Ayurveda teaches us that happiness is something we can generate internally—from health, from good company, from connection to the macrocosm. And yet, ask the average person on the street what makes them happy and you might hear a very different sort of response.
Success, wealth, an abundance of material possessions, or certain markers of beauty or attractiveness are among the many things that our contemporary society looks to for happiness.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with striving for these sources of satisfaction and recognition; Ayurveda even recognizes the principles of wealth (artha), desire (kama), purpose (dharma), and liberation (moksha) as part of what makes us “healthy.” But they inherently send the locus of happiness outside of us.
For longevity’s sake, being able to self-generate happiness will ensure not only that we have a consistent supply of it, but that it’s actually nourishing our system rather than depleting it. This allows our prana, or life-force energy, to circulate internally along the path of attention, rather than letting it leak out into the ether (or internet—which might be one in the same).
Happy Chai
Happy Chutney
Happy Sauce
Read the recipes on Banyan Botanicals, published 10/13/2021
