Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.

What is your idea of earthly happiness? To be vindicated in my own lifetime.

Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?

Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.

We see many who are struggling against adversity who are happy, and more although abounding in wealth, who are wretched.

How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.

No man is happy who does not think himself so.

If I do everything with a feeling of happiness, there will be no task too difficult to perform.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

The key to a happier world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities.

Am I happy? If there is any sadness I make a strong effort to be free of it quickly, otherwise it grows like a vine in the rainy season: by midday I will be confused; by evening a whole jungle of weak, wasteful and negative attitudes will have taken deep roots in my mind. The result equals chaos. Sometimes I reach a stage where the attitude is: "So what if I feel the blues today? It is my life; no one else will be affected". Firstly, the more I allow myself to experience sorrow, the less time I have available to be happy and contented. It sounds ridiculously obvious, but am I aware of the value of happiness? It is an extremely rare commodity, and the cost goes sky high. Secondly, is it my life? Yes, I am living it, but am I not a member of a family or a co-worker with others, and am I not part of society? If so, then every movement affects and is affected by those around me.

If you do everything with the feeling of happiness, there will be no task too difficult to perform.

As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery... We have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear, and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the source of peace and happiness.

The whole point of transforming our heart and mind is to find happiness. We all have the natural desire to be happy and the wish to overcome suffering. This is a fact, so we can make it our starting point.

What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.

Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.

You are a light hearted soul who laughs in the face of fear, and only cries tears of joy.

When you talk to yourself in your mind, which self do you address? And how? Usually people do not talk to their divinity, but to the most superficial aspects of their everyday personality. And often its a stream of fears, complaints and mindless repetition of old things. If we talked that way to another human being, we would have to apologise. Learning to talk properly to the self is a spiritual endeavour. Thoughts from the past and worries about the future do not create good conversation. Instead learn to talk to your mind as if it were a child. Talk to it with love. If you just force a child to sit down, he won't. A good mother knows how to prompt her child into doing what she wants. Be a good mother to your mind, teach it good, positive thoughts so that when you tell it to sit quietly, it will. Love your mind. Stay happy.

No matter what adverse situations come in front of you, no matter how many obstacles come in front of you, your happiness should not disappear. An obstacle that comes will also go away. That obstacle comes and goes away but what belongs to you should not go. So, happiness is your property. Whenever an obstacle comes, just think that it has come to go away. When a guest comes to your home, it isn't that he has come as a guest and will go away having taken everything from your home. So an obstacle has come and it will go away but it should not take away your happiness. Happiness should always remain with you.

Two heaped cups of patience, One heartful of love, Two handfuls of generosity, One headful of understanding and a dash of humour, Sprinkle with kindness, add plenty of faith and mix well. Spread over a period of a lifetime and serve to everyone you meet.

The happiness you give makes you more happy than the happiness you receive.

Become a true diamond. Eat the nourishment of happiness and never give sorrow to anyone. There is a difference between true and false. True diamonds sparkle from afar.

Happiness is a shadow of harmony; it follows harmony. There is no other way to be happy.

Learn to be happy in the present moment even while waiting for whatever else you may need. Count your blessings.

Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.

A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection and judgment, when the picture of one's life, or of human life, as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted.

When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.

Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness.

Try this experiment today. Enter the office with a straight face (not too straight). As you meet others who have a similar kind of straightness on their face, force yourself to smile. Then watch the other person return the smile - perhaps not to the same extent or for so long, or absolutely immediately - but it will return. This is the absolute and often instant proof of the 'ripple and reflect effect'. You get back whatever you put out. We know this, but we forget, and then wonder why everyone seems to give us a straight face, even a grumpy face, on a regular basis. Now learn to make the smile more real, deeper, smilier! Where does a real smile begin? From the heart. Can you smile at will from the heart? Why not? You need to find out soon, because you will live an unsmiling life if you don't find out what is stopping your heart reaching your face! No one else is responsible - there's only you in there! So don't go blaming others if you are not radiating from head and heart. What's blocking it? Take your time. Look in, listen in and see. You'll be surprised. You'll probably laugh. And say, "How silly!"

If at any time I begin to lose hope in myself, let me simply look inside my heart and see all the good actions I have ever performed, from the smallest to the grandest. When I see how much happiness I have given, I easily remember the purpose of my life.

Have you ever noticed that happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision? You don't actually need anything to be happy. It's not something that comes from outside, it comes from inside, and when you radiate a happy energy you'll be amazed what it attracts into your life. Don't worry, be happy...sound familiar? Decide now, be happy, and watch magic begin to enter your life.

Give happiness and take happiness. Don't give sorrow and don't take sorrow.

There is essentially only one way in which you can bring about self-transformation - that's if you want to - but you will not think you need to if you are still taking your happiness from outside yourself, and still managing to tolerate the periods of unhappiness which result. As soon as your happiness is dependent on anything outside, you make yourself a slave to a condition, substance or perhaps a person. A slave is not free. And happiness is impossible if you are not free. Perhaps this goes some way to explaining why our happiness fluctuates. Real happiness does not go up and down. Real freedom means that your happiness comes from inside out. That will require detachment and renunciation, not least from the illusions and conditioning of society which would have you believe happiness can be acquired from outside in. Can you see it? Inside out, not outside in!

It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.

In theory there is a possibility of perfect happiness: To believe in the indestructible element within one, and not to strive towards it.

I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy.

I think I am basically a happy person.

Happiness... it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way.

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey. Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now. Happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision. Happiness is what you are, not what you have.

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey. Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now. Happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision. Happiness is what you are, not what you have.

Laugh and be happy. Do not associate yourself with any of the troubles that may be going on around you, for they are not part of you. Go through the day like this, in all that you do, and feel the omnipresent God manifesting Himself everywhere. God is love, love is God, and love is the only way to God.

It will become a way of life, the only possible way, and it will bring with it such great joy and happiness, contentment and peace. It is the only way to find peace of mind, something which is so elusive while you continue chasing after false gods, the false values and ideals which haunt man while he struggles along the wrong path of darkness.

In the ocean of silence you may discover your eternal treasures of peace, love and happiness. In silence, you can let bad feelings and past sorrows dissolve. In silence you can hear the whisper of God saying "Come child and rest with Me. You are a peaceful soul.

As for me, prizes are nothing. My prize is my work.

The happiness of the drop is to die in the river.

If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.