Happyness: Life Lessons from a Creative Addict

272 Pages·2018·4.4 MB·English

by  Yusuf Merchant

First published by Westland Publications Private Limited in 2018
61, 2nd Floor, Silverline Building, Alapakkam Main Road, Maduravoyal,
Chennai 600095
Westland and the Westland logo are trademarks of Westland Publications
Private Limited, or its affiliates.
Copyright © Dr Yusuf Merchant, 2018
ISBN: 9789386850980
The views and opinions expressed in this work are the author’s own and the
facts are as reported by him, and the publisher is in no way liable for the
same.
All rights reserved
Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro by SÜRYA, New Delhi
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of
the publisher.
for the unsung hero within you
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
I. GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
CHAPTER 1 EVERYTHING IS PERFECT
CHAPTER 2 NO CONDITIONS APPLY
CHAPTER 3 THE MEANING OF LIFE
CHAPTER 4 THE MAGIC OF IMAGINATION
II. MIND GAMES
CHAPTER 5 THE AMBULANCE FUNDA
CHAPTER 6 THE TRAIN STATION
CHAPTER 7 THE PARADOXICAL PRE-INTENTION FUNDA
CHAPTER 8 EVEN THE MOON HAS A DARK SIDE
CHAPTER 9 THE LIFE FORCE, WITHIN
CHAPTER 10 SHRINK THE RASCAL
CHAPTER 11 THE SPIRIT OF CREATION
CHAPTER 12 FREQUENCIES ARE RETURNED TO THEIR POINT OF
ORIGIN
CHAPTER 13 LEARNINGS FROM AN ORANGE TREE
CHAPTER 14 JAIKISHAN & THE ANT
III. INSTANT KARMA
CHAPTER 15 CERVANTES & THE UGLY DUCKLING
CHAPTER 16 MY MOTHER’S SECRET MARRIAGE
CHAPTER 17 THE FLAVOUR OF LOVE
CHAPTER 18 THY WILL BE DONE
CHAPTER 19 AN EVENT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN CHANGED MY
LIFE
CHAPTER 20 I AM GOING TO DIE!
CHAPTER 21 THE SECRET TO SELF-CONFIDENCE
CHAPTER 22 TWO SIDES TO REALITY
CHAPTER 23 TRANSFORMERS
CHAPTER 24 THE EVENTUAL REALITY
CHAPTER 25 THE COMMITMENT FUNDA
CHAPTER 26 LES GRANDS MANUELS
IV. STARTING OVER
CHAPTER 27 DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND ALL THAT BUZZ
CHAPTER 28 DESTINY VS FREE WILL
CHAPTER 29 THE ATTENTION FUNDAMENTAL
CHAPTER 30 A CONDITIONED TOOL FOR CONTROL
CHAPTER 31 THE FIFTH DIMENSION
CHAPTER 32 THE SYMBOLISM FUNDA
CHAPTER 33 ANGER & PLAYING DEAD
CHAPTER 34 NO ONE IS STUPID
CHAPTER 35 THE TRAUMATIC TRIANGLE
CHAPTER 36 DON’T CELEBRATE THOUGHT
CHAPTER 37 THE IMAGINE-IT PROGRAMME: THE POWER OF 2
PER CENT
V. IMAGINE
CHAPTER 38 MY PATIENT GURUS
CHAPTER 39 THE SOLITARY UNIVERSAL CONSTANT
CHAPTER 40 THE SUPERIOR RACE?
CHAPTER 41 THE WORD LITTLE IS NOT SO LITTLE
CHAPTER 42 THE POWER OF I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOREWORD
IF YOU CAME here looking for one of those syrupy volumes that help you deal
with the grief of losing a pet turtle, this ain’t it. Dead Turtle Therapy is over
in Aisle 4.
Stories of people’s lives are as countless as the stars, and as
indiscriminate unless you get up close. Everybody has at least one—you have
one, I have one, assorted uncles and aunts have a dozen apiece. The first time
I met Yusuf ‘Doc’ Merchant, this is what I asked him: Why should I listen to
you?
It was 2010 and I was a recent addition to the thirty-or-so residents of
Land, a rehab facility neighbouring Mumbai city. ‘Facility’ is a terrible word
to use here because it makes Land sound like something from a Michael
Crichton thriller, all lab coats and security systems and dissected rodents. In
truth, visually, Land is equal parts luxury mountain retreat and kitschy artist
commune. There is a massive dining hall built almost entirely of shiny
granite and marble. A gym. A swimming pool. Air-conditioned villas. There
is also, squirrelled away like hazelnuts inside creamy chocolate, a wooden
pagoda-style gazebo for prayer. A giant concrete peace symbol painted in
electric pink. A junk chassis of an ancient jeep half buried in the ground.
The resulting mélange is a lot to take in.
Doc, perhaps unsurprisingly, given that he is the soul of the place, can
be a lot to take in as well. He turned sixty last year but dresses like a teenager
(expensive jeans with unorthodox stitching, trainers in neon candy colours).
He eats, walks, speaks and laughs with an energy that pops and fizzes like a
soda can gone mad. A believer of many and varied faiths, Doc is also
irreverent in the extreme. I’ve seen him get cheeky with captains of industry,
religious leaders, heads of institutions and the press corps alike, as if to say
sure, we are speaking of important things but let’s not take ourselves too