Successful life means

Expressions researched:
"Life is successful means" |"Life successful means" |"Successful means" |"your life is successful. Successful means" |"your life successful. That successful means"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Life is successful means it is stated here, sattvaṁ śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam (SB 5.5.1). We are, every one of us, we are after happiness, sukham. From sukham it has come saukhyam.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1976:

Nobody should think himself that he is very prestigious person, falsely. Nobody is prestigious. Everyone should be humble. So these three, four things we should learn, and that is tapasya. And we should avoid the sinful activities, namely, no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. These are some of the positive and negative formulas given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And if we follow this tapasya and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful.

Life is successful means it is stated here, sattvaṁ śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam (SB 5.5.1). We are, every one of us, we are after happiness, sukham. From sukham it has come saukhyam. That happiness, if we want to continue our eternal life, then we require eternal happiness. Without happiness our life is not worth. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Everyone should be happy, ānandamaya. That is spiritual world.

Life successful means mukti, to be not entangled again with this material body.

Lecture on SB 6.1.50 -- Detroit, June 16, 1976:

So we have to follow this. If we are actually serious about Kṛṣṇa consciousness and going back to home, back to Godhead, make our lives successful in this very life, then... Life successful means mukti, to be not entangled again with this material body. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). That is success. That after giving up this body... This body means the combination of the so many, twenty-four elements. So long we'll be entangled within this network of twenty-four elements, it is called conditioned life. And mukti, liberated, means no more entanglement. Muktir hitvā anyathā rūpam. We are now entangled in these twenty-four elements, and mukti means we are not entangled. Muktir hitvā anyathā rūpam. Because we are entangled, we are thinking otherwise. "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am this," "I am that," "I am that," "I have got so many duties." These things. But when one understands that these so-called duties and entanglement of these twenty-four elements of matter, "I do not belong this. I am aloof, I aloof," this understanding is called brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). At least theoretically if we understand, then our duty changes. Prasannātmā, fixed up. That whatever I am doing now, I am doing with this material, for the benefit of this material, not for my personal benefit. I am not these twenty-four elements. This is called mukti.

Initiation Lectures

Successful means that you haven't got to accept any more this material body.

Initiations -- San Diego, June 30, 1972:

Therefore in the beginning, to increase attachment for Kṛṣṇa... Because my business is to increase my spontaneous attachment for God. That is the business of human life. This is a chance. Because in the human form of life you can do that. And as soon as you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa, then your life is successful. Successful means that you haven't got to accept any more this material body. You will get a spiritual body and go to Kṛṣṇa, or go to home, go back to Godhead. So if you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa, the benefit is that you make a solution for all the problems of life. It is scientific. Mayy āsakta manāḥ pārtha. So in the beginning, in order to increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa, you have to follow the regulative principles, "Don't do this." Just like a doctor gives you prescription, "Don't eat this. Don't do this," similarly, there are so many "don't"s and so many "do"s. So we have to accept the "do"s, not the "don't"s. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). This is called favorably cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Philosophy Discussions

Successful means one who understands that I am not this body.

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Prabhupāda: Just like Kṛṣṇa says that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu: (BG 7.3) "Out of many millions of people, one is interested to make his life successful, and out of millions of successful..." Successful means one who understands that I am not this body. You ask, you take census, in this Nairobi city, you will find that 99.9%, or more than that, people do not know what he is. Everyone knows that "I am this body." So perfection of life means one who understands that "I am not this body..." They become impersonalists, something like that, or voidists. Out of them—those who have understood perfection, that "I am not this body"—one can understand Kṛṣṇa. Out of many thousands of people who have attained actual perfect. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is actually not so easy, but these devotees are actually realizing Kṛṣṇa. Why? By the grace of Kṛṣṇa. Because the devotees are engaged in His service, He is revealing Himself. That is the process. Not by this, Kant's speculation. It is not possible.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

That successful means, to understand Kṛṣṇa thoroughly.

Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So our only request is that you read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. You'll be benefited. And if you interpret whimsically, then you'll rot, spoil. There is no benefit by eating spoiled foodstuff. Kṛṣṇa says... Jaya. Jaya. Prasāda, liye.

Indian lady: (indistinct) Prabhupāda: Oh yes, you are welcome always. Whenever you find time. (Hindi) Janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra (CC Adi 9.41). This is Caitanya. First of all, make your life successful. That successful means yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya (CC Madhya 8.128), to understand Kṛṣṇa thoroughly. Then you become guru. When you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you are janma sārthaka. And then you can speak para-upakāra. Otherwise, it is not possible. Without Kṛṣṇa tattva-jñāna, if we become leader, that will not take... yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya (CC Madhya 8.128). What is that? Devotee: I got a different vase. Prabhupāda: This is spoiled. Oh. Another.