severe disease like malaria or typhoid. Instead, they consider it as a sign of emotional weakness of a person and this is where the problem starts. Due to the stigma attached to depression, the survivors feel scared to even admit it at the first place. They believe people will judge them and won’t take seriously. The problem gets compounded over a period of time and sometimes the results of it are catastrophic. Victims lose a sense of identity, purpose, self-confidence and in the worst case, their life! And the apathy of society is to be blamed partially for it.
Since our childhood, we have been taught to pretend to be strong, and not be strong in reality. A strong person can also have emotional breakdowns, just like the best cars can also have some mechanical issues. It is perfectly alright to have depression but it is not alright to hide it and pretend to be happy.
It is the responsibility of friends to encourage the person suffering from depression and not to lampoon him. What one needs at this time is not more sermons and criticism, but more of healing touch through healthy conversations, non-judgemental and caring attitude. Family and friends must be the enabler of a person to become happy and not the reverse. Every life is precious and we cannot afford any life to be lost in its strange and disastrous pursuit of happiness.