Attaining Happiness

There lived a young boy named Gopi  in a small quaint village in central India. He was an inquisitive young teenager with a philosophical bent of mind. He was passionate about things around him. He kept probing into matters far deeper than people his age normally do.

Close to his village was a great monastery. The monk who resided there, was highly revered. People came from distant lands to seek his advice and blessings. Gopi often visited the monastery, sitting there and meditating. The monk observed Gopi but they never exchanged more than a smile.

One day Gopi approached the monk and asked him, "How can I always be happy?"
The monk reflected on the question and responded, "What makes you happy?"
Gopi replied, "Chasing my pet hen in the garden" , to which the monk said, "pursue it".

Gopi thought the response was fairly mundane, but did not want to question the monks wisdom. After all, this monk had followers across the country. He did as the monk said, and he had to admit; there was a strange sense of joy. Over time the joy subsided. After six months he visited the monk again.

Gopi asked the monk, "How can I always be happy?"
The monk again replied, "What makes you happy?"
Gopi replied, "Tilling my farm land", to which the monk said, "pursue it".
Gopi had hoped the response would change on this occasion. Again he controlled his urge of questioning the monks response. As time went by, Gopi was intensely focused on his farm land and crops. He did feel a divine satisfaction when he was on the farm. The same level of joy was absent once he got home. His pets did provide him with moments of joy. He felt he needed something else, he was a bit distracted lately. He decided to visit the monk again. He resolved that he will question the monk further this time.

He gathered courage from his past visits and asked the monk, "How can I always be happy?"
The monk again replied, "What makes you happy?"
Gopi replied, "Marriage to the baker's beautiful daughter", to which the monk said, "pursue her".
Gopi hesitated for a second, then said, "Every time I came to you with my question, you respond by saying pursue the matter. How are these related to my happiness?"

The monk smiled and said,"Every time I asked you your source of happiness, you told me a part of your dream, hence I asked you to pursue them. As you accomplished each target, your mind moved towards a new one. Happiness is a moving target of achieving your dreams. As time goes by, your goals and objectives change, you need to pursue them with vigour."

Gopi silently stared in awe. It was now clear to him why so many people approached the monk The monk did not give him the answer in the first visit, he helped him discover it before explaining it to him.
Gopi married the bakers daughter............