Sukha - "Happiness"
In this world, all living beings are striving for happiness with all their life force. Everyone’s core purpose is to drive away distress and derive unadulterated happiness. From childhood till the time of death, humans churn heaven and earth in their preoccupation with the search for happiness. Their endeavours for happiness carry on in numerous ways, pursued sometimes individually, sometimes as part of a group, and sometimes as the inhabitants of whole nations come together or, on a larger scale, as international organizations. No matter how much people strive for uninterrupted happiness, it does not come; instead, unhappiness comes. On the other hand, even though no one endeavours for unhappiness even slightly, unhappiness comes. In the wheel of time, the living entities reap the results of the deeds they perform, so what is the use of striving only for worldly happiness?
What is real happiness? Who does not want happiness? The living entities who are in material bondage do not have a proper grasp of these matters. To achieve this happiness, they have adopted a misguided course of action and, leaving real happiness behind, they are running after a mirage. All the enjoyable things in this world they think of as providing happiness do not actually do so, because the inert objects of the world are temporary, prone to destruction. Craving happiness amid temporary, perishable objects only yields suffering. The ego of being the enjoyer that is excercised over temporary, fleeting objects like money, home, wife, children, etc., ends up creating lamentation, bewilderment, and other forms of sorrow.
If one gains knowledge of the ātmā, happiness and peace are possible. The destruction of all mundane objects is inevitable, but transcendental objects, which are beyond the mundane, do not meet with destruction. That which is beyond the visible world of beings is endowed with consciousness; in other words, it is cin-maya (composed of spirit or consciousness). This cinmaya substance is the jīvātmā, the soul of the living entity. In Gītā, Śrī Bhagavān has explained this jīvātmā to Arjuna:
“apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām |
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahābāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat ||” (Gītā 7.5)
In other words, the eight types of prakṛti are inferior. Superior to them is another energy of mine, which is the jīva, whereby this world is held and protected.
That jīvātmā is sat (true) or, in other words, eternal; it cannot be destroyed. There is mention of this in Śrī Gītā:
“nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ |
na cainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ ||
acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledo ’śoṣya eva ca |
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ ||
avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam avikāryo ’yam ucyate |”
However, in the conditioned state, the jīvas are obsesssed with dvitīya-vastu. In other words, as a result of thinking they are something they are not and forgetting the form of full, condensed saccidānanda transcendence from which they arise, the jīvas are enduring so much unhappiness and suffering.
“Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa – the living entities’ constitutional position is as a servant of Kṛṣṇa.” Forgetting this fact, the jīvas wander birth after birth throughout 8.4 million species of life, gaining different bodies as a result of their own karma, swelling up with false ego, identifying with this lump of a body, a bag of bones and flesh. Śrīman Mahāprabhu has imparted the following teaching:
“nāhaṁ vipro na ca narapatir nāpi vaiśyo na śudro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛhapatir no vanastho yatir vā |
kintu prodyan-nikhila paramānanda pūrṇāmṛtābdher
gopī-bharttuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ ||”
When the jīva takes shelter of a bona fide guru, then by guru’s causeless grace, the jīva realizes the true identity of his soul and tries to rectify his mistakes. By the mercy of Śrīla Guru-pādapadma, the jīva’s aversion to Kṛṣṇa is dispelled and the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa manifests as he gives up the enjoying mentality he has towards the objects of the world, understanding that the eternally, supremely bliss Bhagavān alone is the enjoyer of all things. Thus the proper understanding develops that he should offer all objects to Bhagavān’s service and happiness.
Continued enjoyment does not cause the desire for enjoyment to cease. “Na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām-upabhogena śāmyati – one cannot dispel lust by continual enjoyment.” Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung: “hari bole deo bhāi āśāra mukhe chāire, nirāśa to sukhare – O brothers, chant ‘Hari!’ as you look desire in the face, for having no hankerings is happiness.”
The form of happiness, ānanda-līlā-maya-vigraha Śrī Bhagavān, is the master of all ānanda (bliss). In order to attain endless, eternal happiness, one must take shelter of His feet alone. If Śrī Bhagavān is pleased, the whole world becomes satisfied—“tasmin tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭam.”
Where there is dharma, happiness arises. “Dharma mūlaṁ hi bhagavān sarva-veda-mayo hariḥ | smṛtañca tad-vidāṁ rājan yena cātma prasīdati.” Śrī Bhagavān is the root of dharma. By serving Him, the soul becomes pleased or happy. No one can attain eternal happiness and peace without serving the feet of Śrī Bhagavān and His devotees.
Performing bhajana of Śrī Bhagavān is the topmost duty in the human form of life. Even though animals, birds, worms, insects and other species of life are in a birth inferior to that of humans, they still have the capacity to eat, survive and enjoy their senses. Every living entity is being afflicted by ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, and ādhidaivika—these three types of kleśa (suffering), but only in the human form of life does one find the opportunity of deliverance from the clutches of all these miseries. That is why śāstra has said: “Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunāñca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām; dharmo hi teṣām adhiko viśeṣo dharman hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ.” It is by the execution of dharma that humans are superior to animals.
It is the result of great good fortune that one attains the human form of birth in the supremely sacred land of Bhārata-varṣa, because Bhagavān Himself incarnates in Bhārata-varṣa in every age and makes all of His transcendental pastimes visible to His devout bhaktas. When Śrī Bhagavān’s devotees become anguished with separation born of not having His darśana, He appears to give them His darśana; meanwhile, He subdues the wicked and establishes dharma. Therefore, if, through human birth in India and by the result of some sukṛti, one can attain all of that transcendental sādhu-saṅga, then one has the convenient opportunity to expand the welfare of the soul. All the things humans think will bring them happiness in this world just give them endless suffering. Śāstra gives the example that if you have an itch on your body and you scratch it, at first you will think you have gained quite a bit of relief, but soon afterwards, you will experience more burning and torment. A doctor will prescribe the use of certain medicines and forbid you from scratching the affected area. Similarly, mankind can only attain real auspiciousness and happiness by following the prescription provided by śrī guru and the Vaiṣṇavas, who are highly qualified healers who can cure mankind of its disease of material existence. By following the path approved by śāstra and demonstrated by śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas, one can attain eternal happiness.
—Śrīmatī Umārāṇī De
Chunchura (Hooghly)
(Translated from Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, Year 26, Issue 4 (15/6/1974), page 140)