Vedic quote from a Western scholar

[Guest guest]

"Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on someobject other than

their owbn happiness" - by John Stuart Mill (1806–73), English philosopher

and economist.

 

This appears to be just a paraphrase of Prahlada Maharaja's statement in SB

7.7.42:

 

"In this material world, every materialist desires to achieve happiness and

diminish his distress, and therefore he acts accordingly. Actually, however,

one is happy as long as one does not endeavor for happiness; as soon as one

begins his activities for happiness, his conditions of distress begin."

 

The above quote of Mill was published in the Weekend edition of Financial

Times, page W2, as an epigraph to the article Forget How the Crow Flies by

John Kay about roundabout ways to achieving goals as being more effective

and direct than the straight ones.

 

Your servant,

Madana-mohana das