Science of Spirituality

Causes of happiness and unhappiness

According to Psychology:

A. Restlessness (no peace of mind)

B. ‘Worrying’ nature as a defect in personality

The following example illustrates how a person with a ‘worrying’ nature can become unhappy even after knowing about future happiness:

A woman (from India) was worried about the future of her fifteen-year-old son and eleven-year-old daughter. In order to get rid of her anxiety, she was told that her son’s life would be thrice and her daughter’s twice as happy as an average person, that they would be well educated, wealthy, that she would have a good relationship with her daughter-in-law and son-in-law, etc. After this prophecy, she felt better for a short while and then became depressed again. When she was asked the reason for her depression, she replied, “I do not have to do anything for my children. They are going to be happy according to their own destiny, thus I will not get the satisfaction of doing something for my children, and of shaping their lives. Because of this feeling, I have developed this emptiness within me and am feeling very sad.”

According to the science of Spirituality

Unrighteousness induces unhappiness.

According to the Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga)

Devotion to God is happiness and forgetting Him is unhappiness.

According to the Path of Action (Karmayoga)

No one can give happiness or unhappiness. The feeling that one will achieve happiness or get rid of suffering with one’s own efforts is vain, since finally, one is bound by one’s accumulated account and destiny.
Wilful actions, destined actions, and physical and psychological suffering:

Life events occur in two ways, through wilful and destined actions.

A. Wilful actions: In some incidents, the thoughts, actions, and behaviour leading to the incident are totally within one’s control. One uses one’s mind or intellect and acts accordingly. These are called wilful actions. In this present era of strife (Kaliyug), 35% of all actions are wilful.

B. Destined actions: In some incidents, thoughts, actions, and behaviour leading to the incident are beyond one’s control. They occur automatically. They are called destined actions. In the present era, they constitute 65% of all actions.

The proportion of destined and wilful actions varies with time as follows:

	The first birth	The present birth	The last birth
1. Destined actions %	0	65	100 (Life is like that of a puppet)
2. Wilful actions %	100	35	0

C. Inability to distinguish between wilful and destined actions:

Only when one progresses spiritually and perceives deeply enough the subtledimension beyond the five senses, mind, and intellect, can he determine whether an action is wilful or destined. Since an average individual cannot distinguish between the two, he tends to attribute every incident to wilful actions. Due to this inability to distinguish between wilful and destined action, instead of blaming someone for an action, it is ideal for a seeker to observe all events with the stance of a spectator (sakshibhav). The Lord too, in spite of being Omniscient and Omnipotent, observes almost all events as a spectator.

D. Physical suffering due to wilful and destined actions:

Wilful actions: Suppose a person is warned that water from a particular area is polluted and needs to be purified before drinking, yet due to overconfidence about his physical fitness, he says that he can fight any infection and drinks that water. If thereafter he develops diarrhoea, it can be said to be self-induced and thus making the incident a wilful action.
Destined actions: If a person is destined to get diarrhoea then based on the principle that the intellect operates according to destiny, although otherwise he is not generally overconfident about his physical fitness, at that moment, he will suddenly become overconfident or will not meet someone warning of the water pollution. Thus, he will suffer from diarrhoea due to his destiny.

E. Psychological suffering due to wilful and destined actions:

Marrying an incompatible partner and experiencing psychological distress also may occur either due to a wilful or a destined action, just like the above example. Marrying someone without heeding anyone’s advice is a wilful action whereas consenting to marry an incompatible partner because of faulty judgement due to destiny when choosing the partner, is a destined action.

F. Physical and psychological suffering due to spiritual causes:

That which occurs due to destiny is due to spiritual causes. If due to destiny, one accidentally comes across an object charged with distressing energy, one may be affected adversely. At times, spiritual, that is events beyond the purview of the intellect, occur due to wilful action. If one who does not believe in such things as distressing energies proudly ventures into a haunted house, in spite of being warned that the place is haunted, the distressing energy there could trouble him.

G. The proportion of physical, psychological, and spiritual events occurring due to wilful and destined actions:

The action	The Physical event	The Psychological event	The Spiritual event	Total
1. Willful %	10	10	15	35
2. Destined %	10	55	(The other two are also spiritual)	65
Total %	20	65	15	100

To be continued in the next issue.

[Reference taken from Vol. 1B – Spirituality, by His Holiness Dr. Jayant Athavale and Dr. Mrs. Kunda Athavale.]