Believing in Happiness: Happiness Acording to Religions of the World

By Vincent Sullens

 Introduction

 

            Hello all, my goal here today is to briefly discuss and compare the perspectives that some of the most popular religions maintain regarding happiness. One thing worth mentioning is the difficulty in categorizing/defining religions on a global scale. There are two factors that prevent religious studies from being a simple endeavor, and they go hand in hand: Doctrine and Adherence Rules.

 

            Abrahamic religions provide us with neat and tidy frameworks for easily identification and analysis.  They have holy books, which contain most of their "truth," and they have very clear in-group and out-group parameters, so its easier to tell who is a follower of said religion. We are all familiar with Christianity's endless branches- one can identify the differing perspectives of Christian beliefs based on what the followers call themselves (e.g. Calvinist, Baptist, Lutheran, Orthodox, etc.). However, other religions, such as Buddhism, have spiritual texts, but no belief in one book or a series of texts being the universal repository of truth. A Buddhist who disagrees with their master (or a famous Buddhist text) on how to achieve enlightenment does not split off and create "Buddhism 2™" but is encouraged instead to follow their own personal path. Buddhism does have differing sects based on ideological differences, however, but the individual follower is at the same time encouraged to adopt only as much Buddhist teachings as they deem necessary, leading to individuals claiming to be Buddhist and Christian, or Buddhist and Hindu, for example. Still, looking further into the countless folk religions around the world, they have an even more fluid relationship with their doctrines. Folk beliefs can change from one village to the next, and determining the population of adherents to a folk religion may be impossible to define due to lack of formal organization and syncretism with other belief-systems.

 

                                                     From Himalayan Academy, an online museum of Hindu art.

 

            So, now that you are aware that religious categorization is fluid, and no list of definitions can accurately capture the breadth of human religious experience, let's continue on to my arbitrary list anyway! The following post will touch on the significance of and path towards happiness, as interpreted by members of 4 of the most popular religions of the world.

 

 Number 1: Christianity

 

        

 

            To include all branches and splinters of Christianity under one umbrella makes it, firstly, the most populous religion by a landslide, with more than 2.8 billion followers, and secondly, makes it hard to examine in detail, as the only thing left, after grouping such diverse belief systems under one name, are the broad similarities that they share. Of course, they mostly share the same bible and the same Holy Trinity (though there are tiny exceptions for both), but go deeper than that and it becomes difficult to discuss accurately.

            For most Christians, the happiness concept is broken into two terms- Happiness, and Joy. Happiness is just one of the many emotions. When one is happy, they should sing the Lord's praise. But belief in Jesus Christ won't make someone happy all the time. It is also expected that one will find hardship. Christians believe that they all have a 'cross to bear'- referencing the final moments of Jesus's time on Earth. Jesus was not, by the way, very happy about enduring the cross, nor being crucified. In fact, the savior has multiple times been depicted as angry in the Bible. Even the Son of God, who is also God (Read: Explaining the Holy Trinity) experiences all the emotions that God gave us.

            Joy, however, is seen as a state of being attained by selfless devotion to God, and to help others in the name of God. In fact, some Christians teach Joy as an acronym- Jesus, Others, Yourself. Jesus wasn't happy about the suffering, but he did find Joy knowing that his sacrifice will please God. Joy comes from selflessness, belief in God, and doing God's work.

            The Path to Happiness: The Christian Prescription.

            Christians find happiness by working for God's Mission. Christians view themselves as God's handiwork and His servants, and many Christians go on to become Missionaries and do "The Lord's Work." Practically, there is a lot to like in this path to Happiness. One can pour themselves into a selfless and communal goal no matter how their personal life is going, and derive happiness from achieving practical results and from positive community interaction as a result. As the focus is on becoming happy by pleasing God, which is a spiritual, otherworldly matter, it can help Christians come to terms with any sadness or dissatisfaction in their personal life in the material world. The material world may make you happy, but it will not last. Eternal happiness is available to you, however, if you believe and serve God.

Number 2: Islam

            Similar to Christianity, Islam has different branches, and when combined, constitute a large portion of the world. Islam has a main holy book, the Quran, although it recognizes other Abrahamic scriptures as well, to varying degrees.

            As a monotheistic religion, the oneness of God is a central tenet to Islam. Knowing and submitting to one's creator brings peace and solace. Moreover, happiness as an emotion, which is born of the material world, is impermanent like all things on Earth. So, Islam believes that true happiness can not come from temporal, material things. In contrast, deriving contentment and well being from God's contentment, is the key to paradise on Earth, according to Islamic teachings.

 The Path to Happiness: The Islamic Tonic

  

            Islam says Similarly to Christianity, submitting to God, often a phrase given as a simplified, concise definition of Islam, is the way to salvation in this life and the next. Islam teaches that happiness is something that most take for granted, and that in this fickle material world, nothing is guaranteed, nothing can be expected. That is why God as a constant brings peace and, ultimately, happiness, to the Muslim believer.

            Here is a short video on Youtube by Emory University about Islam and Happiness.

Number 3: Hinduism

            Hinduism, with an gargantuan 1.1 billion followers, is considered by many to be the oldest living religion. With its massive breadth of history, it is no surprise that it has a plethora of scriptures, traditions, and beliefs, and the religion itself can vary greatly. With that aside, here is my attempt to decipher Happiness through a Hindu lens.

            Happiness is clearly enunciated in Hindu scripture. Physical happiness is the lowest type of happiness and arises from sensual enjoyment and the comforts of life. Next up is Mental happiness, which comes from freedom from worries and afflictions. The highest type of happiness is Spiritual happiness, which is freedom from the cycle of birth and death and "union with the Self." To understand this last type, we'll enlist the help of Swami Nikhilanand Ji, who explains that true happiness, spiritual happiness, is infinite in amount and duration, as well as ever-increasing (which means the happiness never loses its quality). The opposite of this is happiness derived from the material world, which as we all experience, is limited in amount, temporary, and diminishing in quality.

            So, thanks to the scholastic prudence of Hinduism, happiness is rigidly defined. That's all well and good- but how do we go about attaining it?

    The Path to Happiness: The Hindu Mantra

            Hinduism understands that when one chases happiness, they are looking for a moment of pleasure. In Hinduism, happiness is not something to search for outside of us, but something found within. Understanding the cyclical reality, and the chain of cause and effect, allows us to see the bliss within us and everyone else. So for Hinduism, knowledge of reality and of self can bring happiness.

            Here is a very popular Hindu self-help speaker by the name of Sadhguru who has some metaphors for us to ponder about happiness:

            Buddhism is the next most popular religion, and it shares a great deal with Hinduism. In fact, the degree of people who follow a mix of Hindu and Buddhism, or rather, claim that Hinduism and Buddhism are compatible with each other, is more than we usually give credit for. Since my mid-term presentation gave an overview of Buddhism already, I will skip to the following most popular religion, and one that isn't talked about very much...

Number 4: Sikhism

             Sikhism is not heard of often in the Western World, despite its interesting historical origin. Sikhism as a new religious movement sprang up in Northwestern India during a period of Muslim rule. It has considerable influence from Hinduism, which we have previously discussed, and is the third most popular Dharmic faith. Sikhism is famous for its stances of social and gender equality and for its taboo around cutting hair, which together make for a very unique religion.

            Sikhism begins with a basic premise about the universe. Naam, or connection to the divine, is the ultimate truth, and the wordly illusion (maya) is false. You may be able to see the similarities with Buddhism and Hinduism here. For a Sikh, happiness must be something that one can feel even if one has absolutely nothing. False happiness, deriving from the material world, brings with it an anxiety- a worry that eventually the happiness will diminish, as the material things one's happiness derived from falls apart. For Sikhism, happiness, stillness, and contentment, come from a feeling that one is prepared for anything in life, a ceasing of the anxiety of life. 

 The Path to Happiness: The Sikh Solution

            The path to happiness comes from connecting oneself to the one constant, which is how the Sikh followers refer to God, and releasing oneself from worries about the material world. Happiness cannot be put off until tomorrow, and it cannot be dependent upon anything outside of you. Even by following religion, happiness can be jeopardized if it is dependent on religious ritual or put off until some future day. This is why Sikhism advocates for a simplification of religious rituals, and says it is necessary only to love God and connect with Him.

            Here is a great video of a Sikh speaker, Satpal Singh, because out of all the religions on this list, the Sikh faith does not have as many online resources available to the outside learner:

Conclusion

            These were some of the most popular religions and their perspectives on happiness. Religion is as much a social as it is a personal phenomenon, so individual philosophies of happiness can vary from village to village, sect to sect, and person to person, but by and large, this is what most of the world has to say about happiness.

            My discussion questions for you all are thus:

            1) Do you see any similarities or differences between the perspectives of happiness of the major religions?

            2) Do any of these perspectives speak to you more than the others, or resonate more with your own personal philosophy?

            3) And, if I didn't describe your religion, or if you are a part of a specific branch of any of these religions which has a more nuanced perspective on happiness, feel free to share your philosophy of happiness in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Vincent Sullens