THROUGHWAY TO HAPPINESS

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Throughway to Happiness

Every one of us is searching after happiness, but we do not know what real

happiness is. We see so much advertised about happiness, but practically

speaking we see so few happy people. This is because so few people know that the

platform of real happiness is beyond temporary things. It is this real happiness

that is described in Bhagavad-gita by Lord Krsna to Arjuna. Happiness is

generally perceived through our senses A stone, for instance, has no senses and

cannot perceive happiness and distress. Developed

consciousness can perceive happiness and distress more intensely than

undeveloped consciousness. Trees have consciousness, but it is not developed.

Trees may stand for a long time in all kinds of weather, but they have no way of

perceiving miseries. If a human being were asked to stand like a tree for only

three days or even less, he would not be able to tolerate it. The conclusion is

that every living being feels happiness or distress according to the degree of

development of his consciousness. The happiness that we are experiencing in the

material world is not real happiness. If one asks a tree, " Are you feeling

happy? " the tree, if it could, might say, " Yes, I am happy, standing here all

year. I'm enjoying the wind and snowfall very much, etc. " This may be enjoyed by

the tree, but for the human being it is a very low standard of enjoyment. There

are different kinds and grades of living entities, and their conceptions and

perceptions of happiness

are also of all different types and grades. Although one animal may see that

another animal is being slaughtered, he will go right on chewing grass, for he

has no knowledge to understand that he may be next. He is thinking that he is

happy, but at the next moment he may be slaughtered. In this way there are

different degrees of happiness. Yet of all of them, what is the highest

happiness? Sri Krsna tells Arjuna:

sukham atyantikam yat tad

buddhi-grahyam atindriyam

vetti yatra na caivayam

sthitas calati tattvatah

" In that joyous state (samadhi), one is situated in boundless transcendental

happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus,

one never departs from the truth. " (Bg. 6.21) Buddhi means intelligence; one has

to be intelligent if he wants to enjoy. Animals do not have really developed

intelligence and so cannot enjoy life as a human being can. The hands, the nose,

the eyes, the other sense organs and all the bodily parts may be present on a

dead man, but he cannot enjoy. Why not? The

enjoying energy, the spiritual spark, has left, and therefore the body has no

power. If one looks further into the matter with a little intelligence, he can

understand that it was not the body that was enjoying at all but the small

spiritual spark that was within. Although one may think that he is enjoying by

the bodily sense organs, the real enjoyer is that spiritual spark. That spark

always has the potency of enjoyment, but it is not always manifest due to being

covered by the material tabernacle. Although we may not be aware of it, it is

not possible for the body to experience enjoyment without the presence of this

spiritual spark. If a man is offered the dead body of a beautiful woman, will he

accept it? No, because the spiritual spark has moved out of the body. Not only

was it enjoying within the body, but it was maintaining the body. When that

spark leaves, the body simply deteriorates. It follows that if the spirit is

enjoying, it must have its senses also,

otherwise how can it enjoy? The Vedas confirm that the spirit soul, although

atomic in size, is the actual enjoying agent. It is not possible to measure the

soul, but that is not to say that it is without measurement. An object may seem

to us to be no bigger than a point and may seem to have no length or width, but

when we perceive it under a microscope we can see that it has both length and

width. Similarly, the soul also has its dimensions, but we cannot perceive them.

When we buy a suit or dress, it is made to fit the body. The spiritual spark

must have form, otherwise how is it the material body has grown to accommodate

it? The conclusion is that the spiritual spark is not impersonal. It is an

actual person. God is an actual person, and the spiritual spark, being a

fragmental part of Him, is also a person. If the father has personality and

individuality, the son also has them; and if the son has them, we can conclude

that the father has them. So how can we, as sons of God, assert our personality

and individuality and at the same time deny them to our Father, the Supreme

Lord? Atindriyam means that we have to transcend these material senses before we

can appreciate real happiness. Ramante yogino 'nante satyananda-cid-atmani: the

yogis who are aspiring after spiritual life are also tasting enjoyment by

focusing on the Supersoul within. If there is no pleasure, if there is no

enjoyment, then what is the point of going to so much trouble to control the

senses? What kind of pleasure are the yogis relishing if they are taking so much

trouble? That pleasure is ananta--endless. How is this? The spirit soul is

eternal, and the Supreme Lord is eternal; therefore reciprocation of their

loving exchanges is eternal. One who is actually intelligent will refrain from

the flickering sensual enjoyment of this material body and fix his enjoyment in

spiritual life. His participation in spiritual life with the Supreme Lord is

called rasa-lila. We have often heard of Krsna's rasa-lila with the cowherd

girls in Vrndavana. That is not like ordinary exchanges that take place between

these material

bodies. Rather it is an exchange of feelings through spiritual bodies. One has

to be somewhat intelligent to understand this, for a foolish man, who cannot

understand what real happiness is, seeks happiness in this material world. In

India there is the story of a man who did not know what sugarcane was and was

told that it was very sweet to chew. " Oh, what does it look like? " he asked. " It

looks just like a bamboo rod, " someone said. So the foolish man began to chew

all kinds of bamboo rods. How can he begin to experience the sweetness of

sugarcane? Similarly, we are trying to get happiness and pleasure, but we are

trying for them by chewing this material body; therefore there is no happiness

and no pleasure. For the time being there may be some little feeling of

pleasure, but that is not actual pleasure, for it is temporary. It is like a

show of lightning which we may see flashing in the sky that may momentarily seem

like lightning, but the real lightning is beyond that. Because a person does not

really know what happiness is, he deviates from real happiness. The process for

establishing oneself in real happiness is this process of Krsna consciousness.

By Krsna consciousness we can gradually develop our real intelligence and

naturally enjoy relishing spiritual happiness as we make spiritual progress. As

we begin to relish spiritual happiness, we

proportionately abandon material happiness. As we make progress in understanding

the Absolute Truth, we naturally become detached from this false happiness. If

somehow or other one is promoted to that stage of Krsna consciousness, what is

the result?

yam labdhva caparam labham

manyate nadhikam tatah

yasmin sthito na duhkhena

gurunapi vicalyate

" Upon gaining this, he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a

position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. " (Bg.

6.22) When one attains that stage, other achievements appear insignificant. In

this material world we are trying to achieve so many things--riches, women,

fame,

beauty, knowledge, etc.--but as soon as we are situated in Krsna consciousness

we think, " Oh, no achievement is better than this. " Krsna consciousness is so

potent that a little taste can save one from the greatest danger. As one begins

to relish the taste of Krsna consciousness, he begins to see other so-called

enjoyments and attainments as flat and tasteless. And if one is situated firmly

in Krsna consciousness, the greatest danger cannot disturb him. There are so

many dangers in life because the material world is a place of danger. We tend to

close our eyes to this, and because we are foolish we try to adjust to these

dangers. We may have many dangerous moments in our lives, but if we are training

ourselves in Krsna consciousness and preparing ourselves to go home, back to

Godhead, we will not care for them. Our attitude will then be: " Dangers come and

go--so let them happen. " It is very difficult to make this kind of adjustment as

long as one is on the materialistic platform and is identifying with the gross

body, which is composed of perishable elements. But the more one advances in

Krsna consciousness, the more he becomes free from bodily designations and this

material entanglement. In Srimad-Bhagavatam the material world is compared to a

great ocean. Within this material universe there are millions and billions of

planets floating in space, and we can just imagine how many Atlantic and pacific

Oceans are there. In fact, the whole material universe is likened to a great

ocean of misery, an ocean of birth and death. In order to cross this great ocean

of nescience, a

strong boat is needed, and that strong boat is the lotus feet of Krsna. We

should immediately get aboard that boat. We should not hesitate, thinking that

Krsna's feet are very small. The whole universe is simply resting on His leg.

For one who takes shelter of His feet, it is said that the material universe is

no more significant than a puddle of water found in the impression of a calf's

hoofprint. There is certainly no difficulty in crossing over such a small

puddle.

tam vidyad duhkha-samyoga-

viyogam yoga-samjnitam

" This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact. "

(Bg. 6.23) We are entangled in this material world due to uncontrolled senses.

The yoga process is meant to control these senses. If somehow we can manage to

control the senses, we can turn our face to actual spiritual happiness and make

our lives successful.

sa niscayena yoktavyo

yogo 'nirvinna-cetasa

sankalpa-prabhavan kamams

tyaktva sarvan asesatah

manasaivendriya-gramam

viniyamya samantatah

sanaih sanair uparamed

buddhya dhrti-grhitaya

atma-samstham manah krtva

na kincid api cintayet

yato yato niscalati

manas cancalam asthiram

tatas tato niyamyaitad

atmany eva vasam nayet

" One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with undeviating

determination and faith. One should abandon, without exception, all material

desires born of false ego and thus control all the senses on all sides by the

mind. Gradually, step by step, with full conviction, one should become situated

in trance by means of intelligence, and thus the mind should be fixed on the

Self alone and should think of nothing else. From whatever and wherever the mind

wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw

it and bring it back under the control of the Self. " (Bg. 6.24-26) The mind is

always disturbed. It is going sometimes this way and sometimes that way. By yoga

practice we literally drag the mind to Krsna consciousness. The mind strays from

Krsna consciousness to so many exterior objects because from time immemorial,

life after life, that has been our practice. Due to this, there may be great

difficulty in the beginning when

one tries to fix his mind in Krsna consciousness, but these difficulties can

all be overcome.

It is because the mind is agitated and not fixed on Krsna that it goes from one

thought to another. For instance, when we are engaged in work, memories of

events that happened ten, twenty, thirty or forty years ago may suddenly come to

our mind for no apparent reason. These thoughts come from our subconscious, and

because they are always rising, the mind is always agitated. If we agitate a

lake or a pond, all the mud from the bottom comes to the surface. Similarly,

when the mind is agitated so many thoughts arise from the subconscious that have

been stored there over the years. If we do not disturb a pond, the mud will

settle to the bottom. This yoga process is the means to quiet the mind and allow

all these thoughts to settle. For this reason there are so many rules and

regulations to follow in order to keep the mind from becoming agitated. If we

follow the rules and regulations, gradually the mind will come under control.

There are so many don't's and

so many do's, and if one is serious about training the mind, he has to follow

them. If he acts whimsically, what is the possibility of the mind being

controlled? When the mind is finally trained to the point where it will think of

nothing but Krsna, it will attain peace and will become very tranquil.

prasanta-manasam hy enam

yoginam sukham uttamam

upaiti santa-rajasam

brahma-bhutam akalmasam

" The yogi whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest happiness. By

virtue of his identity with Brahman, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his

passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin. " (Bg. 6.27) The mind is always

concocting objects for happiness. I am always thinking, " This will make me

happy, " or " That will make me happy. Happiness is here. Happiness is there. " In

this way the mind is taking us anywhere and everywhere. It is as though we are

riding on a chariot behind an unbridled horse. We have no power over where we

are going but can only sit in horror and watch helplessly. As soon as the mind

is engaged in the Krsna consciousness process--specifically by chanting Hare

Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare

Hare--then the wild horses of the mind will gradually come under our control. We

must engage in Krsna's service every moment of our lives in order to keep the

restless and turbulent

mind from dragging us from one object to another in a vain search for happiness

in the temporary material world.

yunjann evam sadatmanam

yogi vigata-kalmasah

sukhe na brahma-samsparsam

atyantam sukham asnute

" Steady in the Self, being freed from all material contamination, the yogi

achieves the highest perfectional stage of happiness in touch with the supreme

consciousness. " (Bg. 6.28) Krsna serves as a patron for one who is devoted to

Him. When one is in difficulty, his patron saves him. As stated in

Bhagavad-gita, Krsna is the real friend of every living entity, and we have to

revive our friendship with Him. The method for reviving this friendship is the

process of Krsna consciousness. By practice of Krsna consciousness, mundane

passionate hankering will come to a stop. This passionate hankering keeps us

divorced from Krsna. Krsna is within us and is waiting for us to turn to Him,

but we are too busy passionately eating the fruits of the tree of material

desire. This passionate compulsion to enjoy these fruits must stop, and we must

situate ourselves in our real identity as Brahman--pure spirit.

 

FOR THE COMPLETE BOOK 'ON THE WAY TO KRISHNA' WRITE TO ME AT chanu15

 

 

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