God Gives Happiness - The Ultimate Reservoir of Bliss
Every living entity in the material world is frantically searching for bliss, yet they constantly meet with frustration. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this is because people are searching in the wrong place; true, eternal joy can only be found in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate reservoir of all pleasure.
The Ultimate Source of Happiness
The Supreme Lord is perpetually full of bliss, and our constitutional position is to share in that joy. Śrīla Prabhupāda states that the spirit soul can never be satisfied independently; it must associate with Kṛṣṇa, the supreme living being, to experience actual happiness.
- Everyone is hankering after happiness in life, but in this age the members of human society, blind as they are, do not have the proper vision that the Personality of God is the reservoir of all happiness because He is the ultimate source of everything.
- The Lord is perpetually happy, and if the living entities associate with the Lord, cooperate with Him and take part in His association, then they also become happy.
- The spirit soul can be happy only in the association of the supreme living being, the Personality of Godhead, and nowhere else.
- When one associates with the Supreme Lord and exchanges one's constitutional rasa with the Lord, then the living being is actually happy.
Surrendering to the Lord's Direction
Although we are completely dependent on God, we have been given the minute independence to choose our master. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that if we misuse this freedom to serve the material energy, we suffer, but if we voluntarily abide by the commandments and directions of the Supersoul, we become immediately joyful and liberated.
- Living entities, being superior energy to matter, have choice and discrimination either to surrender unto the Lord or to surrender unto material nature. By surrendering unto the Lord, one is happy and liberated.
- You have got freedom. You may serve the Lord, you may not serve. That is your freedom. But if you serve the Lord, then you become happy. If you do not serve the Lord, then you become unhappy.
- Everything is being directed by the Supersoul within the body; therefore the better part of valor is to take His direction and be happy. To take His directions, one needs to be a devotee.
- Just like in your Bible there are commandments. So one has to abide by the commandment; then he will be happy. And if one disobeys the commandments of God, he will be unhappy.
The Bliss of Devotional Service
Happiness is not achieved by artificially stopping all activities, but by purifying them. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that when we dovetail our actions and wealth in the loving service of the Lord—transforming our material endeavors into bhakti—we experience the profound satisfaction of our true spiritual nature.
- In pure consciousness, our actions will be dovetailed to the will of isvara and that will make us happy. It is not that we have to cease all activities. Rather, our activities are to be purified and purified activities are called bhakti.
- This Krsna consciousness movement is trying to educate men that "After all, you are servant. You have to serve somebody. You are now serving your senses. Now just divert your service to Krsna, or God, and you will be happy. That's all."
- Think always that the money which is accumulated is the wealth of the Lord. Wealth is considered to be the goddess of fortune (Laksmi), and the Lord is Narayana, or the husband of Laksmi. Try to engage Laksmi in the service of Lord Narayana and be happy.
- The Vaisnava sannyasis, who are engaged in devotional service, are happy in the discharge of their transcendental duties, and they have the guarantee of ultimate entrance into the kingdom of God.
Ecstasy and Transcendental Pleasure
When pure devotional service matures, the devotee tastes an ocean of transcendental pleasure that makes all material joys seem insignificant. Great souls have confirmed that the direct perception of the Lord produces overwhelming physical and emotional symptoms of ecstatic happiness, such as trembling and shedding tears of joy.
- Prahlada prayed to Nrsimhadeva, "My dear Lord of the universe, I am feeling transcendental pleasure in Your presence and have become merged in the ocean of happiness."
- O Vyasadeva, at that time, being exceedingly overpowered by feelings of happiness, every part of my body became separately enlivened. Being absorbed in an ocean of ecstasy, I (Narada) could not see both myself and the Lord.
- When one is free from all ten of these offenses in chanting the holy name of God, he develops the ecstatic bodily features called pulakasru. Pulaka means "symptoms of happiness," and asru means "tears in the eyes."
- Those who have actually developed the symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes by chanting the glories of the Lord are eligible to enter the kingdom of God.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda perfectly illuminates the supreme formula for attaining the ultimate goal of life. In this age, the members of human society are blindly searching for happiness through sense gratification, unaware that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the exclusive reservoir of all pleasure. Because the spirit soul is constitutionally an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, it can only experience genuine joy by associating and cooperating with Him. Although the Lord grants us the free will to choose between the material energy and His divine shelter, those who surrender to His commandments and accept the guidance of the Supersoul immediately become happy and liberated. True spiritual joy does not require abandoning all activities, but rather purifying them through unalloyed bhakti. By dovetailing our work, wealth, and consciousness in the service of the Lord, we unlock a level of satisfaction that completely transcends mundane experience. As this pure devotional service blossoms, the sincere soul is plunged into an ocean of transcendental ecstasy, naturally exhibiting sublime symptoms of happiness, such as shedding tears of joy—the ultimate qualification for re-entering the eternal, blissful kingdom of God.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God Gives Happiness. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.