Research Question 1: What is the meaning of happiness from the perspective of sadhus? N=20 Happiness is infinite 10 (50%) 46 Quote: Ananda (Sanskrit: happiness) is limitless, ananda has no boundaries — Swami Shivananda (personal communication, February 10, 2018) Definition The sadhus revealed that happiness is infinite Happiness has no boundaries and it is everywhere, it is omnipresent During the interviews, no sooner had I uttered the word happiness than it tempted a few sadhus to say that happiness is a limiting word, maybe because of the limitations of the English language Instead, the sadhus preferred to use the phrase ananda (Sanskrit: happiness) to describe the infinite and all-pervasive nature of happiness Moments after I started my interview with Swami Muktananda, a male South Indian sadhu from the South East region of the United States, he said: First of all, l got that the word happiness is a limiting word … You know? Because whenever in the material world, we think of happiness is dependent on acquiring something … You know? So, I am happy when I have, and the opposite is when I am sad when I lose it So, from talks, I tell people, the word in Sanskrit is ananda, bliss … you know? … Because, I believe that happiness talks about all, at least to me happiness is about something acquiring in life If I acquire something, I am happy and as long as that object or person or whatever is around my life, I am fine But its loss makes the individual sad or angry … You know? So, therefore … That’s why I think happiness is a limiting word (personal communication, January 16, 2018) According to the sadhus, happiness, as most people usually experience, understand, and describe it, is a limited expression of happiness Happiness is far bigger than most people think For example, many people say, I feel happy being with friends, or I feel happy because I bought a new home Such a description is a limited version of happiness From the perspective of sadhus, the true nature or experience of happiness is 134