HAPPINESS

[Guest guest]

That is the injunction of the sastra:

tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovidona labhyate yad bhramatam upary

adhahtal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukhamkalena sarvatra

gabhira-ramhasa [sB 1.5.18]

Tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukham. Just like distress comes upon

me without endeavor, similarly, according to my destiny... Destiny

means to some extent we suffer, and to some extent we enjoy.

Actually, there is no enjoyment, but we take it for enjoyment. The

struggle for existence, the struggle for mitigating suffering, we

take it as happiness. Actually there is no happiness in this material

world. So anyway, even there is happiness and distress, two relative

terms, the one can come without any endeavor -- the other also will

come without any endeavor. That is a fact. Everyone is trying to

become happy according to his own mental concoction or endeavor, but

there cannot be any unalloyed happiness. That is the nature of this

material world. The conclusion should be, therefore, "We are destined

to suffer a certain extent of so-called happiness and certain extent

of so-called distress." The distress is also so-called, and the

happiness is also so-called. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita,

agamapayinah anityah tams titiksasva bharata: "The happiness and

distress which comes and goes, they are anityah. They will not stay."

The example is given, sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah. The winter season and

the summer season, they come and go. To somebody, winter season is

very nice, and to somebody, summer season is very nice. In the

Western countries they like summer season very much, and in this

tropical country they like winter season very much. So actually,

summer and winter, they are neither distress nor happiness. It is due

to the touch of the skin. Matra-sparsas tu. Matra-sparsah means it is

due to the touching of the skin we feel like that, distress and

happiness. Actually this material world, as certified by Krsna, it is

place of distress. There is no happiness. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [bg.

8.15]. It has been described in the Bhagavad-gita, "This place is

place for miserable condition." Duhkha alayam. Alayam, so long you

are not annihilated, this place is duhkhalayam. It is miserable

condition. We have several times explained.

So we have to purify the consciousness. Then we shall be without any

touch of this so-called distress and happiness. That is prescribed

here: yat tat sattva-gunam svaccham. Here there is little happiness

in the sattva-guna. But still, that sattva-guna can be contaminated

by rajo-guna and tamo-guna. Rajo-guna, tamo-guna-directly distress.

And sattva-guna, there is little taste of happiness, but that is not

complete happiness. The complete happiness is that sattva-guna

without any touch of rajo-guna and tamo-guna. That is transcendental.

So here it is described that yat tat sattva-gunam... sattva-gunam

does... Not this sattva-gunam: rajo-guna, tamo-guna, sattva-guna, but

svaccham. Svaccham means cleansed, completely cleansed, without any

tinge of material quality. Yat tat sattva-gunam svaccham santam.

Santam. Everyone is seeking peace of mind. People come to spiritual

societies or some other way. Everyone is searching after some peace,

santam. Santi. The santi can be attained when this sattva-gunam

svaccham, when the sattva-guna, your status will be on the

sattva-guna and completely cleansed. Then you can get santi.

Completely cleansed means... That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita,

na socati na kanksati: "There is no lamentation, and there is no

hankering." Then it is santi. As soon as there is some hankering, you

cannot have santi. That is not possible. And as soon as there is some

possession, you cannot be without lamentation. The two things

material, they are ruling over us. We are hankering after something

which we do not possess, and what we possess, if it is lost, then we

are lamenting. So santi means no hankering, no lamenting. That is

called santi.

So generally, whatever we may possess, but the hankering is there.

That is rajo-guna. That is rajo-guna, always hankering, even up to

the stage of so-called perfection. Just like the karmis. Karmis, they

think that perfection of life is very, very high standard of life,

very happy, comfortable. Just like in the Western countries, they

think that to have nice roads, nice motorcar, and very high

skyscraper building, and facilities, modern comforts... What is

called? So that is the standard of happiness. And we Eastern people,

we are also imitating them. But actually, ask them, who possesses all

them, that "Whether you have attained the position of no hankering?"

No, that is not possible. The hankering is there. What to think of

possessing these material facilities, even one goes to the heavenly

planet, that is also included within the happiness of the karmis.

They want happiness in this world as well as after this world. After

death also, they want to go to the heavenly planet, Svargaloka, where

the duration of life is many, many thousands of years, and the

standard of happiness is very, very high. There the place is very

beautiful, the women are very beautiful, the gardens there... These

descriptions are there. Nandana-kanana and apsaras there are. So this

is also another higher standard of life, duration of life. That is the

position of the karmis.

And the jnanis, they are hankering after to become one with the

Supreme. They have experienced that even the standard of material

happiness available in the heavenly planets, that also did not give

them complete satisfaction. So they aspire to become one with the

Supreme, that "That will give me happiness. I become one with..."

Monist. Aham brahmasmi: "I am one with Brahman." So that is also

hankering. Mukti. Mukti means liberation from this material

unhappiness and come to the spiritual happiness, "I am Brahman. I am

the same Supreme," thinking, concoction, like that. So there is also

hankering. And siddhi, yogis, they want many perfection: anima,

laghima, mahima, prapti-siddhi, prakamya, isita, vasita. There are

eight kinds of yogic siddhi. You can become smaller than the

smallest, you can become bigger than the biggest, you can become

lighter than the lightest, you can get anything you like immediately.

These are some of the yoga-siddhis. But this is also hankering. This

is also hankering, not santa. Either karmi... What to speak of

ordinary being? They are simply hankering. Even the so-called perfect

karmis, jnanis, yogis, they are also not santa. They are hankering