FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Interim Note

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS - Interim note

Hello Friends, from Facebook, Google+, Blogspot.com & Twitter,

Hope you all had a nice weekend. 

I am getting interesting and important queries on my posts. Very often they are direct mails to me. Let me assure you all, that's absolutely fine with me. I am responding to them directly. It is your choice, you can post a comment in the blog itself, through Facebook, or Google+, or communicate directly with me. Please do what you are comfortable with. It is my responsibility and promise to ensure confidentiality. 

I had stated in my last post that I will come up with convincing evidence about this all pervading basic human unease, which we cover up by so many means. By trying to cover it up, avoid it, two things happen: we end up,leading near fake lives, and more importantly, we never get to the beautiful existence that is waiting for us beyond this unease, what I call FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. 

You will get to read all of that. Meanwhile I have got caught in some travelling - until 1st August. I tried my best to complete this post with my iPad while on the move. I had to give it up after some struggle. Allow me to return to Mumbai and post my detailed thoughts. I would also like to work on some of the queries and comments I have received, with full confidentiality.

I will be back soon.

Cheers!
Deepak Chatterjee
chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com
Views are personal

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Series 4 - THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING PAIN

Hi Friends,

I feel touched when I see the page views of this blog grow every day. Believe me, I have suffered so much, and after redemption I find life so joyful and peaceful, that it is now my life's mission to reach out to all those who are living wretched lives of hopelessness and despair, and also help those, who are not in such bad shape, but could bring about a qualitative shift to their lives. Two writers who have helped me change my life completely are James Park (author of Our Existential Predicament...) and Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now). I have imbibed their thoughts and have also based my proposition on my own experiences. I also have my areas of disagreement with some of their thoughts. After all, three decades of hopelessness and struggle, followed by a breakthrough into peaceful life means something. 

There are three kinds of people who are suffering pain:

1. The ones who are suffering consciously; they are not in denial. Their inner malaise is fully exposed. But they do not know what to do. They try to come out. The more they try to run away, the more their inner malaise catches up with them. Many of them could be doing their rounds with psychiatrists. That there is no way out of it, but only through it is the wonderful thing people do not realize. I will write about the actual steps to be taken to be able to go through your pain, and break free on the other side. 

2. Then there are many who are suffering - you can see them suffering, but they are in denial. You will often catch them complaining about many things in life, about other people. Their angst is visible to others dealing with them. They are usually on the short fuse. I am not suggesting that they are not good people. Many of them are persons of high integrity and moral standards. Many are also successful in their respective areas. It is just that they are not able to acknowledge their uncaused inner condition, and need external factors to which they attribute their pain. For, facing up to their inner self can be very unnerving and dissatisfying. Unlike the first category, persons in this category only get hints of their inner condition. That condition is not fully exposed. I can fully understand their predicament. They need time and space. I suggest they read my posts in this blog slowly, one at a time. Whenever they find it difficult to go through the posts, they should put them away, and come back only when they are comfortable.

3.  Finally there are many who are leading very 'satisfied' lives full of excitement and 'contentment'. They are probably completely cut off from their inner selves. They are probably, to a very large extent, defined only by their external setting in life - position, power, ambition, success, entertainment, possessions, wealth etc. I am not, for once, suggesting that you need not enjoy these things in life. There is a difference between what you enjoy and what you cling to. Once you reach the level of FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS, you enjoy these things even more, for now you do not fear losing them. They do not define you any more. 

Now, dear readers, tell me, of the three categories I have mentioned above, which category of persons you think is the most fortunate? Those in 1st category have the motivation and the opportunity to move beyond the pain by following the steps that I will describe. They are just a few steps away from a joyful and peaceful existence. Isn't that strange? That is how Nature is.

Many of the exemplars in the areas of arts, music, literature, some of the finest movies, philanthropy etc come from the first two categories.

Please don't get me wrong. The third category too has seen many bright, successful and kind people. It is just that on the scale of inner sensitiveness, one moves from the highest to lowest between category 1 and 3. I am not trying to make any value judgement here. There is no suggestion that people in category 1 are the best and so on. People often make that mistake. They jump to put people in 'good' and 'bad' buckets. 

It is for you to see where you are, on this scale of sensitivity and, accordingly, on the scale of real happiness. It is your life. You have every right to say, you are fine the way you are, and reject my proposition completely.

So, is that enough food for thought for the week end? I am getting comments from readers. I would love to engage in a debate. Whenever you are ready. There is no rush.

In my next post, I will bring out indisputable evidence of this FUNDAMENTAL UNHAPPINESS within. Recognizing it is important. Only then you go through it to taste FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS.

Cheers!

Deepak Chatterjee

chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com

Views are personal.

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Series 3

Hi Friends,

"FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS"

I am back.

I am noticing a large number of page views of this blog from across the globe. Looks like the hard reality that I am describing does strike a chord. That is mostly the case. For, when you read stuff like this, you respond not from your head or heart, but from the level of spirit. That helps.

I have promised you the path towards "FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS". But a few things need to be identified, acknowledged and faced before that. Hence those questions that I posed right at the beginning.

The sum total of all those questions is: "ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY?" The idea behind this sweeping question is not to derail your life, or to present a bleak outlook for human existence. Rather, it is the starting point of a wonderful journey with the rewarding experience of a joyful and rich life. It is based on my own experience. My life has not got derailed. Instead, it could have got badly affected, had I not practiced what I am going to share in my subsequent blogs. 

If you are wondering why on earth is human existence so painful at its core, I have a whole section explaining that. It will come in a while.

As I have stated before, all it takes is authenticity (truthfulness about yourself) and some courage to be able to go beyond this basic human condition to taste the beautiful life ahead. If you are wondering how much of courage is necessary, let me assure you that you don't need the  courage of a scuba diver or a mountaineer. The best example that I can think of is the courage that you mustered to enter the swimming pool for the first time.

How many of us can sense or agree that we are fundamentally unhappy beings?

Even those who consider themselves very happy would admit at times, to a creeping sense of dissatisfaction within. 

One does not have to be a pessimist to sense that. 
With a certain degree of inner sensitivity, one can sense it. 

If you have the courage and honesty to accept that, you have taken the first big step towards a new life. You can be a hardcore optimist, look at the brighter side of things and still discover the basic unease. 

You are only being truthful and authentic.

Those who agree that there is general dissatisfaction within might quickly list what is wrong with their circumstances. For them the cause of the dissatisfaction is external. 

The basic human condition and the FUNDAMENTAL UNHAPPINESS embedded in it are missed out.

Sensitive and insightful persons are not able to fool themselves about their circumstances, and could get into uncaused depression and run to a psychiatrist. They could lead wretched lives filled with depression, anxiety and despair. Psychiatrists are almost certain to treat them for clinical depression through medication. That such depression and unease could be a manifestation of the fundamental human condition at the level of spirit, and not mind or body, is yet to be fully appreciated by the psychiatric community. 

I have myself struggled with similar suffering, felt the uncaused depression, anxiety and despair. I understand the dilemma that many of you face in a similar predicament. That dilemma arises from the interaction between two kinds of dissatisfaction – that from within and from without. One is existential dissatisfaction, the other is circumstantial dissatisfaction. Because they mix up, we are not able to recognize the more basic form of dissatisfaction. 

As you read on, you will see that the way out of suffering is to fully face and acknowledge all the pain, no matter whether circumstantial or fundamental. Do not get too much into whether what you are suffering is due to an external cause or it is arising from within, for you will quickly lapse into a mental exercise. Whereas, if you focus only on the pain and deeply feel it without probing it you will learn how to truthfully observe yourself. 

Accept that we human beings have a core, which is fundamentally unhappy. 

Beneath that is yet another core that is fundamentally happy. We need to reach there.

For those who consider themselves perfectly happy, have patience. Please read on. You will discover a lot of interesting stuff. 

I will be back.

Cheers!

Deepak Chatterjee

chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com

Views are personal

FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS Series 2

Hi there,

"FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS"

I posed some questions on my post yesterday. How do you find them? Do, at least some of them, ring a bell? I won't be surprised if many claim that these questions have never bothered them. That's normal. But if some of you are able to face up to the questions, without finding the answers, you have that golden chance of staying with the discomfort of finding no answers, facing the pain of existence which is very fundamental to human existence, and then moving on to a very new life of joy and peace. I call it FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. 

This is based on my own struggles and experiences. Believe me, living life at the level of FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS, or at a level very close to it is just fantastic. It is a wonderful journey. It is not difficult. All you need is truthfulness about yourself and some courage to face the unpleasantness within.

I will share with you my own struggle with what is commonly known as depression, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, to the extent that I had to do my rounds with psychiatrists. Externally I was fine. No one knew what was going on inside me. I was a banker, and I not only retained my job, I did fairly well. Today I am  CEO of SBI Mutual Fund. So my external life progressed on a parallel, just like any 'normal' person. After stumbling upon a lot of modern day non-religious philosophical writings, I made an internal shift in life and, before long, I was able to get the early hints of FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. Oh, what a relief it was!

The biggest revelation was that the un-caused depression that I was suffering from was not a mental disease. It was, in fact, a sign of growth! I made a paradigm internal shift in life sometime later, and soon I was a changed person. 

The first step was to recognize and accept the UNHAPPINESS that I was witnessing within me. Prior to this shift, I was running away from it, trying my best to distract from it by engaging in interesting things in life, or simply denying it. Today, from the vantage point of HAPPINESS, I am still able to enjoy the interesting things in life, without clinging to them, without the fear of losing them. So, I am enjoying them even more!

But it will help to first acknowledge that, as 'normal' human beings, we are fundamentally unhappy. How much of unhappiness we carry within us we do not realize. That is the first step.

Keep reading. There is lots to come.

ARE YOU READY?

Deepak Chatterjee
chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com
Views are personal

You too can taste FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS

Hello Fellow Human beings!

This is a new blog put up by me today. It is called FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. Read on. You will understand why I call it FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. It is something I have found after years of hopelessness, despair, meaninglessness and emptiness. It took me a while to understand that all this was part of the basic human condition.

Before you ponder over how this is possible, consider some of these questions:

• Have you been suffering from depression or anxiety for no apparent cause?

• Do you find life meaningless and full of despair?

• Have you been asking fundamental questions about life with no convincing answers?

• Do you find yourself running after seemingly important activities, pursuits, while deep within, you sense that you are actually running away from some unknown fear?

• Do you feel something is actually missing amidst an otherwise satisfactory existence?

• Are you afraid of loneliness?

• Do you keep your daily life packed with either work or fun, afraid that a blank slot would get you feeling bored?

• Do you find yourself tensed up and mostly on the short fuse?

• Are you the happy kind leading a busy and contended life, with sometimes a hint at the background of a faint unease or dissatisfaction for no apparent reason?

• Is it only a mere suggestion in the backdrop that you are able to ignore or push away and continue with your busy life?

• Does the fear of death haunt you?

All of us 'normal' human beings feel all of these. But we have learnt to deflect our attention and deny them. I have squarely faced these questions with no answer, until I stumbled upon a noble way of going beyond them to discover FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. It is now my life's mission to reach this message out to as many people as possible.

So, read on.

Cheers!

I will be back.

Deepak Chatterjee

chatterjee.deepak33@gmail.com