Happiness vs. Fulfillment: What spiritual masters teach us

The pursuit of happiness is universal and timeless. We all want to be happy. Yet, few of us actually are. Most of us experience joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, loss and gain, sun and rain — all in cycles. So we are happy and sad, happy and sad, over and over again. The question is — is it possible to be happy always? The answer is yes. It lies in going beyond pleasure and fulfillment to discovering the purpose of life.

The one thing we often fail to understand is that pleasure is not happiness. Unfortunately, we confuse the two. Pleasure is ephemeral. It comes and goes. True happiness, however, is eternal — it flows forever. Pleasure comes from success, achievement, people, possessions, places, and things, but it is very short-lived. Pleasure is only the first peak of happiness.

Therefore, we must evolve and go beyond pleasure to fulfillment — the next peak of happiness. Fulfillment comes from living a life of contentment, meeting our needs without getting carried away by greed and desires. The Buddha said that desire is the root cause of suffering. We must, therefore, learn to control the mind — the mind that desires and craves. The more we desire, the more disappointments we face. Desires are insatiable: we want one thing, then another. Happiness doesn’t depend on what we have but on how we feel. It comes from a life of gratitude and positivity, from living in the now.

Of course, not all desires are bad — it is material, worldly desires for things and achievements that undo us. We are never satisfied. Never satiated. Nothing is enough. We must, thus, exit the race to be an ace and transcend our desires to acquire and achieve more and more. We must focus on what we have and count our blessings. Happiness is about living with fulfillment. Fulfillment leads to peace, and peace is the foundation of happiness. Peace is within us. It is our mind that steals our peace of mind by jumping from thought to thought, by yearning and yelling. The mind must be tamed. While fulfillment gives us happiness that is more enduring and more lasting than pleasure, it is still not everlasting happiness. We still suffer. If we seek eternal happiness, we must go beyond fulfillment.

Spiritual teachings emphasise that real happiness arises when we realise the purpose of life — when we transcend the body, mind, and ego, and realise the truth of who we are: the Divine Soul, not the body or mind. Then we overcome the triple suffering — the pain of the body, the misery of the mind, and the agony of the ego. We realise the truth about God — that God is a Supreme Immortal Power, and we are a part of God. We are all one — there is no you and me. We are one with God, people, nature — everything. When we live in the consciousness of this truth, we experience true bliss, SatChitAnanda — a euphoric joy unknown to the common person. Anchored in this awareness, we move beyond the chase for temporary highs and rest in lasting joy. We live in the present, detached from outcomes, anchored in purpose, and ever-connected to the Divine.

Therefore, spiritual masters teach us that true happiness comes not from chasing happiness but from purpose. They emphasise the importance of going within — through meditation, self-reflection, contemplation, and awareness — to cultivate peace and attain self-realisation.

Recognising the interconnectedness of all beings deepens compassion and purpose. Detachment from outcomes and living in the present bring freedom and contentment. Above all, aligning actions with one’s core spiritual values fosters integrity and lasting fulfillment. In essence, happiness is not found outside; it arises naturally when we live in harmony with our true self and higher purpose. Life is about evolving from pleasure (achievement) to peace (fulfillment) to purpose (enlightenment, self-realisation). These three Ps are the keys to true Happpiness — and that is why happiness is best spelt as Happpiness!

(Writer is a Happiness Ambassador and Spiritual Leader)