SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM - Prabhupada

Text 48] HiraJ,lyak8Sipu, King of the Demons ll3vaca-the seeing and talking of; yatha-just as; manoratha-a mentalconcoction (daydream); svapna-a dream; sarvam-everything;aindriyakam-produced by the senses; mr$11-false.TRANSLATIONIt is fruitless to see and talk of the material modes of nature andtheir resultant so-called happiness and distress as if they were factual.When the mind wanders during the day and a man begins tothink himself extremely important, or when he dreams at nightand sees a beautiful woman enjoying with him, these are merelyfalse dreams. Similarly, the happiness and distress caused by thematerial senses should be understood to be meaningless.PURPORTThe happiness and distress derived from the activities of the materialsenses are not actual happiness and distress. Therefore Bhagavad-gitaspeaks of happiness that is transcendental to the material conception oflife (sukham atyantikarh yat tad buddhi-grahyam atindriyam). Whenour senses are purified of material contamination, they becomeatindriya, transcendental senses, and when the transcendental senses areengaged in the service of the master of the senses, H:fikesa, one canderive real transcendental pleasure. Whatever distress or happiness wemanufacture by mental concoction through the subtle mind has noreality, but is simply a mental concoction. One should therefore notimagine so-called happiness through mental concoction. Rather, the bestcourse is to engage the mind in the service of the Lord, H:fikesa, andthus feel real blissful life.There is a Vedic statement apama-somam amrta abhilma apsarobhirviharama. With reference to such a conception, one wants to go to theheavenly planets to enjoy with the young girls there and drink somarasa.Such imaginary pleasure, however, has no value. As confirmed inBhagavad-gita (7.23), antavat tu phalarit te$drh tad bhavaty alpamedhasam:"Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and theirfruits are limited and temporary." Even if by fruitive activity or worshipof the demigods one is elevated to the higher planetary systems for senseenjoyment, his situation is condemned in Bhagavad-gita as antavat,perishable. The happiness one enjoys in this way is like the pleasure of