Happiness and Good Life are important ingredients of
meaningful human existence. Happiness in itself interacts
with various dimensions of good life—be it morality, health
(mental and physical), wealth, knowledge, responsibility,
self-fulfilment, etc. In the realm of
Philosophy, happiness is a moral value and in today’s world
we even look at it as a self-interested value. Thus,
happiness emerges not only as a right but the responsibility
to be pursued for complete wellbeing. If positive psychology
has been delving deep into happiness and wellbeing studies,
Philosophy as a discipline has also contributed immensely on
the topics under consideration—both from eastern and western
perspectives.
Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics gives
an elaborate exposition of good life and happiness through
an understanding of ‘good’ wherein, “Every art and every
inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit is thought
to aim at some good,
and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be
that at which all things aim”. For Aristotle, happiness is a
pleasant state of mind which is a habitual conduct of
virtuous deeds thus good life is a happy life which reflects
in his words as “…happy man lives well and does
well…happiness as sort of good life and good action”. Virtue
in form of ‘action’ leading to ‘good life’ emerges as a
philosophically resonating concept in Aristotelian ethics.
The Indian ethics lays great emphasis on happiness and good
life through various philosophical thoughts within the
subcontinent. Bhagavadgītā—the
quintessence of Indian culture and philosophical
theory—focuses on cultivating the spirit of Sthitaprajña (stable
intellect) while adhering to nishkāma karma (actions
with complete detachment from consequences), specifically on
social preservation, self-purification and self-realisation.
This reflects in the words of Bhagavadgītā as,
“An unlearned act from attachment to their work, so should
the learned act, O Bharata, but without any attachment, with
the desire to maintain the world over.” Thus, while pursuing
one’s stationed duties a person learns to cut a
middle course between pravṛitti (path
of indulgence) and nivṛtti(the
path of renunciation) and revolves around the concept of dharma (duty/righteousness)
to understand what is happiness and the path to good life
within the domain of Bhagavadgītā.
While thriving in the 21st century
world, people generally are facing challenging conflicts in
various situations of life, which make them grapple with the
following questions:
1. What
is happiness/good life? Are pleasure and happiness
identical?
2. Why
and how can we lead a happy and good life while struggling
amidst the pressures of competitive existence?
3. Can
materialistic outlook and technological advancement alone
give us happiness and good life?
4. Does
existence based on social media enhances the happiness and
helps in making life good?
5. Do
we need support from religion and spiritualism for happiness
and good life?
6. Is
there eternal happiness?
7. How
can happiness and good life be linked with
responsibility/duty?
8. Is
goodness in life different for people of different regions,
cultures and countries?
9. Can
there be any interconnection between environment/society and
happiness/good life?
10. Do
we interpret happiness/good life as a new human right or a
global right?
11. Can
connection between morality and happiness be explained and
if yes what are the ways?
12. Is
being happy and leading a good life a moral responsibility
or a social duty or is it the aim of political structuring?
13. Can
mindfulness practices, meditative techniques or yoga
consciousness create a bonding between life and happiness?
14. Do
we need a new form of morality for cultivating happiness and
assuring good life for all?
15. Can
happiness of few/more depend on the unhappiness of few/more
and vice-versa?
16. Can
happiness/good life be the goal of education?
17. How
can physical and mental wellbeing be combined to make way
for happiness/good life?
A week-long
seminar to be held in New Delhi, India will address the
issues and concerns related to the above questions through a
set of prescribed readings that will be assigned to the
participants. An attempt will be made to revisit, study,
analyse and understand the different theoretical and
practical approaches to happiness and good life through
/span> classical,
modern and contemporary thoughts and traditions. The
aim will be to encourage the participants to make
presentations based upon philosophical reflections through
their own cultural traditions. This cross-cultural study of
happiness and good life will open newer avenues for better
understanding of different cultures across the world.
