The Conquest of Happiness

An ordinary man's life is a continuous series of struggles with occasional moments of joy thrown in, no matter which part of the globe he lives in. Although one would like to believe he's different from others, identifies himself with divisive labels as religion, nationality, etc., yet the naked fact is that man is same everywhere. One is insecure about so many things. One's mind is so cluttered by opinions, conclusions, beliefs, ideals, that they act like a screen between reality and perception. And life thus becomes destitute of beauty and gets reduced to a burdensome existence, sometimes intolerable. One makes a mess of his own life and others' as well. Isn't this the way we live? And is there not a better way to live?

Russell deals with fundamentals. In 'The Conquest of Happiness', he focuses on the fact that man is fundamentally unhappy, and critically examines all the factors that've contributed to the same. He does it in two parts - the first is concerned with the causes of unhappiness - competition, boredom and excitement, fatigue, envy, etc. In the second part he looks into the causes of happiness - zest, affection, work, family, impersonal interests, etc.

He earnestly believes that one can live in a better way and discover happiness which is normally denied. If one thinks that this is one of those 'How to....' kind of books, I'm afraid he's wrong. Russell is not the one who'd write those kinds of books. He always believed in the power of reason and rational thinking. He looks at ethics, morals, etc. as objectively as he'd look at the theory of relativity.

It's difficult to single out a sentence and put it as gist of the book. It's a mistake too. Yet, I'd like to quote one - 'The secret of happiness is this - let your interests be as wide as possible and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.'

If one had been reading Russell, the wit and the profound insight don't come as a surprise. With his inimitable style he strips the shallowness and humbug so much a part of human life like nobody else does. A must read for those who haven't given up on life yet, for those who believe there's a way to break away from a dull, conditioned, vain existence and discover the essence of this wonderful thing called life, for those who haven't become so opinionated yet that all the doors of understanding have been closed.

One of the best works by one of the greatest persons who ever lived - Bertrand Russell.

- Vj

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