The Pursuit of Happiness

Do we know what the ultimate goal in our life is? Do we even know why we work our ass off each and everyday?

Majority of the people will laugh at this question. Who has the time to give it a thought? On the other hand, the minority will be content with the realization that there is something they know that others do not.

Let me assure you that I am in the majority. It was not until some person persisted me to give an answer to this simple question, that I realised this is something that has never crossed my mind. Our life has become like a ship treading in a violent storm. We never have control over it. It’s the external winds that decide where we are heading.

So leaving aside the entire melodramatic pre-explanation let me go directly into the eye of the storm and explain what started this discussion. I had to fly down to Kerala on sudden notice due to the demise of my uncle. A man who lived his life to the fullest. All our cousins had flown down to pay their last respects.


The cremation was to happen the next day. Therefore, there was a full night we had to stay awake and ensure that the lamp (which is kept besides the body) remains lit. One of my cousins and me decided to sit up the whole night. We were having discussions right from politics to global affairs. We gradually started connecting. This is his description for how we were enraptured in what each of us had to say. He says the connection was between the “I” and “I”, and not the bodies. The “I” is the soul inside you. It was like transcendental meditation. We knew we were transcending into a sphere very surreal and that this conversation had a purpose.

He suddenly popped up the question; “Nishanth, what is your ultimate goal in life?”

My answer was like how any normal person would respond.

I said; “To do well in life.”

He asked; “Why do you want to do well in life?”

That made me think. I had no answer to that. Well, it’s not like everyday a person asks you at midnight about why you want to do well in life. He could see that I was one of those confused lots and decided to ease the torture and started with the explanation.

He said; “The ultimate goal of any person in life is to attain happiness."

I was sitting and reminiscing, how can that be possible. The explanation that he came up with just boggled me out of this universe.

He said; “Our only aim to do anything in life is to attain happiness. We earn money and that gives us happiness. We listen to music and that brings about happiness in us. We get a promotion and that makes us happy. We eat a chocolate and that makes us happy. We buy a car and that makes us happy. In a nutshell, everything we do in life is to be happy.”

That struck me like a bolt of lighting. Why did I not know that? It was the ultimate truth. We live our lives just to be happy. Whatever we do leads us to happiness. For all our relationships, the final variable is happiness.

We spoke until six in the morning about how to do things in life to achieve happiness, which is pretty complex and cannot be penned down. However, suddenly after this conversation my thought process took a complete 180 degrees spin.

We talk about how to be happy when we do not realize that the small things we do in our everyday lives is ultimately leading us there. I had to journalize these thoughts to let everyone know about this.

I hope by reading this conversation, few ships have decided to use the rudder to steer in the direction they want their lives to go. Well, for others who are still confused, I strongly recommend you to connect with a person who inspires you the most and understand these simple but profound facts of life.

Cheers!!