Thinking Aloud. . . . . “Change (parivarthan) is the essence of Life (niyam)” declares Lord Krishna in the Bhagwat Geetha. Very significant statement indeed. But are we aware of this. No Sir, not exactly. But Change is a continuous process that takes place whether we are aware of or not.  The Lord  says again in Geetha:- ”What belongs to you today, Belonged to someone yesterday. Will be someone else's Tomorrow” How true are these Statements!  Look at our own life.  It has been changing slowly but surely  without our noticing it. Let us examine our own life in the past and present.   Years back our parents, grand parents and their parents were living in a different environment.  They led a leisurely life. Their time and space were their own. They relied more on Nature. Agricultural activities formed the centre of all activity, especially in our Country, where nature has given everything in plenty. Fixed Seasons, a blessing of Nature to our continent, dictated every activity of our people. Religious and social Festivals and even marriages were conducted in tune with Agricultural operations, which again depended on Nature. Well,when I look at our life today, I wonder where we have lost all that . Look at our own City life. The Cities are cramped with everything, population, commodities, consumables etc. etc. But are we happy. No I don't think so. There is only Speed and Speed. Rush for every thing whether they are essentials or otherwise. If we do not compete with somebody or something, we will lose the race and peace of mind as well. Our lives are basically molded by the environement where we live and how we live. Take for instance the accommodation. Cities are cramped with highrise buildings with hundred of flats fitted-in like jigsaw puzzle, Sometimes I feel beehives give more space to its occupants! The restricted space certainly affect our attitude towards life. Just compare this with the spacious buildings the previous generations built and lived. In my parental House we had plenty of space in front and back of the building to maintain gardens, where we used to run and play when we were children. That too we were just a middle class family. Compare this with today's position. Unless we are lucky to have independent houses nearby the work place,  our life is regimented by outside forces. Cramped flats set in claustrophobia, which is not good for happy  life. Our time is not our own, except on weekends and holidays. We have to attune ourselves to the timings fixed by somebody in the Office, Bus Service or Railways,or conditioned by traffic to reach our work place which will be far away.  All these raise a question in my mind. Are we really free or living inside a Golden cage? Don't we miss a lot of our own in this mad pursuit of money making ?  Please don't mistake me for a Sanyasin who forsakes every thing which we call as pleasures to seek the truth. I am pretty much a middleclass householder, well aware of the importance of money.  Yes, money is very much required to get our life going smoothly. But my life taught me an important fact that money is only means to run our life and not the end itself.  The end is real happiness. Real Happiness is difficult to define. Happiness is the state of Mind. It is within and not to be found outside. We can increase our comfort or pleasure by Money, by adding things useful and useless, to satisfy our sensual needs. But Happiness is linked with contentment.