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I’ve already discussed happiness, but I wanted to address the topic once more with this short Hindu legend that completes my views about the quest for happiness.
The story is about the quest for the divine part of men. I believe this quest is intimately connected to the one for happiness. Whoever is able to find the divinity in themselves finds happiness immediately.
I may think so because of the different meanings I associate with both words. When I hear divinity, I think divine, grace, superiority, ultimate, perfection, hence happiness.

This legend stresses, as I put it in the other article about happiness, that happiness is not to be found outside of oneself, in the materialistic accumulation of things, but inside of oneself, and that a long introspection is necessary to eventually find it.

This introspection is scary because it is difficult to confront oneself. When doing so, one necessarily faces one’s worst demons. Besides, our society doesn’t encourage us to conduct this introspection, given that it promotes an outside vision of happiness: by accumulating goods and relationships, by practising heaps of activities, by having children, one can find happiness. Of course, all of these can lead to little moments of bliss and happiness that, added to each other, will make us say at the end of our life, when looking back on our achievements: I lead a happy life. But the bigger, more sustainable happiness comes from the knowledge and acceptance of oneself, as well as from the elimination of one’s inner demons. This is, I think, the price to pay in order to enjoy much more easily the real value of all things outside of oneself, which, in turn, will increase the deep-rooted feeling of true happiness.

Here is the legend.

Hindu Legend

An old Hindu legend says there was a time when all men were gods. But they abused their divinity so much that Brahma, the master of gods, decided to take away their divine power and hide it in a place where men will never be able to find it. The main issue was to find this hideout.

When minor gods were summoned to a council to solve this issue, they proposed this solution: "Let’s bury men’s divinity deep into the ground". But Brahma answered: "No. This is not enough, because men will dig and find it."

So the gods said: "In that case, let's throw their divinity in the deepest of the oceans."

Once again, Brahma answered: "No, because sooner or later, men will explore the depths of all oceans and it is certain that someday they will find it and bring it back to the surface."

So the minor gods concluded: "We don’t know where to hide it, as it seems there is no place on earth or in the sea that men won’t reach eventually."

Then Brahma said: "Here is what we will do with men’s divinity: We will hide it in the deepest part of themselves, as it is this only place they’ll never think to look into."

As of that day, the legends concludes, men have traveled all around the planet, they have explored, climbed, dived and digged, looking for something that is actually in them.

Fushichô

Februare 19, 2008

Hindu Legend
 
© 2010 Fushichô