Page 5 - Seeking happiness in a place of misery

 Miseries caused by Nature Miseries caused by other entities Miseries caused by body and mind The efforts of materialists are all directed toward arranging the material energy so that they will be happy and comforta- ble. But, this is not possible in the material world where there is birth, old age, disease and death. These four impositions on our freedom are further compounded by miseries of the body, miseries caused by other bodies and miseries caused by na- ture. Yet, living beings struggle against impossible odds to find sustained material happiness. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna says, “After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.”(Bg 8.15) He describes this material world with the words dukhalayam asasvatam, a temporary place full of miseries. A person who seeks happi- 5Â