1. The document discusses grading happiness using criteria like durability, number of people involved, and intensity to determine how fulfilling various activities are.
2. It provides examples like Buddha's lifelong happiness scoring an A while temporary pleasures might be a C or D.
3. The tips encourage becoming more objective over time to skillfully choose activities for maximum happiness through gradation and reinforcement rather than following prescriptions blindly.
3. Grading happiness is a concept
crucial and pivotal to take simple
practical steps to make proper
choices for assertion,
reinforcement and thus
maximizing your success and/or
happiness through out
your life. The practical steps to
grade happiness are given below.
Steps
4. Do not take up activities
inadvertently [without grading]
with the hope of happiness or
success, just because they are
ordained or advised by some one
somewhere. Please realize that
happiness is a relative term. What
makes one happy
may make another sad. Hence
trying to do things according to
some prescription may not make
5. you happy and may prove
counterproductive!
Hence there is a need to learn
some general criteria or
parameters to grade happiness.
The first criterion is durability.
That is how evanescent or lasting
is the happiness [for you and
others involved], derived from the
activity.
6. The second criterion is the number
of people involved. That is, how
many people
you can share the happiness with,
derived
from your activity.
The third criterion is the intensity
of the happiness That is how fully
you get engrossed in the activity.
7. Using these criteria you can give
grades such as A,B,C,D,E, etc.
A grade happiness is that of
Buddha or any
other like him. This happiness is
so much durable that it lasted for
the life time of Buddha and his
followers. This happiness
involved millions of people for
millennia of years. The happiness
is so intense that
8. Buddha was totally and single
mindedly involved in it.
B grade happiness is that of
scientists or reformers, where the
happiness is durable, but not
entirely as circumstances
could destroy it. Millions of
people, but not the "have not”
category would be sharing the
happiness. The intensity could be
immense but individual concerned
9. may be disturbed by other
[material] factors.
C grade happiness could be that of
parties, get togetherness or other
escapist activities
D grade happiness could be born
out of material possessions or
other successes in
petty pursuits
10. E grade could be happiness in
harming others to a greater or
lesser extent followed by sense
guilt or fear.
F, G, H and even lower grades of
happiness [born out of heinous
crimes] could be defined but are
left to the readers' discretion.
Tips
You become expert in making
gradations of happiness, choices,
11. assertions and reinforcements as
you grow more and more
objective.
You become increasingly fearless
and single minded as you become
objective. Namasmaran helps in
this gradation.
Warnings
These guidelines are not to be
followed obsessively and blindly.
They are for
12. consideration and provisional
acceptance and verification.
Sources and Citations
Stress: Understanding and
management:
Dr. Shriniwas Kashalikar
Superliving: Dr. Shriniwas
Kashalikar
Namasmaran: Dr. Shriniwas
Kashalikar
