Being happy

Chapter 10 - The Eight Limbs Of Yoga 

Day 85 

Santosha - contentment and happiness. Happiness is an attitude. If you are used to being unhappy, you will grumble and be unhappy even in the best situations. Nothing can make you happy in the world. What happens when you are happy, when you smile? 

There is much relaxation on your face - in the muscles of the face, in the head, etc. There is freedom, joy and relaxation and if you have trained your muscles and your nervous system to be unhappy, then there will be knots and stressed in your face. 

There will be stiffness in your head and in your body and you will remain unhappy irrespective of the situation, surrounding, etc. Santosha is a practice. Being happy is a practice. 

Unconditional happiness is a practice. You need to decide that you are going to smile, no matter what happens. You need to feel that everyone and everything is going to die and disappear, anyway. So, you do not care. You need to feel that you will be happy, smile and, at least, enjoy your breath. 

And that you will not mind if somebody else is upset and something else is wrong. At least you can breathe happily. Nobody is going to hold your nose. If you will feel like this, then you're free.

You sell your happiness for peanuts. You sell your smile for a penny. 

The entire world is not worth your smile. Even if you are made a King or an Emperor of the world, it is not worth giving away your smile. This is niyama - the rule, the condition for Yoga. One of the limbs is Santosha - being happy. What could make you unhappy? Losing a lot of money? 

Could that make you unhappy? So what. Anyway, you are going to lose this body, which is going to enjoy those millions of dollars. It has to happen. So many people had millions of dollars and they died. What else are you unhappy about? 

Is your friend leaving you? Your own body is going to desert you. Why are you so worried about your friend deserting you? Sometimes people lose things one by one and sometimes they lose everything together. This is the only chance. Either you lose everything at one time, or you keep losing them one by one. 

So when you lose your friend, you should think that you may have lost one friend. And, that the body is going to be lost after sometime. So, it does not matter.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS