Throughway to Happiness 9
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; there-
fore there is no happiness and no pleasure. For the
time being there may be some little feeling of plea-
sure, but that is not actual pleasure, for it is tempo-
rary. 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. Be-
cause a person does not really know what happiness
is, he deviates from real happiness.

The process for establishing oneself in real happi-
ness 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 be-
come detached from this false happiness. If somehow
or other one is promoted to that stage of Krsna con-
sciousness, what is the result?

yam labdhva caparam labham
manyate nadhikam tatah
yasmin sthito na duhkhena
gurunapl 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)
