WHAT EXACTLY IS GNH?

Whenever I read papers on GNH, I often get bogged down with so many versions of GNH. The only common thing about GNH by different people is the four pillars of GNH, but that is also understood and interpreted in different styles by different people: the pillars are the same but the ingredients with which these pillars are built seem to be different to different people. In a same way, not surprisingly, I also have my own miniature version of GNH based own my own little understanding and contemplation.

GNH is not a dogma as some people tend to interpret: it is not a dictate about how to live our life. The concept of GNH goes beyond its four pillars. GNH is all about living well, in harmony with economy, our natural environment and with our community. And yes, GNH is about elevating our spiritual, political and social consciousness so that we create our own happiness and the people around us. Thus, to uplift our basic consciousness, the role of the state has been considered to be very important in facilitating the creation of environment in uplifting these consciousnesses. Therefore, the target of any government at anytime, while doing anything, should be to bring about positive changes in our society so that the people become happier than they were before. Thus, the happiness is the GOAL of GNH.

Now, having said that happiness is the ultimate goal of GNH philosophy, we need to understand what is meant by happiness. Happiness is a very subjective topic. It would mean different to different people, in description and in experience. For example, Buddhist concept of happiness would be different from other major religions of the world. In fact, Buddhism teaches about transcending both happiness and sadness. Therefore, Bhutanese people’s idea of happiness is very much shaped by Buddhist teachings and the environment in which we are brought up.

Some of the questions that have been nagging me about GNH are: In GNH, are we looking for ultimate happiness as from the Buddhist point of view (I mean nirvana), or is it some kind of physical pleasure accompanied with some mental contentment? Are we talking about happiness in Bhutan only or beyond Bhutan? Is it acceptable to try to achieve GNH through means that are not in consonance with GNH principles? Who has the authority to interpret whether the actions of citizens of our country are aligned with GNH principles are not?