Most of you may have a vague understanding of Happiness and Joy in the modern era. It is a common understanding that happiness and Joy are the same things.
But,
There is a significant difference between the two.
Happiness is a part of Joy. Joy is a more incredible thing. For example, a pregnant woman knows very well that she will have a lot of pain at the time of delivery. But it is the joy of having a baby that makes her capable of bearing severe pain.
This is the power of joy that enables our capacity manyfold.
There are four fundamental emotions of human beings. In which three emotions are negative in nature viz fear, anger and sadness. And one positive emotion is joy.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”~ Mahatma Gandhi
The greatest enemy of joy is ‘Anger” as it decreases your capability of rational thinking. In the absence of rational thinking, you can not achieve happiness and joy.
Joy enables various qualities of human beings
Joy is the fundamental emotion of human beings and it generates a lot of other good qualities in you like empathy, compassion, kindness, gratefulness etc.
A joyful person has a feeling for others, he understands the conditions of a needy person. He helps others for his inner peace and happiness ultimately giving him joy.
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
~ Dalai Lama XIV
Joy is defined as “Param Anand” in the Indian sacred text. And it is very difficult to achieve that state in the present life conditions. But with the help of disciplined life and meditations, anyone can acquire it.
A joyful person never thinks of petty things in life. He thinks about better living conditions for others, the happiness of others etc.
Joy resides in the heart while happiness reflects on the face
You can easily identify a happy person as happiness reflects on his face and actions, but a joyful person can not be identified by mere watching that person. You have to spend some time with him for knowing a joyful person.
Joy is the feeling you feel when you do something good to others. It makes you satisfied and peaceful. The feeling of usefulness to society also generates a kind of happiness and finally joy.
It is also true that joy starts from happiness. In the beginning, you feel happy about something but when that becomes a kind of permanent in nature, you feel joy.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”~ Aristotle
The best way to attain joy is to know about yourself. As per some sacred texts knowing yourself is the greatest task of a human being. And very few actually do it and become successful. So our main target in life should be knowing ourselves.
Joy is the attribute of the soul
Joy is a bigger concept than happiness. Happiness is temporary and varies over time, but joy is beyond the boundaries of happiness and day-to-day life.
Happiness may depend on materialistic items whereas joy doesn’t depend on worldly things. Those who achieve joy never think of material things.
In fact, joy is the very attribute of the soul. It is written in various spiritual texts that joy is the nature of the soul. The ultimate quality of the soul is joy. But in the modern era, everyone has forgotten the soul’s true nature.
Happiness is limited while joy is limitless
Happiness depends on some or other reason in life that makes it limited in nature. On the other hand, Joy is limitless by nature. Happiness is easy to acquire while it takes a lot of effort to have joy in life.
It needs a lot of patience and rational decision in life to achieve joy. You have to sacrifice a lot of things in your life in order to get joy in life. But the ultimate goal of life is joy in life.
Happiness is restlessness while joy is peace and contentment
Happiness is volatile by nature as it depends on various petty materialistic things in life. After getting one happiness you look for another kind of happiness even if it is not needed and necessary.
It shows a kind of restlessness in your mind and body as you always look for another happiness after the first one fades.
On the contrary, Joy is peace and contentment as it depends on non-materialistic things in life. Therefore it makes you peaceful and contented in life. You start believing the true value of joy and its nature i.e. peace and contentment.
Happiness is shallow but Joy is deep
Happiness is shallow in nature as it depends on smaller things in life. It varies with time and age. The definition of happiness is different for different age groups. An infant may get happy with some toys, a teenager may get happy with a bike or a tab but an adult may get happy with a good life partner.
Joy on the other hand is very deep in nature. If you really enjoy something to its fullest then you have a deep feeling of joy. It is long-lasting and doesn’t vary over time.
A person seeks happiness but chooses joy
All of us look for happiness. For that, we do a lot of things in life. We seek happiness in everything in our lives. But when it comes to joy, it is a choice very few take as it needs some time and patience.
Attaining joy is the last stop in the journey of happiness and joy. The more you stay happy the more you achieve joy in the end.
Therefore always do some things in your life that give you happiness and joy. So most joyful people try to keep themselves happy and do something for the well-being of others.
