A book packed with goodness

Happiness is indeed a feat that everybody can achieve. The book ‘Taskhher-e-Musarrat,’ an Urdu version of The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell is a recipe for good living. Happiness seems to be the most marketed product in this era. The enormous amount of content related to this subject in this book is very helpful.

The author considers ways in which we one can maximize his/her happiness in the place in which they find themselves by altering their thinking and thus their actions and reactions to the world about them. It is worth mentioning that the author is not considering either ideal or extenuating conditions but the ordinary existence of the average citizen.

The author explains simply, directly, and thoroughly the inner complex workings of the mind and emotions that create dysfunctional behavior and therefore prevent us from connecting with others and enjoying living. The value of the stuff in this book is very high, but whatever everyone learns will serve him/her forever. This book serves as a mentor and a guide in matters related to happiness.

In part one; he articulately deliberates upon the things that make us unhappy, such as competition, envy, sin, self-absorption, pessimism, the competitive nature of modern life, boredom, mental, emotional, and physical tiredness, comparing yourself and your lot in life to others, inner conflict, perpetual victim-hood, and peer pressure and others.

In spite of being a great philosopher himself, Bertrand Russell shuns lavish terminology. He goes deep and pens down the causes of unhappiness, and explains why, how, and in what capacity these things contribute to our unhappiness. One might be very aware of the causes like ‘competition’, ‘fatigue’, ‘envy’, ‘persecution mania’ or ‘boredom’. Nevertheless, the author speaks about them with a novel standpoint that disentangles hitherto unrevealed features of these symptoms.

While Russel succeeds in unraveling the nature of unhappiness in each of his chapters, he concludes them on a hopeful note instead of a pessimistic note.

In part two; he debates about the things that make us happy, these include, such as curiosity, awe, enthusiasm, and appreciation for life, reciprocal affection, parenthood, work, hobbies, balance, work, family, impersonal interest, efforts and resignation, and others. The causes of happiness are also written intelligibly, in between the lines the wisdom of the author is well felt.

His style of writing makes it an enjoyable read. Stripped from all theatrics and noise, his views look truer and the mission of discovery of happiness seems to be stress-free than we consider it to be.

Professor Muhammad Bashir has done an excellent job in translating the book by Bertrand Russell, which has very wise insights into life and the way we should be living. There is a great sparkle in his writing, he really writes with great wit and clarity.