The greatest sage of the twentieth century

Posted by: mike Mar 2, 2005 11:36:50 AM Thanks for the link, Matt, I never heard of Benthamite Utilitarianism, but much of it seems to be good common sense to me. I chuckled a bit as I read Layard's piece, imagining George Bush or any average American understanding this stuff. ("Me must grab more-more-MORE".)

Where I differ strongly, as you also do, is Layard's idea that government can or should be in the business of promoting happiness. Best for government to have policies that will bring the poorest out of poverty, then let them try to figure out what is their own source of happiness.

You, for instance, believe you can achieve some happiness through the purchase and use of the newest cool stuff. That is a distinctly American take, which is the source of our greatness and also our potential downfall. Our endless need for the new is why this country is always on the leading edge, materially, but in the end, satiation is all we get, not happiness. The new stuff is a distraction from the real stuff and in time, becomes an addiction, which we are witnessing on a national scale.

Sri Aurobindo, who is in my opinion, the greatest sage of the twentieth century, says what we all seek from life is delight. That seems like just the word to me. It connotes a joy in living that transcends the too philosophical "happiness". We have a feeling that delight is somehow our birthright, but getting it naturally is hard and often a rare experience, so the materialists (us) turn to materials. The use of alcohol, opiates and psychotropics are all attempts to get delight. Obviously they do not last and I believe nature demands that artificial highs lead to compensating lows, so the more materials we rely on, the deeper our depressions.

The way to happiness and delight that has staying power? That's much harder than popping a brew. Go inside, to the source. I won't attempt to define that source, but as recent brain scans of meditating monks have shown, the quantity of happiness and delight that can be tapped is vastly greater. Om, shanti. The End of the Op-Ed Main Exectuting Minors » Politics as Hedonism