Acyutānanda: "Happiness derived from pure devotional service is the highest, because it is eternal, but the happiness derived from material perfection or understanding oneself to be Brahman is inferior, because it is temporary. There is no preventing one's falling down from material happiness, and there is even every chance of falling down from the spiritual happiness derived from identifying oneself with the impersonal Brahman."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Happiness . . . it is our experience that happiness derived from material enjoyment, that is not permanent. That we can understand. But happiness of identifying oneself with Brahman, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, nirbheda-brahmānusandhana, that happiness is also not permanent. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
- āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
- patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ
- (SB 10.2.32)
Āruhya kṛcchreṇ . . . by great austerity, auspici . . . and penance, one may rise up to the platform of Brahman realization, paraṁ padam. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ patanty adhaḥ. Again he falls down.
We have seen many big, big sannyāsī, they give up this world as brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, false. But after some times, when they cannot actually realize Brahman, they again come to this jagat for humanitarian work, for welfare activities. If jagat is mithyā, then why do they come again to this welfare activities? So jagat, not mithyā, but it is temporary. We do not say mithyā. Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they do not accept jagat as mithyā. Why? If it is emanation from the Absolute Truth, it must be true. It is not mithyā, but we accept it as temporary. We do not accept as permanent.
The permanent jagat is the spiritual world. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another, spiritual world; that is sanātana, that is permanent. This world is not permanent. So even though it is not permanent, it can be utilized for the service of the Lord. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. That is our philosophy. We don't take the jagat as mithyā; we take it as fact, because it is emanation from the supreme fact. So just like gold earring is also gold—that is not iron—similarly, the, this material world is made of the external energy of Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore we do not find anything here wrong. We try to dovetail everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa, because it is Kṛṣṇa's. Just like one's property must be enjoyed by the proprietor. Kṛṣṇa says that bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). He's the proprietor of this world, therefore everything dovetailed in His service for His satisfaction, that is devotional service. That is the professional stage of serving Kṛṣṇa. So we don't take the world as mithyā.