The highest degree of happiness is that state of human consciousness which expresses the greatest inner satisfaction with human existence, the meaning of life and the attainment of purpose. Other states of happiness, which characterize a specific situation, are always temporary and last only for a finite period of time, depending on the value of the stimuli that produced them. To seek the highest degree of happiness is innate in humankind and forms the basic motivation for attaining any type of fitness, especially spiritual fitness. The content of happiness is interpreted in terms of purpose and meaning of human life. The highest degree of happiness in this life is achieved through faith and deeds. A still higher degree of happiness is our reward in the Hereafter, through the Creator's grace and mercy. If we took people and the physical world as our only source of happiness, we would be disappointed. But our true happiness stems from the fact that we do not belong to this transient, physical world. This world is not our true home; we do not settle here, so we should not rely on it to be our only source of happiness.
Nietzsche (1844-1900) made the famous statement, "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how." Through spiritual fitness we can transcend time and space and achieve true inner happiness, independently of other people and the physical world. Very often we meet with incidents and situations in life that make us unhappy. But when we later reflect on them, we find that unhappiness was simply a reaction and that we could have reacted differently, achieving a higher degree of stability and tolerance, allowing us to cope better with the situation. Not all discomforts can penetrate into our hearts, only those we wilJingly alJow in. We all know the two types of people facing terminal illness; ones who react pessimistically, hindering relative recovery, and others whose optimism often expedites their healing. The state of happiness is essential to our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Happiness is also a result of our physical, mental and spiritual fitness. But Real, Absolute and Eternal happiness can only be achieved in the Hereafter. Our worldly life is only an introductory chapter, preparing us for the book of etemallife where Real and Absolute happiness is in store. As the Qur'an states; "Now, no person knows what delights of the eye are kept hidden (in reserve) for them, as a reward for their (good) deeds," and "To the righteous soul will be said, 'O happy soul, come back to your Lord, well pleased and well pleaSing'." God has prepared for His righteous servants in the Hereafter that which no eye has ever sccn, no car has ever heard and no human mind has ever conceived So we can and should derive happiness from what we have; in whatever quality and quantity. We should not postpone the moment of happiness until certain events happen in the futtD"e. Instead, we should be appreciative, thankful and content with who we are and what we have.
This does not prevent us from striving to improve our lives, or to be happier at trying and achieving. What makes one person happier than others is relative. We should avoid extremes in both happiness and sadness. The Qur'an advises not to derive happiness exclusively from the physical or mental pleasures of this world and not to feel extremely happy for what you get, just as you should not feel extremely unhappy for what you do not get. Happiness is a goal, but it is also a by-product, as a wise person once said: ''we can't buy it, because it has no price ... the goal is as elusive as the horizon. The main issue in life is service, and happiness is incidental to service. To tty to win happiness from the world without serving the world is like trying to distill gasoline from water ... It can't be done.'
We are all familiar with the word "success" as related to the attainment of one's objectives. If you achieve what you're after, you are successful. For example, if you are after wealth, education, power, fame, sociaI status, financial security, good health or a good family and you achieve your goals, then you have been successful in that particular area. Success in high-priority areas of life leads to happiness. If our high priority in life is to have a family, then success in achieving great wealth or high social status will not lead to happiness. Achieving spiritual fitness leads to real success and hence real happiness. Why is success not measured in God's sight as worldly gains? It is not because worldly gains in themselves are useless, or sinful, but btcause worldly gains art ONly ffftans, not objtctiotS. Thus, it is perfectly all right for us to pursue wealth as long as we do not lose our souls in the process. If you want to develop a successful career, go for it, but make sure you care for your soul; take time to reflect, to pray, to be alone with your Creator. In his last days, Imam Ali - the Prophet's cousin - advised his son on how to become successful.
Pleasure guides us to better well-being, physical, mental and spiritual. We are all familiar with how food, sex, friends, work and family can be sources of both physical and mental pleasure. But how can these contribute to spiritual fitness' Take food, for example. It is essential for our survival. But eating naturally transmits pleasure signals - almost immediately - to the brain and puts us in a positive mood. But if we rely heavily on this type of pleasure, the result is overeating; and overeating leads to an overall loss of pleasure in life. Therefore, moderation is a wise choice toward a more fulfilling life. There is an added bonus to exercising moderation in eating. By exercising moderation, despite the instantaneous pleasure eating produces, we are strengthe~ing our spiritual fitness. In one sense our soul, not our body, is in control. By not overeating, we are empowering our spiritual pleasure centers; and we are saving some food for the poor. We are not over-consuming, and thus have better respect for God-given provisions. We gain more appreciation of our God-created body with its marvelous digestive system. Now let us talk about the pleasure created during and after sexual acts. Sex also transmits pleasure signals to the brain. It is part of our nature. It is part of our need to reproduce.
However, great damage occurs, physically, mentally and spiritually, if certain guidelines are not taken into account. All world religions have clearly and unmistabbly spelled out that healthy sexual contact can be achieved only between a husband and a wife. Although sexual contact outside the husband-wife bond can produce pleasure, it is pleasure for the body, and maybe the mind, but never the soul. This is because there is more to sexual contact than the immediate physical and mental pleasure it produces. For humans, sexual acts do not involve only two bodies, or two minds, but also two souls. The union of marriage fulfilJs the prerequisite for a pleasurable sexual act to benefit body, mind and soul.
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