Understanding Happiness: the Concept of sukha as ‘Excellent Space’

Abstract

Happiness is recognised as a prime driver of development but studies have shown that there is no universal definition of the term which is moulded by its cultural context. In India, the Sanskrit word sukha is often used to denote happiness. This conceptual paper is an interpretative analysis of the word which literally means ‘excellent space’. Basing itself on the premise that human life is comprised of several concomitant spaces, it explores the relationship between the feeling of happiness and the quality of the different dynamic internal and external spaces that form an intimate part of an individual’s existence using the analogy of the spaces within a house. It further establishes that while happiness is determined by the nature of the internal space, it is significantly affected by her external circumstances due to the symbiotic nature of these spaces. It, therefore, briefly looks at the implications of sukha in connection with development and introduces the idea of self-architecture as a psychological process by which a person takes responsibility for designing, structuring and managing the different spaces in her life. Finally, this paper proposes the following 1) to examine the various dimensions of the term sukha, with respect to some prevailing notions of happiness 2) to explore happiness in terms of quality of spaces 3) to see its implications on development and thereby hinting at the possibility of evolving a measurement tool based on sukha or ‘excellence’ as a benchmark for a nation’s progress.