Real happiness is within you.
Real Happiness is in the Atma. It is subjective. It is in the Sattva Guna and beyond Sattva. It manifests when the mind is concentrated. When the Indriyas are withdrawn from the objects outside, when the mind is one-pointed, when there is Vasana-kshaya or annihilation of the Vasanas, when there is Manonasa or annihilation of the mind, when you become desireless and thoughtless, Atmic bliss begins to dawn; spiritual Ananda begins to thrill.
There is no happiness in any of the objects of the world. We do not derive any pleasure from the sense objects, or from the mind. Whenever we feel our desires are satisfied, we observe that the mind moves towards the heart, towards Atma. In pleasure also, there is exercise of the mind. It expands. It turns inward and moves to its original home, the place of its origin, Atma and enjoys Atma-sukh, the bliss of the Self.
Lasting happiness must lie somewhere, otherwise the Creator would not have put this inner urge within each human soul. Somewhere there must be a source of eternal and unchanging happiness attaining which all desires become at once totally fulfilled. Is there an experience which grants at once total satisfaction and eternal bliss, which takes one forever beyond all sorrow, pain and suffering? This is an important question. It was to the resolution of this riddle of life that the ancient sages and seers of India devoted their entire lives. Relentlessly they pursued this quest until they ultimately achieved an experience of inexpressible joy that took them forever beyond all sorrow, pain and suffering.
Search within the heart, subjectively in the Atma, the source and fountain of all happiness.
If Wealth is lost,
nothing is lost.
If Health is lost,
something is lost.
If Character is lost,
everything is lost.
From article by Swami Sivananda – Where To Find Happiness