On 10th April 2025, to mark the occasion of Mahavir Janam Kalyanak, there was a Book Launch of two books titled “Happiness and Beyond” and “Happyy in Imperfection – a book on self care” at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The two books have been published by 125 years old publishing house- Motilal Banarsidass. The first one is written by Dr Asha Gupta and the second one is written by Dr Divya.
The occasion was graced by dignitaries such as Dr Shugan Chand Jain, Founder of International School for Jain Studies as Chief Guest; Dr Kavita Sharma, Former President, South Asian University and Mr Harish Mahajan, IAS officer and author.
In the opening remark, Dr Kavita Sharma applauded the efforts of the authors on the most pressing issue in today’s world i.e “Happiness”. She mentioned that “In other’s happiness lies our happiness” and true happiness generally comes from building a community where some value system is in place. Happiness is a question which depends on the mind and ultimately “Mindset” defines your level of happiness.
Dr Shugan, one of the pioneers in taking Jain academic studies at international level, made a very impactful presentation starting with why the title of Dr Asha Gupta’s book is not Happiness but “Happiness and Beyond”. He further explained the symbol of Swastika and its significance and linked it to the blissful state of Bhagwan Mahavira versus the so-called happy state of happiness of a richman. Drawing inferences from the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, he liked his hypothesis beautifully to weave Jain principles along with tools such as “Wheel of Life” from his famous “Rhythm of Life” program.
Dr Asha Gupta, the author of “Happiness and Beyond” described her journey of writing this book which she embarked on during Covid era following her retirement. Further, she engaged the audience by telling them how she has woven and taken inferences from the Jain way of living and Jain principle of Anekantvad ( multiplicity of viewpoints) to derive the concept of “Happiness and Beyond”.
Dr Divya described a very nice connection between the world of music and happiness. She mentioned that our body is like “Veena” ( a musical instrument) and every instrument needs to be tuned in periodically.
Though according to Jainism, there can be multiplicity of perspectives, Dr Divya mentioned that Happiness can be seen as a balanced perspective towards life.
Here is a quick summary of the two books:
Book 1: Happiness and Beyond
The book, 'Happiness and Beyond: the Jain Way and Other Perspectives' discusses various perspectives about happiness, unhappiness, popular myths, relationship between religion and happiness, role of positive psychologists before delving deeper into Buddhism and the cardinal principles of Jainism, such as anekantavāda (multi- sidedness), ahimsā (non-violence) and aparigraha (non-possessiveness), without being dogmatic about them. It traces happiness in a deeper relation with ecology since all living beings, including plants and animals, are inter-connected. Social, economic and environmental wellbeing define gross global happiness. This book is meant for an average educated reader worldwide seeking happiness as one of the most cherished goals. It makes a novel attempt to explain not only the link between virtue ethics and happiness but it also makes the reader look beyond happiness. Though the pursuit of happiness can be beautiful, it should never become an obsession. One should find it in the journey and certainly not in the destination. Despite focusing on Buddhism, Jainism and positive psychologists, this book avoids being preachy, hasty or a quick-fix. Rather, it takes the reader on an interesting, jerky and untrodden terrain.
Book 2: Happyy in imperfection – a book on self-care
Our thoughts create our reality. This simple yet powerful idea holds the key to living a peaceful and happy life.
Dr. Divya has always been fascinated by the many colors of life, as well as the strange experiences and synchronicities she has encountered both in her own life and in the lives of those around her. These experiences propelled her to explore deeper, leading her into the world of energy healing. From there, new ideas began to flow, gradually taking shape.
Her journey began through various subtle experiences and initiations, and it continues to evolve. The essence of this book revolves around society's perceptions of perfection and how we can simplify and redefine it in a way that feels more natural and attainable.
With a small shift in perspective, one can gain clarity about the wonderfully intricate yet simple phenomenon called life. This book explores how we can add, subtract, and adjust our thoughts and actions to create a more fulfilling and contented existence. Life is a strange yet beautiful journey, and by remaining open, flexible, and receptive to all experiences with trust as our guiding force-we can embrace it with ease and joy.
The event ended with a Vote of Thanks by Sh R P Jain of Motilal Banarsidass. The books are available on Amazon!
A brief about the authors:
Dr Gupta is a gold medalist and National Merit Scholarship holder, has been a Director at the Directorate of Hindi Medium Implementation and Principal at Bharati College, University of Delhi, India. She has also been the Convener of International Political Science Association's Research Committee on Welfare State and Welfare Societies and Military's Role in Democratization. A recipient of the Indo-Shastri Canadian Fellowship, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Fellowship, Norwegian Fellowship, alumni of Salzburg Seminar, UGG Career Award in Humanities, UGC Major Research Grant, for a postdoctoral project on Vocationalization and Privatization of Higher Education.
Dr Divya is a musician and has been a student of psychology. Divya Dayal was born in the city of Kanpur, which is located in the northern part of India. She started with her training in Indian classical music from an early age of five under the tutelage of her father and Gurū, Prof. V.N. Nigam, a trained vocalist of the Gwalior Gharana and a sitär player, an engineer by profession, and an eminent musicologist, who initiated her to both; theory and practical aspects of Hindustani Classical music. She later took to teaching and has around 20 years of university-level teaching experience in India and abroad. She completed her doctorate in Music, in the year 2017 and continues to write articles and papers on the various aspects of music and spirituality. Apart from music she also did her Masters in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical and Abnormal Psychology. She is also trained in alternative methods of healing and is working on mental health and well-being, using music as a tool.
Dr Palakh Jain, Associate Professor at Bennett University, India
-------------------------------------------------
(Views are personal and not of the organization of the author)
