The Theory of Happiness Bhutan- The Land of Happiness
Happiness is no longer an abstract unquantifiable indicator; Accounts and mathematical formulas are in place to measure and gauge the level of happiness of the Bhutanese people.
Are you Happy? What makes you happy? How happy are you? Can you be happier? These may be random questions that might even tick off the person being asked, but really answering these questions will actually measure your level of Happiness!
In this world where consumerism and materialism has pushed men to create and invent state of the art facilities and technological gizmos to make the world a ‘comfortable’ place to live in, the very essence of happiness, contentment and satisfaction has been lost. The old adage is true – “Money can’t buy happiness.”
Happiness and contentment is the central theme of Buddhism. According to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Aristotle also described Happiness as the only thing humans’ desire for its own sake and not in conjunction with health, wealth, friendship or familial bonds. Happiness is the ultimate desire and each individual may define happiness differently based on their current living and financial status.
Most nations of the world have reached the epitome of development and progress, their citizens can afford every comfort and luxury and are deeply immersed in the so called ‘rat race’ and ‘survival of the fittest’ that their sole goal in life is to be employed, contribute to nation building and increasing the GDP – which is and should be the ideal goal of every citizen and what every nation aspires for.
However, the bad news is globalization has shortened the lifespan of our precious mother earth, realizing too late that we the humans have accelerated the rate of destruction and annihilation of our world. We have taken everything from Nature and not given a second thought to replenish what we took; for how long can we blindly cut down trees and emit poisonous gases from our factories without bearing the brunt of our selfish acts towards nature and ultimately humanity for that matter. The very essence of getting is in giving – you get what you give, and for sure we have taken all and for our selfishness we are getting disasters and calamities that are all man-made. We did not wish for or anticipated glacial melt downs, holes in our ozone layer, freak weather conditions or declining coastlines, but our actions have asked for it.
The world is realizing the bitter fact and the adverse effect of our actions, people are now scrambling for measures to undo what had been done; people are adopting sustainable environmental practices at the individual and community level and governments are embracing national policies regarding the same. Mistakes are made and lessons always learnt sooner or later and now the whole world is ready for a shift in the economic and environmental paradigm.
Just like the knight in shining armor rescues the damsel in distress at the ‘better late than never’ moment, Bhutan has boldly made a universal statement of prioritizing Gross National Happiness (GNH) over Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GNH in its various manifests as a savior of our mother earth.
Here in this tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan where luxuries like television and internet was introduced only in the late nineties; where villages and communities still live in a time warp of the old age; where smiling people walk down the streets leisurely, the government’s focus is more on Gross National Happiness and the simple and basic concept of GNH being the guiding philosophy behind every developmental initiatives implemented in the country.
Gross National Happiness is the brain child of His Majesty the fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck , and, the Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley is the forerunner and champion of this unique concept. Bhutan opened its door to modernization and development in the late 1960’s, and taking wise decisions and learning from mistakes made by other developed and developing countries, the Kings of Bhutan learnt to take baby steps towards development and modernization. Development in such a way without depleting the natural resources but instead striking a fine balance between development and safeguarding the environment, preserving and promoting the cultural heritage and practicing sustainable tourism.
In this ‘Happy’ country, GNH is not a new concept idealized by development practitioners, it is not just a word used by the government to glorify Bhutan in the international arena, ask any school going children about GNH and you can be sure they have their own definition and ways of practicing GNH in their daily lives. GNH is a concept that is being instilled in every aspect of the Bhutanese life and people have come to understand it as a basic right and necessity. GNH ethos and values are inculcated in the curriculum of schools and educational institutions.
The Bhutanese are serious about their happiness and the government taking the lead in collaboration with UN-commissioned team of researchers have very recently come up with a balanced GNH accounting system whereby aspects (human, social, cultural and natural) left out by GDP would be measured.
Gross Domestic Product may be measured by the goods and services produced, but Gross National Happiness is measured by the quality of health, education, governance and other social services provided to its citizens and all the while safeguarding and promoting the country’s culture and environment.
Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley said that the new accounting system would focus on the country’s natural and cultural heritage and then work on their strengths to create a better living environment. For example, measuring the status of nature and culture would signify where there is a lack of support and put better practices and remedies in place. The system is based on drawing up strengths and support from already existing assets and working on them to enhance a conducive environment for Bhutanese to realize and achieve their own happiness.
Nonetheless, GNH has been in the international limelight for quite some time now and superpowers have acknowledged and even embraced GNH philosophy into their national policies. The concept has been tabled in international seminars and conferences. The General Assembly of the United Nations has already adopted the GNH concept and model after a proposal made by the Prime Minister at the 65th session of the UN’s General Assembly in New York in 2010. The concept was well received by all member states and GNH has been approved as a MDG (Millennium Development Goal).
The GNH accounting system of Bhutan will be the world’s first comprehensive set of national accounts. Bhutan will be providing leadership to the development, implementation and promotion of Happiness in terms of public policy to all member states of the UN. And now, ‘Operationalising Gross National Happiness’ is the universal slogan and the ultimate goal and mission of every nation and the least that human beings can do to amend the mistakes and save the world.
However, the universal basic rule applies that nothing is perfect in its entirety and so GNH has its share of skeptics and cynics who believe that GNH is a utopian ideal not at all workable in a human society where there is unequal distribution of wealth and knowledge and power play at its worst. Moreover, different types of formulas and systems for different countries are expected as one person’s happiness may not necessarily add up to another person’s happiness.
Faith can move mountains and it is the intention that counts for a successful endeavor. Also, believe in the intrinsic human quality for compassion and kindness and the will to succeed. Practicing GNH need not necessarily mean shutting down factories or not cutting trees at all – it is the small things that matters and like a school teacher in Bumthang said, ‘ GNH is all about attitude – It is how judiciously we use our resources and utilize sensibly already available assets without wanting more than what we really need’. According to a housewife in Thimphu, GNH is about segregating her waste so that reusable items can be recycled and decomposable waste could be used as compost in her kitchen garden. For a high school student in Paro, GNH is about studying well and saying no to drugs and alcohol.
Gross National Happiness is a work in progress (universally) and as time goes on we can only hope to be saved from ourselves. Like the old saying, we really are living in the interesting times. The world is no longer round, it is also flat as in how communication technology has brought together the whole world on one platform. Thanks to modern technology, voices can be heard and grievances shared, everybody is ready to fight for a good cause and come to a mutual understanding to save the world. The question now is how we can take advantage of this platform to galvanize the spirit of the people to save our earth. The Gross National Happiness philosophy is here to stay.
Processing your request, Please wait....
