About
My name is Rohit Shetty. I work part time in finance but my passion is trying to figure out the causes of happiness. When I was younger, I was interested in politics since that seemed like a way to help people on a large scale. I was always a utilitarian so the standard by which I judged policies was happiness. Over time, I came to realize that I didn’t understand the causes of happiness and that became my main interest. My core belief is that happiness comes from acting from love (as opposed to selfishness) in every action, both mental and physical. Happiness is abiding in love.
The main experiences which led me to this view were: observing other people who are incredibly loving due to their Christian beliefs, learning about Christian theology (through conversations with other people, services, small groups and books), and reading about Buddhism. All of those things made things click in my mind, and I began to read more about agape love.
On a more personal level, if an individual doesn’t grow up in a strong spiritual tradition, I think he moves through three stages. The first stage is one where he either doesn’t feel love or doesn’t let it out and he also doesn’t let love come into him from external sources. But man cannot survive on bread alone. The person reaches a breaking point and knows that he badly needs something (even if he can’t consciously state what it is). At this point, he enters the second stage and tries to be filled with love from other people. Eventually, he realizes that this doesn’t work. The third stage is consciously realizing the ultimate value of love and the need to act on love in every thought and action. I think too many people spend too much of their lives in the first stage and that they suffer for it. I know that I did.
This blog is meant to keep me active in trying to understand the causes of happiness and to pull in wise feedback from all of the bright, interesting people out there.
I hope you enjoy it! 