The authors of the 'U.S. Declaration of Independence' declared that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain rights, including Pursuit of Happiness. However, they gave no hints as to where this elusive happiness might be found. Over 3,000 years earlier in the serene atmosphere of the Himalayan ranges, the sages of Veda period drew the same conclusion and proceeded to investigate into the nature of happiness. They wanted to know where happiness was located and how to find it.
In their careful observations they noted three facts:
Man's search for happiness is a universal tendency.
Everyone is searching for lasting happiness in a world of change.
Permanent happiness must be independent of a changing environment.
Arriving at these conclusions, the sages turned their enquiry inward to discover a substratum of permanence on which the changing phenomena rose and fell. In the short essays in Pursuit of Happiness, Swami Chinmayananda lucidly communicates the conclusions drawn by these subjective scientists who realised their own divine nature and proposed a way of life so that others might follow on the inner journey to the true source of happiness.
Hailed as the second Swami Vivekananda, Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) has left a great legacy behind for mankind. On realising the true purpose of life he worked tirelessly and with tremendous energy for more than four decades to spread the message of Vedanta. A great orator, writer, leader, patriot and spiritual giant, he is one of the finest representatives of Indian spiritual heritage. The sprawling worldwide organisation of Chimaya Mission carries on the torch lit by this great saint.