Define "Happy"

[visnujana das]

For a year or so I’ve had this idea of putting up a website designed for introducing new people to Krishna Consciousness.. yes, “the right way”. That would target mostly ‘smart school kids’ and all such kind of ‘broad-minded’ young people. The website would be www.definehappy.net - I already have the domain. Here is the basic idea…“Define happy” is one of the most searched key-phrases people type in Google and other search engines. Provided most of those searchers are ‘just curious’, I believe a lot of them ‘ARE looking’ or you can say, hankering… not for mere socializing or ‘what would other ‘smart kids’ have to say on this one’.

Anyway, everyone is looking for happiness, right? Nobody knows what happiness is other than the Vaisnavas, beginning from somewhere madhyama level, because they have that sambandha-jnana by then… I am just thinking 'aloud' here. Am I OK so far? …So, I wanted to hook up with some of those Vaisnavas, who would be willing to team up to create a clear ‘definition of happy’ in the form of an on-line course, or more than just one in the future. Well, I know, there is always this question of sukriti and adhikara. But hey, don’t you think that there are some people out there in the universe who would have the kind of sukriti to grasp what we would ever be able to come up with, ah (still talking to myself.. )? I mean to say, I think that should not be the biggest concern for ‘us’, the preachers. After all, the course should be built in a smart sequential principle so that it would always ‘prepare’ students for ‘the next step’. I want to add here that technically the problem can be considered already solved. (leave it to me ) It’s only a question of writing the course and actually teaching it. The first one presents the biggest concern for me, ‘cause I am not the madhyama and I don’t even speak English well enough. I have the vision though and the desire to have such a resource up in the air. I would probably want to meet up with a devotee or two who would have a similar vision and perhaps much better abilities to finally put everything down on paper.

Thanks! If interested, please respond. Everyone's input will be much appreciated!

[Devarsirat Das]

That reminded me of an advert on tv some years ago, some guy dropped his wig and so he lit a cigar made a happy face and said in a jolly voice "Happiness is a cigar called hamlet" poor people, they are bombarded with this type of thing every day 24/7 no wonder they are all so unhappy and full of anxiety..those who believed him may have got cancer by now. Our whole philosophy is meant to make us really happy in our relationship with the Lord, so thers no end if scriptural information, no end of quotes to defeat these false material conceptions, Srila Prabhupada was absolutely amazing in creating answers to destroy material illusion and bring the subject back to our lost relationship with Krishna, so this website can be like a spiritual destruction site, with all those type of definite comments, arguments and evidences a materialistic mind can not argue with, establishing the knowledge that there is a happiness much superior to that what can be found in this material world.

[gita devi dasi]

Happiness... what a strange word, not really belonging to this material world.
We can only related it to the spiritual realm, in connection with Radha Govinda & Their sweet pastimes. This is real Hapiness...
Jay Radhe...Radhe...
Thanks Visnujana!

[visnujana das]

Thank you, Maharaja! Dandavats. I am sending it to you and will ask you to send your stuff to me please.. and here is what I wanted to put here for all interested:

****
OK, here is some more of ‘an idea’ for all interested.

Everybody wants pleasures (happiness). This is a simple fact and that’s the basis of any preaching, I guess. Everybody wants to know what “happy” means in a practical way – means right there in one’s heart. Otherwise, purely theoretical knowledge does nothing for an individual in the sense of ultimate satisfaction. So, that’s the simple ‘basics’. We start from here - to get people to recognize and realize that that’s what they want – pleasures and they actually DO want that. This is a very important point because this is the foundation. The rest is basically: "OK, where is THAT pleasure now?!" If the foundation isn’t strong enough the whole ‘journey’ will be a fake.
From the foundation spot people want to see the options available: karma, jnana and stuff. Again ideally they want to be able to trace all of that right there in their hearts… well, if they only can trace Bhakti, that would be fine too.. :))
All the ‘options’ are analyzed in the sequence: essence, adhikara, goal, method (sadhana) and stuff, limitations – the problems with that particular goal (from the perspective of the ultimate happiness).
Then there is Bhakti.. The same thing here: adhikara… but no problem with the goal.., no problem with ‘material adhikara’, etc. ;)
Conclusion: why is bhakti=happiness (definition of happy).
From here there might be a different course or many which could speak more specifically about different aspects of Bhakti, but the first one, which would be more like introductory, would probably end at this point.

Really looking for streams of feedbacks, comments, ideas, initiatives, corrections, suggestions, questions and anything else.
Thank you!

[B V Nemi]

Please send your blueprint. I will be very interested to read it.

[B V Nemi]

Well, that's an interesting project. I'm working on a video that starts off, "Everybody wants to be happy." I also wrote an introductory booklet called "Highest Happiness". If you are interested, I can send you the text for the booklet and/or the script for the video.

[visnujana das]

Great! Thanks for your response, Didi. I have some sort of a blueprint written. I can send it to you as well as anyone else interested. Then perhaps we can take it from there. Is it alright?

[candrakanta dasi]

I think thats a great idea, great seva, I don't know if I could do anything.. but I could brainstorm some ideas of defining happiness.. hopefully you'll get some real good people to do it though :-)