Make Joy Your Constant Companion

by Sadhguru

How You Are, Within

Joy is not about what you do and what you do not do. Joy is about how you are within yourself. If only your mind and your emotions happened the way you wanted it, if your mind was taking instructions from you, you would definitely keep it joyful. The question is not about joy or misery; the question is just whether your mind is out of control or in control. If it is in control, you would definitely create a joyful situation within yourself. Only because it is out of control – it is happening in random reaction to external situations – it is not joyful.

You can manage external situations only to a certain extent. Whether you are in the race or not in the race, outside situations happen your way only to some extent, and never 100% your way. If your inner situation is happening in compulsive reaction to the external situation, you being joyful is always going to be accidental.

What you call as the outside are a million different ingredients over which you have no control. But inside there is only one – you. If you happen the way you want yourself to be, your choice would definitely be a joy. The problem is just that your interior, your mind, your body, your energies, your emotions, nothing is happening the way you want it. Everything is happening accidentally, in compulsive reaction to the situations in which you exist.

Take Responsibility – Become a Joyous Being

The first and most fundamental responsibility for a human being is to become a joyous being. To be happy is not the ultimate aspect of life. It is the fundamental aspect of life. If you are not happy, what else can you do with your life? Only if you are happy, can other great possibilities open up.

Whatever you do, it is only your inner quality that you are going to spread. Whether you like it or not, that is the reality. Unless something of true value happens within you, you cannot do anything of tremendous value to the world. So, if you are concerned about the world, the first thing you must do is transform yourself into a joyous being.

It does not matter what you are pursuing in your life, whether it is business, power, education or service, you are doing so because somewhere deep inside you is a feeling that this will bring you happiness. Every single action that we perform on this planet springs from an aspiration to be happy because it is the original nature. When you were a child, you were simply happy. That is your nature. The source of joy is within you; you can take charge of it.

Happiness Opens Us to Greater Possibilities

Happiness does not only come from achievement. When you were a child, you were simply happy. That is your nature. If you go against your own nature to be happy, you will never get anywhere. To be happy is not the ultimate aspect of life. It is the fundamental aspect of life. If you are not happy, what else can you do with your life? Only if you are happy, can other great possibilities arise in your life.

The first and most fundamental responsibility for a human being is to become a joyous being. It does not matter what you are pursuing in your life, whether it is business, power, education or service, you are doing so because somewhere deep inside you is a feeling that this will bring you happiness. Every single action that we perform on this planet springs from an aspiration to be happy because it is the original nature. Today we are seeking happiness so vigorously that the very life of the planet is being threatened. All those people, who depend on external situations to be happy, will never know true joy in their lives.

The source of joy is within you; you can take charge of it. When you are fundamentally joyous, when you do not have to do anything to be happy, then every dimension of your life – the way you perceive and express yourself and the world – will change. You will no longer have vested interests because whether you do something, or you do not do something, whether you get something or do not get something, whether something happens or does not happen, you will be joyous by your nature. When you are joyous by your nature, your actions will rise to a completely different level.

Personal Well-Being is Inward Joy

It is definitely time we look inward and see how to create personal well-being. From your own experience of life, you can clearly see that true well-being will come to you only if your interior changes. At present, the quality of your life is not determined by the clothes that you wear, the educational qualifications that you carry, the family background that you come from or the bank balances that you hold. Rather, the quality of your life depends on upon how peaceful and joyous you are within yourself.

Unless something of true value happens within you, you cannot do anything of tremendous value to the world. Whatever you do, it is only your inner quality that you are going to spread. Whether you like it or not, that is the reality. If you are concerned about the world, the first thing you must do is transform yourself into a joyous being.

About the Author

Yogi, mystic, and visionary author, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. Founder of the Isha Foundation, Sadhguru is a humanitarian who speaks on spirituality about life & work. Discover more at: http://isha.sadhguru.org/