Happiness lies inside, not outside – is this a spiritual and scriptural principle?

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Happiness comes from within, not without.
Is this a material understanding or is it a spiritual understanding? Is it something which is based on scripture? If yes, how? If we can find happiness within, then we can actually become joyful here itself and we can also practice Bhakti much more smoothly. So yes, bahayasparsheshva-saktatma-vindatya-atmaniyat-sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma-sukham-akshaya-mashnute In the Bhagavad Gita 5th chapter, 21st verse, Krishna says bahayasparsheshva-asaktatma being detached from external pleasures vindatya-atmaniyat-sukham which a person delights within vindatya-atmani and what is that inner happiness? It’s a brahma-yoga-yuktatma which a person is yoga, linked with Brahma yuktatma-sukham-akshaya-mashnute that person gets unlimited happiness. In fact, Srila Prabhupada defines that one who seeks happiness outside is a materialist and one who seeks happiness inside is a spiritualist.
So now, what is seeking happiness within? What does it mean actually? See, usually we think of external and internal from a body-based framework that what is outside me, this is external and what is inside me is internal. Inside me means inside my body. But actually, if this is the soul this is the mind and this is the body.
So, even the mind is external to the soul. So, from the body-based reference the mental is internal. But from the soul-based reference the mental is also external.
So, if we are looking within and we see only the mind within then often looking within will make us more agitated. Why? Because the mind is filled with so many wild thoughts. They are saying that most people talk because they find sound more tolerable than silence.
Because if there is silence, then the mind starts saying this is wrong, that is like this, that is like that. So, they start talking or they get some machine to start talking. They watch some TV, they have something going on.
They escape from the mind. So, if we just look within and reach only to the level of the mind we will not get air. Sometimes we may be able to pacify the mind but we won’t get lasting happiness.
That’s why Vindati Atmani Hath Sukham when Krishna says find happiness within He is talking about Brahma reality, spiritual reality. So, we have to go beyond the mind to the level of the soul. And ultimately Sarva Bhootaatma Bhootaatma beyond the soul to the super soul.
When we connect with him, then we can get unlimited happiness. So, yes, happiness lies within is definitely a scriptural principle. As I said, I quoted a Gita verse and a Prabhupada quote for that.
One who seeks happiness within is a spiritualist. But what within means has to be carefully understood. And yes, to some extent when we come to goodness we can relish Bhakti.
See, Bhakti can be practiced from any mode. But for Bhakti to be relished on a steady sustainable basis we need to come to the mode of goodness. Because if we are not in the mode of goodness Bhakti is not relishable but it is rather our consciousness is too unstable to relish Bhakti.
Just like say a baby or a small child is very restless. The mother wants to give some delicious juice to the child. The mother pours it in the mouth.
And the baby is shaking the mouth violently. Then although the juice is delicious but the baby cannot taste that as delicious. Because it’s not touching the tongue, not going inside the body.
So like that Krishna Bhakti is always relishable. But when we are in the modes of passion and ignorance our consciousness is shaking constantly. And because our consciousness is shaking too much so although Krishna is available and accessible to us we can’t connect with him.
So our consciousness goes to money, to sex, to power, to position so many other things. And because our consciousness goes here and there we can’t relish Krishna. When we are in goodness also we may think about these things.
For example, when we are in this world we have to engage with the things of this world. But that will be subordinate to the purpose of devotion. So in the mode of goodness we can actually start perceiving subtler realities.
So we can start perceiving the mind, understanding this is the mind speaking. Now if we are in passion or ignorance we don’t understand this is the mind speaking we think this is I speaking and this is what I want to do. And we do it and then afterwards we wonder why did I do that? But it was the mind which prompted us to do it.
But when we are in goodness we actually understand this is the mind. And then we can say no I won’t do this. So yes, in goodness we can perceive our inner landscape also more clearly.
And then we can reject that part of the inner landscape which is detrimental to bhakti. That means the mind, we can turn away from it and move steadily towards the soul and towards Krishna. So in the process of purification also if we see the verses that Prabhupada quoted in the Markini Bhagavata Dharma Vishwamitam svakatha krishna We hear about Krishna, we become purified.
In the early stages nowhere there is a reference to happiness. We hear about Krishna, serve the great devotees, serve the great souls. By that you will become purified.
The first reference to happiness in that sequence comes when pada rajas tamo bhava kama lobha dayas che cheta etayana vidham sthitam sattve prasidhati So in bhakti, yes anybody can be in passion and ignorance even a drunkard can join a kirtan and dance and feel happy in the kirtan. But that is only okay. In a sustainable way, if we are to experience happiness then raja tamo guna has to go down.
That requires purification. So yes, the mode of goodness is conducive for the practice of bhakti. And the mode of goodness involves being able to look inwards and recognize that the internal is far more consequential than the external.
The external also matters, but what matters internal is much more. But what is internal matters much more. And then in the mode of goodness, if we adjust in the mode of goodness we may just try to make our mind peaceful and think okay that’s all that there is to life.
But if our mode of goodness is guided by scripture then we don’t just aim to make the mind peaceful. In today’s world, many people talk about spiritual but most often people equate the mental with the spiritual. They think if something makes me feel peaceful that’s spiritual, that’s there either.
But they are only going to the mental level. When our mode of goodness inside is guided by scripture then we go beyond the mental to the proper spiritual level where we pursue the soul, pursue Krishna and experience spiritual happiness properly. Thank you.
Hare Krishna. We’ll stop here. Thank you.
We’ll stop. Shri Prabhupada ki, gaur bhakta vindaki, gaur premani.