The Gross National Happiness: The Definition Of Happiness

Our planet 's sustainability has reached a tipping point for many parts of the world. Bhutan has been in the forefront of change, denying the Gross National Product (GNP) as a measurement of economic development and policy and, instead, established the Gross National Happiness (GNH) scale in 1972. With GNH awareness presented to the United Nations, Bhutan is spreading this format worldwide. Drawing spiritual integrity into the groundwork of Bhutan’s decision making, gives the foundation, path and purpose, if rooted in spirituality, a means to liberate the materialistic profit model now in place, exploring policy intentions instead of outcomes. With the pursuit of happiness being written into the new Constitution of Bhutan, under the first

It is viewed as a living, breathing, changing document to last through time, with the spirit of reducing inequality. The four pillars consist of: sustainable & equitable socio-economic development, environmental conservation, preservation and promotion of culture, and good governance. The measurement of happiness is categorically indexed by ‘unhappy’, ‘narrowly happy’, ‘extensively happy’, or ‘deeply happy’. The domains measured include the four pillars to give the index wholeness. The first three domains look into just the basic human needs of living standards, such as income, housing, assets, health, and education. The second three are newer domains that address the community aspect through the use of time to include time poverty, good governance, and ecological resilience. The last three domains are a blend of the individual with community that touch psychological well-being from both an emotional and spiritual place, community vitality, cultural diversity, and their resiliency. Within each domain exists 124 variables that are to be met for happiness that establish a tough, less subjective way of measuring not just poverty for survival, but the flourishing a person exhibits in being happy. This is a new way to look at survival and progress, not fixing what doesn’t work but encouraging what does. Therefore, happiness can happen in the most dire of

The communion of nature and self, treating nature in loving kindness without abusing, harming or taking from our fragile ecosystems, is a challenge for the Bhutanese. It is, no doubt, vitally important for one’s happiness, to experience the realm of nature in all its beauty for aesthetic stimuli. This has worth but cannot be measured as an economic benefit. Modernization and urbanization test the small farmers to keep these ideals of Buddhism. The killing of wild animals is illegal and protecting livestock and crops are at risk because farmers do not own guns. It disrupts the balance in the lives of inhabitants that is then passed on to the Earth. Balance is an important component that the Earth so desperately needs for its own survival. It is stated in the 1729 Constitution of Bhutan that, “every Bhutanese citizen shall ‘...contribute to the protection of the natural environment, conservation of the rich biodiversity of Bhutan and prevention of all forms of ecological degradation including noise, visual and physical pollution....’ (Ruttenberg. 2013). For the Bhutanese, this is a daily way of life with valuable practices and necessary lessons to be passed on to Western societies who have, for far too long, chosen the “take at all costs”