Seeking happiness is hard-wired into us!

Whether we are believers or non-believers, the quest for happiness is constant.

Atheists are those who do not believe in God or a personal Creator. Atheism is a state policy in countries that are communist; in some other countries which are not communist, a large proportion of the population is atheist.

According to some statistics, Sweden has 85% of people who declare themselves atheists, agnostics, or non-believers, the highest percentage of people in the world. However, it is not a communist country. Did you know it has one of the best welfare systems in the world? Healthcare and education are free, and if you are unemployed, the state will pay you most of your previous salary. In addition, benefits for the ill and disabled, support for the elderly, benefits to new parents including paid leave after childbirth, housing allowance, subsidized public day-care for children - you name it, and Sweden has it all. It is called the cradle-to-grave system, a self-explanatory phrase.

Why should a country, most of whose population doesn’t believe in God, care so much for its citizens? It is because they think that with all these benefits, they will be happy. With their single-minded devotion to pursuing happiness, the government and people of a largely ‘non-believing Sweden have created a veritable Ram Rajya!

What are the goals of communism? Liberty, freedom from oppression, and good living standards for all are some of the stated objectives. And the underlying reason for these goals? To seek happiness for people. At the risk of oversimplifying, socialism and communism propose that the state provide its citizens with material goods and services and thus make them happy. Capitalism states that we should work for our prosperity without depending on the state, by using intelligence and hard work, getting more and more prosperous - which will make us happy. What is common to both? The pursuit of happiness and the belief that material goods and services can make us happy.

We are eternal servants of happiness; it does not matter if we are communists or capitalists; it does not even matter if we are human or not. Every Jeeva, human or otherwise, is a firm and relentless seeker/servant of happiness.

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