The Highest Pleasure

The Vedic Viewpoint and Other Spiritual Perspectives

Everyone is looking for pleasure in this world, but does one ever actually attain real pleasure and happiness? According to the ancient Vedic literature, it is not actually possible to attain real pleasure and happiness in the material world. Any pleasure we get in this world is temporary and illusory (not actually pleasure). There are many analogies given to help the conditioned souls see their actual situation. Take the camel for instance. His favorite food is thorny twigs. Now how is it that he is getting pleasure from eating thorny twigs? As he is chewing the twigs they pierce his mouth, which cause it to bleed, as he tastes his own blood, he thinks "Oh this is so tasty." Our pleasure in this material world is much like that. We are working so hard day and night--- blood, sweat and tears and calling the little pleasure we get from it "happiness?"

A.C. Bhaktivadanta Swami Prabhupada is a saint and spiritual Guide who has translated the Vedic Literature into English for the western society. He explains "The happiness in the material world is compared to a drop of water in the desert. You are so thirsty in the desert and if you get a drop of water it will only make you thirstier."

This material pleasure is also compared to one being held under water for some time and when they are brought up for a breath of air, they get some relief. This is not pleasure, but the temporary negation of pain. We take it to be pleasure because our senses are covered by the material energy called Illusion or Maya. This is what makes us think we are happy or enjoying material pleasure.

There is a story in the Srimad Bhagavatam (the cream of the Vedic literature) about Lord Indra, the King of the Heavenly Planets. Lord Indra had the most opulence one could possibly enjoy in this material world. One day he was cursed by a very powerful person to become a hog. So he took birth in a hog body. He thought himself very happy in his little hog family, eating stool and slopping in the mud. Soon his curse was finished and he was told he could go back to his position as the King of Heaven. He rejected that saying he was very happy with his sow and piglets and enjoying stool and mud play. He completely forgot his position as King and all the opulence he used to enjoy and became satisfied with hog life. This of course is a material example, but you can get the idea. We become complacent with so called pleasure and happiness, not knowing what real pleasure there is to actually enjoy. We only know from our own experience or what we can see around us.

What is the point of me telling you this? The point is if no one tells you that there is something better or higher to enjoy, then you do not have the opportunity to aspire for the better thing. If one does not aspire for the highest pleasure in this life, then they will continue to take birth in different species of life according to their material desire and karma. God never takes away your free will, He lets you do what ever you want, but there will be consequences to your choices of action.

The highest pleasure according to the Vedic literature and all spiritual paths is to engage in the devotional service of the Lord, also known as Bhakti. This will satisfy our spiritual senses, -- after all we are spiritual beings just encaged in a material body. The highest service that can be performed is the devotional chanting of the holy names of God. It doesn't matter what your religion or faith is. (Christ, Cristo, Krishna, Allah, Jehovah, Govinda) To chant means to recite or say or sing. To fully satisfy the soul (that's you) one should chant the names of God constantly, within the mind or with the tongue. In this way you will be in constant contact with your creator, your maker, your eternal beloved. This can give everyone the highest bliss imaginable. Because we are covered by material veils, we can not see things as they really are. As one chants Gods names He becomes most pleased and removes our veils of illusion.

If one aspires for the highest pleasure of serving Gods divine feet with love and devotion, He will help that individual attain that supreme goal. He wants everyone to be happy and enjoy the most ecstatic pleasure eternally, but He gives you a choice of reality or illusion. The human form of life is meant to use our God given intelligence to escape this material illusion which we got our self into. Our actual purpose is to attain the highest pleasure beyond our imagination for eternity, not covered, temporary, so called pleasure. An intelligent person will make it their lives goal to attain this highest pleasure. When one becomes humble enough to admit that all my attempts to enjoy this material world have been useless, then they should pray "My dear Lord please kindly engage me in your loving devotional service and deliver me from this material misery and entanglement of repeated Birth, death, old age and disease.

Chanting Gods names is directly associating with Him and one will gradually come to the highest goal and at the end of life attain the blissful, eternal, spiritual kingdom, filled with the highest pleasure there is.

By Jayasri Radha

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