Our culture allures us with the promise of immediate pleasure: “Eat this, smell this, touch this – and you will enjoy real fast.”

Material pleasures may come fast – just by the contact of the senses with the sense objects. But they never last. Because the capacity of the sense objects to give pleasure is limited, as is the capacity of the senses to enjoy pleasure.

Though we get on to what is touted as the fast track to enjoyment, we never reach destination enjoyment. We may enjoy a bit, but it’s so tiny and transitory that we just can’t believe that there’s nothing more. So we keep going on the same beaten path, hoping to find a pleasure that will be fast and will also last. The wise recognize this hope to be a delusion and do not indulge in it, as the Bhagavad-gita (05.22) indicates.

Obviously, our wisdom is meant not to deprive us of happiness, but to help us to get the best happiness – spiritual happiness.

We as souls are inherently joyful – a joyfulness that we can relish when we love and serve Krishna according to our spiritual nature as his parts. To access that joy, we need to purify our heart. This endeavor takes time, but rewards a result that lasts for all time. The preceding Gita verse (05.21) urges us to concentrate on the Supreme and be satisfied thereof. The more we become purified, the more that satisfaction will increase, till finally our devotional service will revive our original pure love for Krishna. That love yields an ecstasy that fills our entire heart and lasts for all of eternity. That’s life’s greatest attainment and it’s eminently worth our patience and persistence.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 05 Text 21

"Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme."

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