May Gītā: 2.66

Nāsti buddhir-ayuktasya
na c’āyuktasya bhāvanā
na c’ābhāvayataḥ śāntir
aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

The individual whose mind and senses are not controlled
cannot have a focused intellect, without a focused intellect he cannot meditate,
and without meditation there is no peace.
How can there be happiness without peace?

Bhagavad Gītā 2.66

This is not only my favourite sloka, it was the first thing I ever read in the Gita. It turns the ultimate quest for happiness upside down as here we are not told where to find it but where we will not find it. We will not touch happiness when our minds are troubled, when we hope or worry for the future or when we regret or dream about the past. It will pass us by when strong emotions shake us like dandelions in the wind and our senses energise our actions. Unless the mind is held within peace where the emotions are quelled, the senses appeased, the thoughts controlled then happiness will remain as fragile as a sandcastle by the shoreline.

– Louise Newton