Page 6 - Seeking happiness in a place of misery

 ness in such a place is in illusion because he is struggling hard to attain happiness in a place where there is little or no happiness. One futilely ties to turn this material world of du- khalayam (suffering) into sukhalayam, a place of happiness. The arrangement of this world is such that one is destined to suffer in spite of all the heroic efforts of struggling to find and maintain happiness. Seeking happiness in the wrong place There was once a man who lost his keys. He was looking for them under a street lamp on a dark night. Another man walked by and was curious. He said, “Sir, did you lose some- thing?” “Yes, I did,” said the seeker, “I lost my keys.” “Did you lose them under this street lamp?” said the curious man. “The seeker answered, “No.” “Then where did you lose them?” asked the curious man.” “I lost them over there in the park about a hundred feet away,” answered the seeker. The curious man asked, “Why are you looking for them under this street lamp?” “Because there is light here!” said the seeker. It is obvious that the seeker is looking in the wrong place and he will not find his keys. In the same way, strug- gling to find happiness in the material world will be very frus- trating because this world is a place of suffering, not happi- ness. Everyone in this world is running after material happi- ness that is not possible to achieve to the extent that one de- sires. No wonder so many people are frustrated. Man looking for something under streetlamp 6Â