SB 4.9.10 – Devotional happiness is better than all other pleasures inside and outside material existence

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you.
So here Prahlad Maharaj is comparing the bliss of devotional service with the bliss of anything else in and beyond material existence. So beyond material existence there is the happiness of Brahman and the Sosa Brahmani and within material existence the best happiness is the happiness of heavenly enjoyment. But both are insignificant for those.
So the heavenly enjoyment is referred to here by Vimanat. So just as an airplane flies high in the sky, so like that the heavenly planets are high up in the sky. But Antakasi is by this word of death.
It’s destroyed and one falls back. As Krishna tells us in the Bhagavad Gita. One has to fall back to material existence after enjoying the heavenly planets.
In 9.21 he says this. So the happiness of devotional service is far better than the best happiness within and beyond material existence. So here nirvrtti refers you to bliss.
Even if somebody is embodied right now, for those who are liberated and having spiritual bodies for them no doubt spiritual happiness is unlimited and ever available. But even when one is tanuvrttam, one can experience spiritual happiness how? In two ways which basically refers to two open many forms of devotional service. By meditating on your lotus feet, by remembering you.
We see how Prahlad Maharaj was able to give up all other pleasures and then alternatively if we are not advanced enough to meditate or if we find that our meditation is not very steady then that in the association of your people. Your people means your devotees he says. The devotees are Krishna’s people.
Bhavajjana Katha Shravane. If we hear Krishna Katha in their association then that also elevates and purifies and liberates us to such an extent that the glories of the Lord are so great that as compared to that even the pleasure of brahmananda is insignificant. What then to speak of? The pleasure of heavenly enjoyment.
So in this way when one understands that actually there is so much satisfaction available in devotion to Krishna and the primary pathway for devotional advancement is the holy nail and then we feel inspired. Let me take shelter of this holy nail. Let me give myself a chance to experience what the great saints are talking about.
So actually the distractions that lure us away from the holy nail are far far insignificant as compared to the distractions that attract the great souls. The great souls means not the same pure devotees but those who are on the way to become great souls. They understand the level of material enjoyment available in the heavens is far greater than what is available here and even that is insignificant.
So actually the happiness of Krishna Consciousness, we may not have experiences of this right now but after all whatever pleasures we are attracted to ultimately it’s based on faith. Now we see some advertisements or we see some movies or we read some novels where people talk about sex pleasure or the pleasure of fame or the pleasure of whatever else may be attracting us. So all these are also things which are ultimately based on faith but the saints they are selfless and they have no selfish motivation in glorifying material pleasure, in glorifying spiritual happiness and material pleasure.
Actually they are relishing it and they want us to relish it and that’s why we talk about it. So it’s intelligent to put faith in them and focus on spiritual happiness on pursuing spiritual happiness by cultivating consistent and constant remembrance of Krishna