Why the World Needs More Mudita From You
Why the World Needs More Mudita From You
Mudita is the practice of consciously being happy for others and becoming more grateful in the process. This article illustrates how to build a world free of FOMO, jealousy and foul play through it.
I Want What You Have: Where it All Started
I know only a handful of people who haven’t read fairytales in childhood. I, for one, still use them as a motivation to write and believe. They rekindle the magic one feels when reading about faraway worlds and places where anything is possible.
Re-reading these tales also reminds me of the mind’s capabilities; it’s a machine apt at dreaming, writing, drawing, and sharing stories of imagined places as if they were real and inhabitable. Regardless of their fictitious nature, these tales carry important messages on human values, virtues, and ways of living.
In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs e.g., Snow White was dearly loved by her friends. The dwarfs, birds, and other forest inhabitants became sad when she was poisoned by the evil queen. The queen, however, was jealous that someone prettier than herself existed, and resorted to foul play.
Cinderella’s case was quite similar too; She was loved by the mice, horses, and birds that surrounded her, but deemed prettier than her stepsisters. This hatred caused her stepmother to lock Cinderella away so she couldn’t attend the prince’s ball.
Jealousy, envy, and hatred, as illustrated in the tales above, are closely linked feelings that can lead to our doom and cause significant harm. Many a tale has been spun on these themes.
Jealousy, Envy, and Hatred in Current Times
Thankfully, we’ve become increasingly conscious as a society over the years, and we are learning to be happier for others. On the other hand, social media has given birth to FOMO (the fear of missing out), which has led to constant comparison and deeper levels of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Just think of extreme business rivalry where people poach clients, influencers have online feuds due to popularity rankings, and followers develop obsessive buying behaviour and get into debt because of comparison.
Not to mention the rise of eating disorders, and people stalking others on social media because they badly want to live someone else’s (seemingly perfect) life. So, how can we combat this hatred, envy, jealousy, and FOMO, and make our lives and the world a better place? With mudita.
The term mudita has gained more importance with the evolution of our awareness, especially among those who practice yoga and meditation. Read on to see why and how mudita can help us go from FOMO, hatred, envy, and jealousy, to building a peaceful (inner) world.
What is Mudita and How Can It Help Me?
Mudita is a Sanskrit word for the happiness and joy we feel when someone we know does well or achieves something great. Instead of focusing on why you can’t have what they do, you rejoice in their accomplishments and luck. Here are some other points that mudita is based on:
You need not love or like a person to be happy for them.
Being genuinely happy for another is possible even when you are facing hardships.
Mudita requires compassion, kindness, and equanimity. It means you acknowledge that the other person is also a soul. You understand that we’re all living our lives based on our individual choices. It’s a mindset of “we’re all in this together” instead of “us versus them”.
When we regularly practice mudita, the joy we experience for others keeps growing, and with it, the joy we experience in general.
There is no room for greed, resentment, jealousy, and comparison when we take up this practice.
By practising mudita, you go from experiencing FOMO to feeling happy, light, and free. It helps you focus on what your life has to offer, instead of getting annoyed by or hurt at seeing others’ achievements, progress, or (material) growth. Mudita helps us go inwards to find calm and peace.
Reflection: How do I put Mudita into Practice for Improving the World?
There are several ways to practice mudita. Here are some I have learnt over the years:
Sit in a quite place, and close your eyes. Imagine someone who recently shared a big win or achievement with you. You can do this exercise even if they didn’t share their wins with you personally. Put yourself in their shoes and ask: How would I feel if this were to happen to me? Bring the joy, pride, and peace of their achievement into your mind, and breathe in deeply. After 5 seconds, slowly breathe out, and imagine the joy radiating through your entire body. Express gratitude for it, and envision more happiness flowing to the person. Then, you can wish the person well like you’d do in real life. Slowly open your eyes when finished. Repeat this practice as often as you like.
You can also chant Lokah Samastah Sukinoh Bhavantu - a mantra for collective happiness, while imagining that you are radiating peace and joy to the entire world. Sit in a quite place, and close your eyes. Once the mantra starts, you can imagine yourself sitting at the centre of the earth with flowers/a golden light coming out of your heart. Direct the light/flowers towards the whole earth, like sunshine, while wishing every human being happiness and peace. Feel free to sing along here to this mantra. Find out what it means here.
Last but not least, express daily gratitude for what you have in life in this moment. Your family, pets, job, home, friends, and hobbies are gifts shaped by your own choices. These gifts go unappreciated because you’re so focused on the outside world. Instead of endlessly scrolling on social media or comparing yourself to others, turn inwards with a daily gratitude journaling/meditation. You’ll soon realise how abundant you truly are, and FOMO will stop having control over you.
With gratitude,
Raksha