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24 hours of happiness Occasionally a new great song comes around that captivates me. Pharrell William’s recent song “Happy” is one of those. It is infectious and immediately makes you feel happy. It is also taking the world by storm. The song already has over 180 million views on YouTube and a dedicated website 24hoursofhappiness.com, cobranded with the United Nations Foundation. Many countries and cities are making their own music video versions to Pharrel William’s song. This wonderful song is truly spreading happiness around the world and is an example of the power of music to uplift and unify different cultures. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi said many times that the purpose of life is the expansion of happiness. He also said that the essential nature of life is bliss and often quoted an expression from the Vedic Literature: Anandena jatani jivanti Anandam prayantyabhisamvishanti -Taittiriya Upanishad (3.6.1) Out of Bliss all beings are born, In bliss they are sustained, To bliss they go and merge again. Everyone has hopefully had moments of happiness in life. These moments of happiness are often dependent on outside situations—the birth of a child, winning an award, a raise at your job, etc. Everyone has also likely experienced depressing situations in life. If we depend on the outer changing circumstances of life for our happiness, then our joys will be up and down like a yo-yo. There is a field within everyone that is singing with bliss; paradoxically, it is our own silence. By contacting this field through meditation, one spontaneously develops a state of happiness that is independent of the outer ups-and-downs of life. Maharishi said that enlightenment means enjoying 24 hours of bliss no matter what is going on in your outer life. Fortunately, millions of people around the world are growing in the actual experience of 24 hours of bliss through their regular practice of Transcendental Meditation. Bhutan is the first country to have a Gross National Happiness measure to assess the well-being of its citizens, along with other usual measures such as GDP for economic growth. Hopefully more countries will follow suit. It would great if this growth of happiness could be measured in each country, as well as in the world as a whole. It is heartwarming to know that happiness is growing in the inner direction through many people already practicing and many more continuously learning to meditate, and that happiness is spreading around the world through this upbeat joyous song “Happy”!
© Copyright 2014 Ann Purcell
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