All people in the world want to be happy. All human efforts are to be happy. But because of not knowing the true definition of happiness, most of the people are living an extremely unhappy life even though they have all the materials of happiness. Most people in Bangladesh think that the only way to be happy is to own a lot of money. A large section of people want to be happy by stealing-bribery-corruption, syndicate-money laundering and depriving the people of the country of their due. In reality, though they can live a luxurious life through this ill-advised income, most of them are extremely unhappy mentally.
A starving or homeless person certainly cannot consider himself happy. But after fulfilling basic needs, wealth or luxury living does not guarantee happiness to anyone. If one is not happy in a one-story house, owning or living in a 10 or 20-story building with ill-gotten gains will not make him happy.
The criteria of happiness varies from person to person. Prince Siddhartha, who was used to a luxurious life, saw the sufferings of people and left the palace, parents, beautiful wife and son and became a monk. In 1995, a study revealed that the people of poor Bangladesh were the happiest in the world, even though the per capita income of the people at that time was much lower than today.
According to the World Happiness Report’s 2023 survey, the list of the top 10 happiest countries in the world includes the names of high-income countries like Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as the names of poor Bhutan. Because the people of that country do not consider luxurious living as an instrument of happiness. Rule of law, less crime and corruption, clean environment and good relations between people are the main reasons for the happiness of these countries. But the United Kingdom, United States, France and Canada do not make the list of the top 10 happiest countries despite being countries of almost equal or greater abundance and wealth. Because countries have abundance of people but there is no peace of mind. No one can live happily in the world by creating turmoil on mankind. Currently, Bangladesh ranks 118 out of 145 countries with a high per capita income.
As the saying goes – health is the root of all happiness. If the body is not healthy, there is no peace in the world. People who suffer from major physical or mental problems despite having hundreds or thousands of crores of rupees know best how unhappy they live. One of the enemies of human happiness is greed, envy and selfishness. Especially greedy and jealous person can never be happy in life. There are innumerable examples of this in society and the state, where a person dissatisfied with his own merits tries day and night to harm those who are better than him, and ends up doing great harm to himself.
Acquiring wealth through bribery and corruption for worldly happiness causes serious damage to self and family. Earning in false ways becomes an addiction at some point. People can’t get rid of this addiction even after seeing their children and family destroyed in front of their eyes. Knowing that you will not be able to enjoy it in one life, corruption and smuggling of hundreds or thousands of rupees to foreign countries does not bring any benefit except depriving the people of the country from their deserved rights.
That’s why it is important to know the definition of happiness first of all to be happy. Good health, learning, family peace, good company, abstinence from wrongdoing, benevolent thoughts and actions and service to humanity – these are the ways of happiness, said by all philosophers, religious preachers and wise men throughout the ages.
