Why happiness index is a joke, an analogy from Ramayan and Mahabharat!

  • Suppose happiness index was calculated at time when Mata Sita was abducted by Ravan. The large number people in Lanka were happy and rejoicing. While people across Bharat-varsh who came to know the troubles faced by Shri Ram and Mata Sita, were unhappy.
  • In Mahabharat, Pandavas had to face very tough times while Kauravas were happy. Kunti even said to Bhagwan Krishn, I would like to see more troubles, because you Bhagawan Krishn will remain with us, only till we are in trouble. 

There is one book by Gita Press – दुःख में भगवद कृपा – it mentions how the worldly pain and suffering is sometimes a boon and act of Bhagwan to test the resilience of the Bhakt.

The point is not to eulogize the pain and suffering, but to highlight the inadequacy of such indices. This becomes more dangerous when researchers take this as base, start quoting such indices and even propose policy changes.

There are many public speeches in which leaders, educationist and social workers quote such indices to make argument. So, let us be open to critically analyze any such thing. This perspective can help us to examine the complexities of measuring happiness on a societal scale. The indices like happiness index may not fully capture the depth of human emotions or the moral and ethical dimensions of societal well-being.