False happiness

Expressions researched:
"false happiness" |"false so-called happiness" |"falsely called happiness"

SB Canto 1

There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary cessation of misery is falsely called happiness.

SB 1.2.6, Purport:

The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition of actual life. Actual life is spiritual existence, or brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) existence, where life is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. Material existence is temporary, illusory and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all. There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary cessation of misery is falsely called happiness. Therefore, the path of progressive material enjoyment, which is temporary, miserable and illusory, is inferior. But devotional service to the Supreme Lord, which leads one to eternal, blissful and all-cognizant life, is called the superior quality of occupation. This is sometimes polluted when mixed with the inferior quality.

SB Canto 2

Materialistic men want to make a plan to become happy in a place where there is no happiness. For false happiness they try to reach other planets.

SB 2.2.27, Purport:

The Vedic wisdom guides us to understanding our relation with the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and to acting accordingly in order to achieve the desired result of returning home, back to Godhead. But materialistic men do not understand this. They want to make a plan to become happy in a place where there is no happiness. For false happiness they try to reach other planets, either by Vedic rituals or by spacecraft, but they should know for certain that any amount of materialistic adjustment for becoming happy in a place which is meant for distress cannot benefit the misguided man because, after all, the whole universe with all its paraphernalia will come to an end after a certain period. Then all plans of materialistic happiness will automatically come to an end. The intelligent person therefore makes a plan to return home, back to Godhead. Such an intelligent person surpasses all the pangs of material existence, like birth, death, disease and old age. He is actually happy because he has no anxieties of material existence, but as a compassionate sympathizer he feels unhappiness for the suffering materialistic men, and thus he occasionally comes before the materialistic men to teach them the necessity of going back to Godhead. All the bona fide ācāryas preach this truth of returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth.

SB Canto 4

The fire of lamentation is always blazing, and the mirage of false happiness is always alluring, but one has no shelter from them.

SB 4.7.28, Translation:

The members of the assembly addressed the Lord: O exclusive shelter for all who are situated in troubled life, in this formidable fort of conditional existence the time element, like a snake, is always looking for an opportunity to strike. This world is full of ditches of so-called distress and happiness, and there are many ferocious animals always ready to attack. The fire of lamentation is always blazing, and the mirage of false happiness is always alluring, but one has no shelter from them. Thus foolish persons live in the cycle of birth and death, always overburdened in discharging their so-called duties, and we do not know when they will accept the shelter of Your lotus feet.

SB Canto 6

False happiness in the material world is the source of distress.

SB 6.4.27-28, Purport:

In the material world, the spiritual energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is manifested as tāpa-karī, which means "causing miseries." Everyone hankers for happiness, but although happiness originally comes from the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the material world, because of material activities, the pleasure potency of the Lord becomes a source of miseries (hlāda-tāpa-karī). False happiness in the material world is the source of distress, but when one's endeavors for happiness are redirected toward the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this tāpa-karī element of misery is vanquished.

SB Canto 7

Because of a lack of education and culture, people are victimized by the false happiness of sex life.

SB 7.9.45, Purport:

The human form of life is a great asset, for in this life one can fulfill the goal of existence. Unfortunately, however, because of a lack of education and culture, people are victimized by the false happiness of sex life. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore advises one not to be misled by this civilization of sense gratification, and especially not by sex life. Rather, one should be sober, avoid sense gratification and be Kṛṣṇa conscious. The lusty person, who is compared to a foolish miser, never gets happiness by sense gratification. The influence of material nature is very difficult to surpass, but as stated by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), mām eva ye prapadyante, māyām etāṁ taranti te: if one voluntarily submits to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he can be saved very easily.

SB Canto 8

Mahārāja Satyavrata prays that the Lord sever this hard knot of false happiness and thus become his supreme spiritual master.

SB 8.24.47, Purport:

For material happiness, the conditioned soul involves himself in fruitive activities, which actually put him into material distress. Because the conditioned soul does not know this, he is said to be in avidyā, or ignorance. Because of a false hope for happiness, the conditioned soul becomes involved in various plans for material activity. Here Mahārāja Satyavrata prays that the Lord sever this hard knot of false happiness and thus become his supreme spiritual master.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

We are no longer interested in sense gratification or the false happiness derived through the material body.

Krsna Book 73:

By Your causeless mercy only, we are now able to think of Your lotus feet. This is our greatest gain. Dear Lord, everyone knows that the body is a breeding ground of diseases. Now we are aged, and instead of being proud of our bodily strength, we are getting weaker day by day. We are no longer interested in sense gratification or the false happiness derived through the material body. By Your grace, we have now come to the conclusion that hankering after such material happiness is just like searching for water in a desert mirage.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

We should not try to derive that false happiness in this diseased condition of material life.

Lecture on BG 5.22-29 -- New York, August 31, 1966:

Before quitting this material body, if one practices to tolerate the so-called urges of sense pleasure, then he becomes very happy at the long run. He recommends it. And that is the real purpose of human form of life. That we should not derive. We should not try to derive that false happiness in this diseased condition of material life. This is temporary. That is not happiness. We should understand that out of ignorance we are engaged to derive such kind of happiness, but that is not happiness. Real happiness is in spiritual life.

As we make progress to understand the Absolute Truth, naturally we become detached from this false happiness we are trying to enjoy.

Lecture on BG 6.21-27 -- New York, September 9, 1966:

By Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we shall gradually develop our intelligence, real intelligence. Then we shall naturally like to enjoy that spiritual happiness. And as we make progress and get taste of spiritual happiness, so proportionately we give up the taste of this material happiness. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). Bhakti, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is gradually developed in realizing, understanding the Supreme Absolute Truth, pareśānubhavaḥ. Pareśānubhavaḥ. As pareśānubhavaḥ, as we make progress to understand the Absolute Truth, naturally we become detached from this false happiness we are trying to enjoy.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

It is by nature's arrangement, by Kṛṣṇa's arrangement, that these living entities, who have come here in this material world for false happiness, material happiness, and they are entrapped in this birth and death problem.

Lecture on SB 2.3.19 -- Los Angeles, June 15, 1972:

So you are sometimes very high and immediately low down. So this circle of birth and death in different species of life is going on, and this human form of life is a chance to get out of this cycle of birth and death. Is a chance. It is by nature's arrangement, by Kṛṣṇa's arrangement, that these living entities, who have come here in this material world for false happiness, material happiness, and they are entrapped in this birth and death problem, transmigrating from one type of life to another type of life... Here is a chance for the human being. And Kṛṣṇa comes to the human being, and He... "Here is a chance, Bhagavad-gītā." Kṛṣṇa gives them.

With the hope of getting some false happiness, we accept this distress. Actually, there is no happiness.

Lecture on SB 3.25.13 -- Bombay, November 13, 1974:

We should not be captivated by the material distress, or we should not be very much aggrieved by the material distress, and we should not be very much happy for material happiness. These are bondage. Material happiness is not actually happiness. That is through distress. Just like we are trying to be happy, trying to be very rich, get some money. That is not very easily obtained. We have to undergo so much distresses. So actually, it is distress, but with the hope of getting some false happiness, we accept this distress. Actually, there is no happiness.

Kṛṣṇa canvasses that "Why you are captivated by this false, so-called happiness? You give up this."

Lecture on SB 3.25.41 -- Bombay, December 9, 1974:

He is the father. So as father is very unhappy, seeing the unhappy condition of the sons, although the son does not know, but father is unhappy, so Kṛṣṇa is unhappy. Therefore He comes. He canvasses that "Why you are captivated by this false, so-called happiness? You give up this." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "I will give you relief. You come to Me. You will live happily, eternally, blissful life, without any scarcity, without any trouble."

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

"Simply in the matter of searching after false happiness I have wasted my time." That he has condemned.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.98-102 -- April 27, 1976, Auckland, New Zealand:

So there is no need of trying for suppressing distress and getting happiness. Don't waste your time in that way. But you try for that thing which you never got in other different forms of life. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This life is meant for this purpose, to understand Kṛṣṇa and God, or God. Yes. That is the only... athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is meant. Not for wasting our time simply with the animal propensities. The modern civilization, modern education, has no information about this. Nobody is trying to understand what is the actual aim of life. There is no such civilization. Therefore he is presenting himself, kuviṣaya-kūpe paḍi' goṅāinu janama. "Simply in the matter of searching after false happiness I have wasted my time." That he has condemned.

General Lectures

We are happy by false happiness. This is called māyā.

Lecture at Indo-American Society 'East and West' -- Calcutta, January 31, 1973:

We are trying to have, become happy by our scientific knowledge, by advancement of knowledge, but Kṛṣṇa says that you cannot make any solution of these four problems. What is that? Birth, death, old age and disease. That is not possible. So we are happy by false happiness. This is called māyā. This is culture, this Indian culture. They agree, there is a māyā. This is Eastern culture. Māyā. Māyā means we are falsely happy. We are thinking that "Now I am well situated." But I am not thinking any moment, next moment, I may be kicked out of the situation and everything finished. Why I am being kicked out? I want to stay here permanently. Nobody wants to die. Why he dies? Where is the solution? This is lack of knowledge. But there is solution. There is solution.

Philosophy Discussions

A diseased fellow, if he thinks that "I am happy," that is false happiness. A diseased man cannot be happy unless the disease is cured.

Philosophy Discussion on John Dewey:

First thing is, people are desiring happiness. Whatever one may desire, the ultimate end is happiness. Nobody can deny this. But a diseased fellow, if he thinks that "I am happy," that is false happiness. A diseased man cannot be happy unless the disease is cured. Sometimes we go to a diseased person and ask, "How are you?" "Yes, I am all right." If he is all right, why is he lying down? He is not all right. He is artificially saying that "I am all right." What is this "all right"? Similarly, these foolish people, they are thinking, "I am happy." What is their happiness? If you have to die, then where is your happiness?

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

For that māyā happiness, false happiness, they have beget a gorgeous arrangement. They are so vimūḍhān, so foolish.

Morning Walk -- December 3, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: That is childish. Just like they build with the sand palatial building, the children, and they take pleasure in it. That's all. That is children's pleasure. That is not sane man's pleasure. Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). Māyā-sukhāya. This pleasure is māyā, and they are making humbug. Therefore they are vimūḍhān, vimūḍhān, all foolish men. Prahlāda Mahārāja said, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). The materialists, they have created a standard of happiness. That is māyā. That is not happiness. But for that māyā happiness, false happiness, they have beget a gorgeous arrangement. That's all. Therefore they are vimūḍhān. They are so vimūḍhān, so foolish.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

This is a false happiness, that "If I get money, I'll be happy."

Room Conversation with Vrindavan De -- July 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, no. Munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ bhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam, kṛṣṇa-sampraśno yenātmā suprasīdati (SB 1.2.5). Happiness is there. Unless you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, there is no question of... This is a false happiness, that "If I get money, I'll be happy." That is false. So many men, they have got money. We see practically. The whole European civilization, American civilization, is based on this fundamental idea that "Let us have money and we shall be happy." And nobody is happy. Nobody is happy, a single man. Very big, big buildings, very nice car, very nice road, but there is no question of happiness. Always restlessness. Is it not? They are practically proved. And becoming implicated, karma-bandha, loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9), one after another, one after another. Because he is not independent, he is under karma-bandhana.

1972 Correspondence

It is the mission of Krishna to get back His parts and parcels to home, exactly like a father likes to get back his son at home because this son had gone out of home for false happiness.

Letter to Giriraja -- Honolulu 15 May, 1972:

It may be a very strong aspersion on the people of the world, but this is the fact. But still, because they are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, so originally they were pure and therefore it is the mission of Krishna to get back His parts and parcels to home, exactly like a father likes to get back his son at home because this son had gone out of home for false happiness. But the people are so mad, they are talking so many nonsense things—nonsense philosophy, nonsense science—and our task is to meet all of them and at the same time pacify them in their lunatic condition. So I am sure you are a very good soul to act on behalf of Krishna, and do it nicely. Krishna will give you the proper intelligence. He is sitting in your heart. Simply he wants to see us working sincerely.