India is often described as a country on the rise and a force to reckon with. Our economy is growing, property prices are booming, technology is reshaping daily life, and dreams and aspirations are higher than ever before. By most conventional standards, this is progress. And yet, along with this visible growth, there is a decline, not visible to most people and only seldom talked about. Despite economic growth, many Indians feel more stressed, anxious, inadequate, and unfulfilled. This contradiction is what may be called India’s happiness paradox: material prosperity is increasing, but inner joy isn’t.
One does not need to see statistical evidence to sense this. It is apparent in rising stress-related illnesses, burnout among the young, attrition, poor physical health, breakdowns, rage, broken relationships, and emptiness—the feeling that ‘something is missing’ even in seemingly successful lives. We are busy and accomplished but not satisfied.
The problem is not economic development, but that we have confused happiness with money and success. We have allowed our professional achievements to determine our self-worth. Life has become a race to become an ace. Our net worth, the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the clothes we wear have taken precedence over everything else. From clearing exams to grabbing a degree, from finding a job to scaling the corporate ladder, from getting a salary to ESOPs—this is what seems to matter. But have we paused to ask: ‘What is all this for?’
Happiness is a state of being—being peaceful and blissful, grateful and joyful, cheerful, and playful. Happiness is in the now, not in a yesterday that is gone or a tomorrow not yet born. We assume that materiality will give us happiness, not realising that happiness cannot come from things. The joy we derive from things is not happiness—it is pleasure. And pleasure comes and goes. It is ephemeral. No wonder we are miserable soon after.
Another aspect of this paradox is the gradual erosion of meaning. Earlier generations, despite fewer resources, often had strong social connections—family bonds, a feeling of brotherhood, shared values, and a sense of duty beyond the self. Today, it is all about being independent and celebrating individual success. But happiness deepens when we go beyond ‘me’, ‘my’, ‘mine’, ‘I’. Acts of service, kindness, compassion and contribution create a joy that no promotion or purchase can ever provide. When we bring happiness into someone’s life, it comes right back to us.
While achievements thrill us and give us a high, they also exhaust us and leave us excited but not necessarily content and peaceful. This is not to say that achievement or success as we understand it is bad. The problem is that we don’t know when to stop. Nothing is enough. We compete, we resort to unethical means to stay ahead, we neglect our health, our family, relationships. What a price to pay for money and status!
Achievement or pleasure, thus, is just the tip of what I call the ‘Happpiness Iceberg’. There is more to happiness than pleasure, and this ‘more’ remains invisible to most of us. Pleasure is only one component of real happiness. The other two are peace (fulfilment) and purpose (realisation of the truth or Enlightenment). That’s why ‘happpiness’ is best spelt with three Ps, which are its three keys.
Unless there is peace, one cannot be ‘happpy’, for peace is the foundation of ‘happpiness’. When we realise we are all one, ‘happpiness’ stops being a personal chase and becomes a shared experience. But it is discovering the purpose of life—‘Who am I and why am I here?’—that opens the door to a life of eternal peace, love, and bliss. The truth is, we are not who we appear to be. We are the soul, a spark of unique life, a part of the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. This realisation liberates us from misery and suffering. The realisation that God dwells within every being naturally leads to service, humility, love, and reverence for life.
The way forward, therefore, is not to slow down economic growth. Instead, we need to redefine success and understand what ‘happpiness’ really is. We must learn not only how to earn a living, but also how to live purposefully. And this needs to be a part of education—we need a holistic approach to learning, not religious but spiritual. Practices like meditation, silence, and nature retreats must be integrated into everyday lives. The world must celebrate integrity, compassion, and service as much as wealth and influence. Most importantly, individuals must pause and reflect. Why are we doing what we are doing? Are we living consciously or merely rushing from one milestone to another?
India’s future does not depend just on GDP figures or global rankings. It depends on whether progress is accompanied by purpose; whether prosperity is balanced with peace and joy, and whether there is love amongst people. The true measure of a nation’s success lies not in what it produces but in how its people live, feel, and relate to one another.