If we posit that some sort of what I am terming moral technology is necessary for happiness, what are the essential elements? Is compassion? Is non-violence? Or is it sufficient that you accept your lot, no matter what it is, and move forward directly with pleasure in your work, and what companionship you have?
Famously, the Bhagavad Gita is presented to a soldier in the heat of a battle in which he is killing kinsmen. He is told that doing his duty is what is necessary, not feeling sympathy for those he is killing, who, after all, can’t be killed.
Let us further posit that the Hindus were wrong in their belief in the after-life (I would disagree with this position, but let’s extend this idea to its logical end): would the argument change? Would the reasons offered lose their validity? What is being offered is a means of living congruently IN THIS LIFE. Would it lose its actual value, that of fostering goal directed activity, and “meaning context”? I don’t think it would.