The Source of Unhappiness Is a Simple Mistake

We spend most of our lives on a search. The search for happiness. We think it is a destination. If I just get this job or find that relationship or achieve this goal then I will arrive. But happiness never seems to stay for long. The moment we get what we want a new desire appears and the search begins again.

This cycle is exhausting because its premise is wrong. We are looking for something outside of ourselves that we believe we lack. Vedanta proposes a radically different idea. Happiness is not something you acquire. It is your natural state. Unhappiness is the unnatural state.

The Default Setting

Think of the sun. The sun is always shining. It doesn’t need to try to be bright. Its nature is to radiate light and heat. Sometimes clouds obscure the sun. From our perspective on the ground the day becomes dark and grey. But high above the clouds the sun has not changed. It is still shining just as it always does.

According to Vedanta our true nature or Self is like the sun. It is described as Sat-Chit-Ananda. Existence Consciousness and Bliss. Bliss or peace is not an emotion that comes and goes. It is the very texture of our being. It is the default setting. We do not need to generate it or find it. We only need to stop obscuring it.

Unhappiness is the cloud. The thoughts feelings and beliefs that tell us we are incomplete or lacking or in danger are the clouds. They drift in front of the sun of our true nature and we mistake the shadow for reality.

The Mistake of Superimposition

The technical term for this mistake in Vedanta is Adhyasa or superimposition. It is the simple but powerful error of placing the qualities of one thing onto another. The classic example is a rope mistaken for a snake in a dim room. The snake seems very real. It produces a real feeling of fear. But the snake’s existence is entirely projected onto the rope. Once you shine a light and see the rope for what it is the snake and the fear both vanish.

We do this constantly with ourselves. We superimpose the qualities of the mind and body onto our true Self. The mind feels anxious so we conclude “I am anxious”. The body feels tired so we say “I am tired”. A thought of failure appears and we believe “I am a failure”.

In each case we are taking a temporary changing object a thought a feeling a sensation and mistaking it for our permanent unchanging Self. We are taking the cloud for the sun. The anxiety is a weather pattern in the mind. It is not you. You are the consciousness in which the anxiety is observed. This is a subtle but profound shift in perspective. It is the difference between being in the storm and being the sky that holds the storm.

How This Looks in Practice

This isn’t just abstract philosophy. It has immediate practical value. When a wave of sadness or anger arises you can learn to stop identifying with it. Instead of being swept away by the thought “I am so angry” you can observe it as “There is a feeling of anger present”.

This creates a space. In that space you can see the thought for what it is. A temporary event. A cloud passing through the vast sky of your awareness. It does not define you. It does not diminish you. By not identifying with it you rob it of its power over you.

This is related to the practice of being an unattached observer. We learn to watch the stream of thoughts and feelings without jumping into it. The goal isn’t to stop thoughts or eliminate feelings. The goal is to realize you are not them. The goal is to see the rope as a rope.

This realization is true freedom. It is the understanding that your peace and happiness are not dependent on external circumstances. They cannot be given to you and they cannot be taken away because they are what you are.

Your work then is not to chase happiness. Your work is to question your unhappiness. When you feel a sense of lack or discontent ask yourself what story you are believing. What attribute of the mind are you superimposing onto your Self? This questioning is like shining a light. It reveals the mistaken identity and allows the sun of your true nature to be felt again.

— Rishi Banerjee
September 2025