In plain words
Happiness Is Nothing but Freedom from Desire
What is happiness? Having no desires: that alone is happiness. Having desires: that alone is sorrow. Sorrow itself is the root cause of all desires. All these arise from sorrow itself. I must become a great prime minister, I must become chief minister: all these are only a cause of sorrow. Truly, these desires are not what give happiness. Go to anyone at all and ask. Say he is a very wealthy man. He lacks nothing in money. He lacks nothing in grain. He lacks nothing in mansions. He lacks nothing in travel. Every comfort is there. If you ask him, ‘Sir, how fortunate you are!’, he says, ‘How do you know I am fortunate?’ ‘There is no lack of wealth, gold, goods and vehicles. There are all the conveniences you need. There are as many servants as you need. You can eat as much food as you like. What more than this does fortune need, sir?’ he said. Then the rich man says, ‘As you said, all the comforts are there. What use is it? Only two things I do not have,’ he said. What are they? Śānti and happiness: both of them are missing. All these things give me comfort, but they do not give happiness. There is wealth. Wealth is earning fame, but it is not earning respect. All these servants are here, as many as I need. But all of them do it only as service; they do not do it out of friendship. When there is no friend, what use is it to have so many servants? Who is your friend? At all times and in every state alike, the friend who stays with you, beside you, in your home, and protects you, is God alone. From that day on, the rich man went on praying. O God, this world itself is the great book. My own Buddhi is the guru. God is my friend. If I keep this safe, nothing stands in the way of any happiness of mine. Today everyone turns up as a friend. As long as the pond holds water, thousands upon thousands of frogs come and gather there. But as soon as the water dries up, not a single frog stays there. In the same way, as long as you are rich, as long as you are in authority, as long as you hold a high position, everyone is your friend.