Pursuit of Fundamental Happiness

ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY?
FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS
Author: Deepak Chatterjee
Publisher: Embassy Books
Price: Rs 250

More than a few characters of his name match with a prominent motivational guru's but Deepak Chatterjee distances himself from the self-help tag. The CEO of SBI Mutual Fund, whose Are You Really Happy? was launched earlier in the week, says his is not a 'how-to' book.

"I haven't come up with any new theory," says Chatterjee. "I just wanted to present old teachings in a simple manner." His journey towards what he calls fundamental happiness seems to have followed a recognisable path. A phase of severe anxiety and depression led him to books, psychiatrists and wise men. Recognising the pain as a sign of growth eventually led him to happiness and that path is detailed in the book. Happiness, he concludes predictably, is within oneself and cannot be connected to external factors.

Chatterjee's posture is relaxed but he speaks with the pace of a man who is eager to share. That is what prompted the book too. The idea formed a year and a half ago when Chatterjee had started snatching 15 or 20 minutes daily from office hours to jot down observations about life. He thought of publishing them because of a desire to communicate his discoveries about misery and happiness. People become defiant when they are told they are unhappy, notes Chatterjee. "They are more receptive when they read about it."

The essence of the book is spirituality, which, according to Chatterjee, is an often misunderstood word. "The two extremes people connect it with are either religion or mysticism." His ideas are more in the realm of existentialism. "It is a serious book but it is not difficult," he says of his work. To break the tedium of text, there are boxes and illustrations.

The SBI veteran of 35 years has been leading the bank's mutual fund division since 2011. His writing often reveals views uncharacteristic of someone around the top of the financial world. "For a (fundamentally happy) person, the idea of creation of wealth is as important as any other ordinary thing in his life," says one chapter. While stating that the finer things in life need not be discarded to experience true happiness, he also questions the obsession with high-priced brands.

Through a diagram, he explores the various stages between the base case of human existence and finally fundamental happiness. Fundamental unhappiness plays a key role by urging man to search for meaning. The ideal place to exist in is just below the ultimate step, where one enjoys spiritual awareness without being an ascetic, says the author. In his view, worldly pleasures like wines or a game of golf should be enjoyed but not with any great attachment.

The book is difficult to define. It reads a bit like a research paper, where Chatterjee arrives at an easy-to-practice sort of spiritualism through the study of various schools of thought. He places his ideas alongside or against those of thinkers, including existentialists James Leonard Park and Eckhart Toll, Ken Wilber and Abraham Maslow. Several examples from movies, books and plays have also been quoted to explain his concepts. All this could help readers discover lesser-known artists and writers of philosophy. The rest of Are You Really Happy? is like a conversation, peppered with Chatterjee's own experiences, which are easy to relate with.

For no evident reason, the words "fundamental" and "happiness" are in upper case throughout the text in the blue-jacketed book. Neat paragraphs often give way to questions, statements or at times stray sentences, perhaps because the book is a compilation of Chatterjee's thoughts recorded from time to time. There are short essays on spirituality each aimed at different sections of people - CEOs, subordinates, the youth and those in relationships. In what seems like an avoidable exercise, he uses an entire section at the end to justify his decision to pen a book.

The tone, however, is genuine. The ideas come from a place of experience and they are related in uncomplicated language. Those who enjoy reading on self-improvement and existentialism, especially people from the world of business, are likely to find it interesting.

This one is for monks who are in no hurry to sell Ferraris.