The Spiritual Guides

The five smiling men of the cloth featured on these pages offer glimpses of the common quest and distinct insights that make them a source of inspiration—and happiness— to thousands of others.

Religion and spiritual practice may not be the most intuitive associa-tions with happiness—and there’s no denying that human beings continue to use religious identity of every stripe as a rallying call for violence and the oppression of others. And yet, throughout the long, diverse history of spiritual endeavour, this has been an enduring path that has inspired people across the world to find and share happiness and even ecstasy. The five smiling men of the cloth featured on these pages offer glimpses of the common quest and distinct insights that make them a source of inspiration—and happiness— to thousands of others.

For the Dalai Lama of Tibet, the purpose of life is to be happy and he holds karuna or the path of compassion as the surest path to this goal. The Grand Mufti of India says true happiness lies in dedicating one’s life to the cause of the less fortunate and not in material wealth. Oswald Cardinal Gracias likewise says the path to true happiness lies in “other-centred behaviour” and that “material things do not bring happiness”. For Sri Sri Ravishankar of the Art of Living Foundation, happiness manifests “when you feel free from within”. Sadhguru, the maverick spiritual head of the Isha Foundation, offers another non-materialist vision of happiness by focusing on bringing the various koshas of the self into alignment. On the other hand, the koshas are all associated with the human body, so perhaps this is an acknowledgment of material form after all. And for all the wise men in these pages, the quest for spiritual contentment seems replete with metaphors of both an inner and an outward journey through meditation and prayer.

The purpose of life is to be happy