How to live happily?

There are many Sanskrit verses that have absorbed enormous wisdom.

The ancient scriptures were not originally scriptures; rather, they were tales cast in verse form so that the wisdom put into them could be remembered better. Disciples received them from their teachers by ear.

An analysis of a Sanskrit quatrain and the wisdom it holds

Let me give an example of one such verse, which contains the quintessence of life's wisdom, given as instructions that one needs to follow in order to live happily and to grow.

Tyaja durjana samsargamBhaja sadhu samagamamKuru punyam ahoratramSmara nityam-anityam

Let us begin the analysis with the first line: Tyaja durjana samsargam.

What does it mean? Tyaja — cast off, renounce, leave. Durjana means a bad, wicked person who has a destructive influence on you. So, Tyaja durjana samsargam — leave bad company.

It is important to note that a company or a person can be bad (durjana) for a particular individual if they have a direct negative influence on that individual. But a person who has a strong nervous system and a balanced psyche, with positive mental attitudes and healthy patterns of thinking, is able to withstand the influence of negatively minded people. Such a person can cut short destructive talk (gossip, criticism and so on) by turning the conversation in another direction — for example, by starting to talk about history, art, literature, spirituality, philosophy and so on. As a result both people in the conversation gain, receiving a charge of energy and inspiration. Otherwise, if a person cannot withstand negatively minded people and cannot cope with their influence, the wise thing for them is simply to leave and keep their distance until they have grown spiritually and gathered more mental strength.

Seek the company of good people

The second line: Bhaja sadhu samagamam.

Who is a sadhu? A sadhu is a person or a group of people in whose company you become better, who inspire you toward positive change, toward progress. Bhaja sadhu samagamam — seek the company of a sadhu and try to be in that sadhu's company, or in the company of people like that, as often as possible. So, seek the company of good people.

What are these pieces of advice based on? In ontopsychology there is a concept called the semantic field — a kind of natural information field through which one living organism, being in close proximity, can pick up the biological information coming from another. Every group has its own semantic field, and when you enter it, besides what is said aloud, you also pick up what is implied nonverbally. Being near people, you read and to some extent copy their qualities. So if these are good qualities, you will become better. This means that when you find yourself in company with a good semantic field (satsaḿga), you will feel good.

The third line: Kuru punyam ahoratram. Do virtuous deeds both by day and by night. Ahoratram. Aho is the time from dawn to sunset. Ratram is from sunset to dawn. Do worthy deeds both day and night. Clearly, in the daytime I can do something useful for the world, for society. But what about the night? At night I sleep. Does that mean I am wasting time? Yet it is said: act both by day and by night. While the body rests, one should be doing something constructive. How can one do something good at night? It has been observed that whatever a person was focused on before sleep (a film, a computer game, a book, an event) goes on being processed by their mind during sleep as well. This is because our mind can be programmed. That is why it is important to meditate before sleep and to repeat one's mantraA sound or set of sounds that, repeated with its meaning in mind, carries the mind toward the Infinite. while falling asleep. And in the end, once you have fallen asleep, the mantra goes on sounding in the mind, and in the morning it seems as if you had been doing spiritual practice, meditating, all night. Therefore: Kuru punyam ahoratram. Do virtuous deeds both by day and by night.

Repeating a mantra is one of the most virtuous deeds. Because when you repeat a mantra, you radiate positive energy. This energy fills the world. It also fills your own mind. You and the atmosphere around you change for the better. That is why meditating before sleep is a very, very virtuous deed. And instead of wasting eight hours, you use your hours of sleep as constructively as possible.

Remember what is eternal and what is transient

And the fourth line: Smara nityam-anityam. Remember what is eternal and what is transient. All the problems in our life come from having confused the transient with the eternal. We think that transient objects will give us eternal happiness. And, forgetting the eternal, we do not give it due priority. Of course, the transient is important. For example, food is a transient object: a person eats and is satisfied for a short time. How long does such pleasure last? Three or four hours, until the next meal. At the same time, one cannot say that food is unimportant. The transient has its place in our life, but its significance should not be exaggerated. If we put the transient on the pedestal of the eternal, all of life will turn into chaos and suffering. So the eternal must stand in its own place, and the transient in its own.

Thus the last piece of wise advice: Smara nityam-anityam. Remember the difference between the transient and the eternal. This difference is recognized with the help of a trained nityánitya viveka (one of the five kinds of conscience), which allows you to distinguish the transient from the eternal.

So what must one do to live a happy life and grow?

For this one needs to follow four rules:

• leave bad company (durjana);
• seek the company of good people (sadhu);
• do virtuous deeds both by day and by night;
• remember the eternal — remember the difference between the transient and the eternal.

Follow these rules in your life and you will be happy.