Mystic Mantra: The world is happy when you're happy

We want to live a life of happiness. Who does not want this? And to be happy, we want to make others also happy — our family, friends and society at large. We try hard and find that most of the people are not happy in spite of our efforts. This feeling gives us a sense of failure and creates sadness and misery in our heart. We often forget to first do something to make ourselves happy and we start focusing on others as we feel that our happiness depends on the happiness of others. Others feel the same too. They also want to make us happy. And this is the story of most of the unhappy people in the world.

In one of his discourses on mystic Kabir, Osho talks about an old cartoon: Snoopy is dancing, really going crazy, utterly blissful, in samadhi. And Lucy looks at him and says: “Stop this! Stop this! The world is in great misery. Can’t you see that people are suffering? How can you be so happy when the world is in such hell?” There is great condemnation in her eyes. For a moment, even Snoopy stops. And Lucy says: “Are you not aware, you stupid? Are you not aware of what is happening in the world? Is this the time to dance in such a mad way?” Snoopy replies: “But my legs are feeling very happy and I’m really enjoying it. And thank God that I am an ignorant person.” And he starts dancing again.

To most of us, Snoopy’s character may look like a selfish person as we think that we have to make others happy first, only then we can be happy ourselves. Our mind tells us repeatedly: “When the world is in such misery how can you be happy? You have to share, you have to go and serve. You are not alone, you exist in a society — you are part of it, you have to serve the society.” This is a cunning device of the mind.

Osho questions this attitude and says this is not going to help the world. What are you going to share with the world? What have you got to share? You can share only what you have — if you are blissful, you can share bliss; if you are miserable, you will make the world more miserable. At least dance. Let your legs feel good. Is one person is happy, a small part of the world is happy. By becoming happy you are creating a happy world, by dancing you are creating a dancing world, because you are the world. Even if a single individual is happy, a part of the world is transformed.

Meditate on these words of Walt Whitman: “I exist as I am. That is enough. If no other in the world be aware, I sit content. And if each and all be aware, I sit content.”