Good one! VIRTUE
Philosophers have been inquiring about happiness since ancient times.
Aristotle, when he asked ‘*what is the ultimate purpose of human existence*’
alluded to the fact that purpose was what he argued to be ‘happiness’. He
termed this eudaimonia <https://positivepsychology.com/eudaimonia/> –
“*activity
expressing virtue*”. This will all be explained shortly. And this became
the fact of the quote here cited by Sri J as, “The beauty of interactions
lies in an exchange of virtues*.”
Hedonism is, to put it simply, the pursuit of pleasure as the only
intrinsic good. This was the Cyrenaic view of happiness. It was thought
that a good life was denoted by seeking pleasure, and satisfying physical,
intellectual/social needs. Happiness brings out the best in people… people
who are happier are more social, cooperative and ethical. Happy individuals
have also been shown to evaluate others more positively, show greater
interest in interacting with others socially, and even be more likely to
engage in self-disclosure. Happy individuals are also more likely to behave
ethically. In developing his theory of ‘happiness’, Aristotle drew upon his
knowledge about nature. He contended that what separates man from animal is
rational capacity – arguing that a human’s unique function is to reason. He
went on to say that pleasure alone cannot result in happiness because
animals are driven by the pursuit of pleasure and according to Aristotle
man has greater capacities than animals. Instead, he put forward the term ‘
*eudaimonia*’.
To explain simply, eudaimonia is defined as ‘activity expressing virtue’ or
what Aristotle conceived as happiness. Aristotle’s theory of happiness was
as follows: ‘the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and
this activity implies a rational principle, and the function of a good man
is the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well
performed it is performed in accord with the appropriate excellence: if
this is the case, then happiness turns out to be an activity of the soul in
accordance with virtue’ (Aristotle,);‘for as it is not one swallow or one
fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that
makes a man blessed and happy’.
Happiness (eudaimonia), to Aristotle, meant attaining the ‘daimon’ or
perfect self. Reaching the ‘ultimate perfection of our natures’, as
Aristotle meant by happiness, includes rational reflection (Pursuit of
Happiness,). He argued that education was the embodiment of character
refinement. Striving for the daimon (perfect self) gives life meaning and
direction. Having a meaningful, purposeful life is valuable. Efforts that
the individual puts in to strive for the daimon are termed ‘personally
expressive’. Personal expressiveness involves intense involvement in an
activity, a sense of fulfilment when engaged in an activity, and having a
sense of acting in accordance with one’s purpose. It refers to putting in
effort, feeling challenged and competent, having clear goals and
concentrating. According to Aristotle, eudaimonia and hedonic enjoyment are
separate and distinguishable. However, in a study of university students,
personal expressiveness (which is, after all a component of eudaimonia) was
found to be positively correlated with hedonic enjoyment).
Thus, THE VIRTUE IS NOT ONE DAY AFFAIR; IT IS NOT ACQUIRED SO EASILY; IT
NEEDS A LOT OF EXPERIENCES; IT ADDS TO THE GUNA KARMA VIBAGA: There are
five Sanskrit equivalents for virtue or merit: guṇá, dhárma, sukṛtám,
púṇyam and śobhanám, but only sukṛtám and púṇyam are regularly found in the
Vedic ritualistic and philosophical texts. They especially refer to
meritorious actions or their resulting merits. RTA IS A TOTAL EXPRESSION
DHARMA; PRACTICING THE DHARMA IS THE BECOMING A VIRTUOUS. VIRTUE s. (Moral
goodness) धर्म्मः, पुण्यं, श्रेयस् n., धर्म्माचरणं, धर्म्माचारः,
साधुत्वं, साधुवृत्तिः
f., साधुवृत्तं, साधुशीलता, सदाचारः, सुकृतं, सुचरितं -त्रं, सच्चरितं, दर्शनं,
नीतिः f.; ‘personified,’ वृषः. — (Strength, power) प्रभावः, शक्तिः f., बलं,
प्राबल्यं; ‘latent virtue,’ मर्म्म n. — (Good quality, excellence) गुणः,
सद्गुणः, सुगुणः, सुलक्षणं; ‘virtue and vices,’ गुणागुणाः m. pl., गुणदोषाः m.
pl.
Hence Rig veda recitals give the meaningful practice and before the
interaction, intra-action is needed, about which I wrote a couple of days
back Thank you K Rajaram IRS 22 4 23
On Fri, 21 Apr 2023 at 16:32, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]>
wrote:
> *The beauty of interactions lies in an exchange of virtues*.
>
> Every interaction is an opportunity to exchange virtues. The more we have
> this understanding and aim; we will be able to give an experience of
> virtues through our mind. We will also be able to inspire virtues through
> our deeds.
>
> For having expressed and experienced virtues, we too will be benefited. We
> would get a lot of good wishes, blessings and virtues from others too.
> Today I will give an experience of one virtue to at least 3 people. I will
> use the interactions with them as an excuse to use and express my
> qualities. The more I do this, the more I find my interactions becoming
> harmonious and beautiful.
>
> N Jambunathan Rengarajapuram-Kodambakkam-Chennai-Mob:9176159004
>
> *" What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you
> become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to
> a goal, not to people or things "*
>
>
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