Real satisfaction

Expressions researched:
"real satisfaction"

SB Canto 4

Therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains that one has to achieve real satisfaction, but ātmā—the body, mind and soul—all become completely satisfied only if one develops devotional service to the Absolute Truth.

SB 4.4.28, Purport: There was nothing Satī could not achieve either from her relationship with her father or from her relationship with the greatest of the demigods, but still, for some reason, she was dissatisfied. Therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6) explains that one has to achieve real satisfaction (yayātmā suprasīdati), but ātmā—the body, mind and soul—all become completely satisfied only if one develops devotional service to the Absolute Truth. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. Adhokṣaja means the Absolute Truth. If one can develop his unflinching love for the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, that can give complete satisfaction, otherwise there is no possibility of satisfaction in the material world or anywhere else.

SB Canto 7

A devotee is always satisfied because he feels the presence of the Supersoul within his heart and thinks of Him twenty-four hours a day. That is real satisfaction.

SB 7.15.18, Purport: According to the śāstras, a brāhmaṇa, or a cultured person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will not enter anyone's service to maintain body and soul together, and especially not for satisfaction of the senses. A true brāhmaṇa is always satisfied. Even if he has nothing to eat, he can drink a little water and be satisfied. This is only a matter of practice. Unfortunately, however, no one is educated in how to be satisfied in self-realization. As explained above, a devotee is always satisfied because he feels the presence of the Supersoul within his heart and thinks of Him twenty-four hours a day. That is real satisfaction. A devotee is never driven by the dictations of the tongue and genitals, and thus he is never victimized by the laws of material nature.

SB Canto 9

The Western countries have reached the summit of material civilization, but people are still dissatisfied. Real satisfaction is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB 9.6.48, Purport: Material desire is just like a blazing fire. If a fire is continually supplied with drops of fat, the fire will increase more and more and never be extinguished. Therefore the policy of trying to satisfy material desires by catering to one's material demands will never be successful. In modern civilization, everyone is engaged in economic development, which is another way of constantly dropping fat into the material fire. The Western countries have reached the summit of material civilization, but people are still dissatisfied. Real satisfaction is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), where Kṛṣṇa says:

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

"The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries." One must therefore take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by properly following the regulative principles. Then one can attain an eternal, blissful life in peace and knowledge.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

If you want real satisfaction, then you must love Kṛṣṇa, or God. That is the whole philosophy of..., Vedic philosophy.

Lecture on BG 2.9 -- London, August 15, 1973: Real success of life is that when you learned how to love God. Then your heart will be satisfied. Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ. If you get Kṛṣṇa or God... Kṛṣṇa means God. If you have got another name of God, that is also accepted. But God, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Person. When you have got this... Because we are loving somebody. The loving propensity is there. In everyone. But it is misdirected. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, "Kick out all these loving objects. Try to love Me." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam [Bg. 18.66]. In this way your loving will never be able to satisfy you. Yenātmā samprasīdati. If you want real satisfaction, then you must love Kṛṣṇa, or God. That is the whole philosophy of..., Vedic philosophy. Or any philosophy you take. Because after all, you want satisfaction of yourself, full satisfaction of your mind. That can be only achieved when you love God. Therefore that religion is first-class which teaches, which trains the candidate how to love God. That is first-class religion.

If you let loose your senses unrestrictedly for material enjoyment, then you cannot, cannot have that satisfaction. But if you want satisfaction, if you want real satisfaction, as we have already described. If you want satisfaction of your self, then you must practice this devotional service.

Lecture on BG 2.59-69 -- New York, April 29, 1966: The senses are given to me for my enjoyment because I, I wanted it. Now our, the senses are already there in my spiritual life. I am misusing them. Without being, the senses being used in the service of the Lord, I am misusing it. Therefore I am in trouble. Now, the whole process should be to change the platform, and I must use the senses in the service of the Lord. Then my life will become perfect.

rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu

viṣayān indriyaiś caran

ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā

prasādam adhigacchati

[Bg. 2.64]

If you want self-satisfaction, then you try to do this. Don't be neglectful. Rāga-dveṣa-vimukta... Viṣayān indriyaiś caran... If you let loose your senses unrestrictedly for material enjoyment, then you cannot, cannot have that satisfaction. But if you want satisfaction, if you want real satisfaction, as we have already described, that ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati. If you want satisfaction of your self, then you must practice this devotional service. Engage your eyes, engage your ears, engage your nose... Then the arcanā-vidhi... Arcanā-vidhi is to engage all the senses in the service of the Lord.

Sense gratification means money and women. So they have got enough of it. Why they are after me, rejecting this? Because sense gratification will never give you satisfaction. That is false satisfaction. Real satisfaction is when you satisfy Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Bombay, February 22, 1974: Enjoyment of senses will not give you happiness. That is our practical experience. Anybody, call anybody who is engaged in sense gratification, ask him, "Are you happy?" He'll never say. They are... We have practically seen. These Europeans and Americans, they have enough sense gratification. Sense gratification means money and women. So they have got enough of it. Why they are after me, rejecting this? Because sense gratification will never give you satisfaction. That is false satisfaction. Real satisfaction is when you satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That is satisfaction.

Meat-eating, wine, woman—they have got sufficient. So they are not very much interested with all these things, although, because they have no other alternative for enjoyment, so they are enjoying or trying to satisfy them. But that is not giving them real satisfaction.

Lecture on BG 13.5 -- Paris, August 13, 1973: The Europe and America, they have enough of material enjoyment. Meat-eating, wine, woman—they have got sufficient. So they are not very much interested with all these things, although, because they have no other alternative for enjoyment, so they are enjoying or trying to satisfy them. But that is not giving them real satisfaction. That's a fact. This wine, woman and meat-eating, that is not giving them any more satisfaction. But because they have no other alternative, what they can do? Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām [SB 7.5.30], chewing the chewed, that's all. It is already chewed, it is already tasted, but there is no other alternative; therefore they are tasting the same thing this way and that way.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

When Dhruva Mahārāja saw Viṣṇu he did not say, "Now let me become one with You." No. He said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce. There is svāmi, master, and the servant is feeling full satisfaction by seeing the master. This is real satisfaction, not that stop our relation.

Lecture on SB 7.6.2 -- Vrndavana, December 3, 1975: Dhruva Mahārāja was thinking of becoming happy by getting a great kingdom and ultimately when he met the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he found the object of love. He said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: [Cc. Madhya 22.42] "No. I don't want anything. I have got now everything. I have seen You." Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ. If you get Kṛṣṇa—Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, the same thing—then you become satisfied. Otherwise there is no possibility of satisfaction. That is not possible. Simply when you get Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's service is the same. It is not Māyāvāda, that we get Kṛṣṇa and we become one with Him. Then that is not satisfaction. That is not satisfaction. When Dhruva Mahārāja saw Viṣṇu he did not say, "Now let me become one with You." No. He said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce. There is svāmi, master, and the servant is feeling full satisfaction by seeing the master. This is real satisfaction, not that stop our relation, not that the child is crying and praying to the mother, "Mother, you push me within your belly. We become one." No. It is crying for the love exchange of mother. "Mother, give me your breast milk. I will be satisfied." So there is no question of oneness. This oneness is false. There must be separate existence. Then there is satisfaction.

General Lectures

To give them real satisfaction of life is to awaken them to the platform of God consciousness.

Lecture at St. Pascal's Franciscan Seminary -- Melbourne, June 28, 1974: Anyone who is in this material world, he is full of anxieties, because material wants cannot be satisfied at any time. It will simply increase. So unless one comes to God consciousness understanding, there is no possibility of satisfying. Yenātmā samprasīdati. Prasīdati means fully satisfied, no more want. There are many places. Yasmin sthite guruṇāpi duḥkhena na vicālyate: [Bg. 6.20-23] "If you are situated in that position, then the most dangerous type of unhappiness cannot agitate you." If you are fixed up in God consciousness, then nothing of these material disturbances can agitate you. Yasmin sthite guruṇāpi duḥkhena. So people should try to attain that perfect transcendental position so that he is fully satisfied, no more want. So that is called bhakti-yoga, and we are teaching and propagating this bhakti-yoga. People are disturbed in so many ways in this age of Kali. To give them real satisfaction of life is to awaken them to the platform of God consciousness.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Real satisfaction will prevail when one knows God. That is real satisfaction. A devotee will see how by God's design the sea is working, how the sky is staying, how the sun is rising. He is satisfied, "Oh, how my Lord is great, how He has arranged." That is satisfaction.

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

Karandhara: The saying is "Even the pauper is proud of his penny."

Prabhupāda: Yes. He is also... You see... In Vṛndāvana I showed you? The dogs were starving, but as soon as he gets another female dog, oh, he is satisfied. To have sex. Oh. You see. So is that satisfaction? He is starving. The belly has gone down, and still, he is satisfied with sex. You see.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That's called illusion.

Prabhupāda: Yes, this is illusion. Actually, he is not satisfied.

Karandhara: You once gave the example, Prabhupāda of the drunkards in New York.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Karandhara: If they just get a bottle of wine they are satisfied even though they are freezing and starving and have no place to stay.

Prabhupāda: Yes, they are satisfied. Real satisfaction will prevail when one knows God. That is real satisfaction. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg. 5.29]. A devotee will see how by God's design the sea is working, how the sky is staying, how the sun is rising. He is satisfied, "Oh, how my Lord is great, how He has arranged." That is satisfaction.

1971 Correspondence

Their children are all becoming hippies, and they do not want so much technology and knowledge which gives them no real satisfaction, so they are losing all interest in education and only they want to enjoy life, that's all.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Bombay 17 December, 1971: I am especially pleased that your Gurukula project is going forward nicely. I consider that this is one of our most important projects, because people in general are only suffering due to poor fund of knowledge. So if we have facility to give them the right knowledge of how to make an end to suffering condition of life, then we shall be performing the highest type of welfare work. So you can try on this point to convince rich businessmen, educators, politicians, etc. to help us push forward this gurukula system for guiding their young children on the right path to becoming sober, upright citizens. You can inform them that if they give me proper facilities that I can save all the young people of your country from the worst danger. People are always willing to give anything for educational purpose. They think that if their children get the right knowledge then they will become very successful in life, and that is their concern, so they sacrifice everything for good educational cause. Now their children are all becoming hippies, and they do not want so much technology and knowledge which gives them no real satisfaction, so they are losing all interest in education and only they want to enjoy life, that's all. But if such children are given practical guidance on the transcendental platform, above the bodily and mental conception of life, then they will develop into perfect citizens—moral, honest, hard-working, law-abiding, clean, faithful to home and country, like that. That is the unmatched success of our Krishna Consciousness schooling system, so you introduce it nicely, so that your country's leaders will see something very nice and come to our assistance.