View source for Everyone Is Trying to Become Happy

The struggle for existence is essentially a struggle for happiness. Whether one is a businessman accumulating wealth, a politician seeking power, or a scientist discovering new technologies, the underlying motivation is the same: "I want to be happy." Śrīla Prabhupāda acknowledges this legitimacy of this desire—after all, the soul is by nature full of bliss. However, he ruthlessly exposes the futility of trying to squeeze happiness out of dead matter. In these quotes, he diagnoses the human condition—we are seeking the right thing in the wrong place—and offers the permanent solution: reviving our eternal relationship with the reservoir of all pleasure, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

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=== Universal Pursuit ===
Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the desire for happiness is not artificial; it is our birthright. We are parts and parcels of God, who is ''sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ'' (eternal, full of knowledge and bliss). Therefore, misery is unnatural to us. The problem is that we have forgotten our origin and are trying to satisfy our spiritual longing with temporary material substitutes.

* [[Vaniquotes:Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is our material business. Everyone is trying for atyantikam sukham, ultimate happiness|Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is our material business. Everyone is trying for atyantikam sukham, ultimate happiness.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:God created you to become happy. He's happy. You are part and parcel of Krsna. You should be happy. But you don't accept the way of happiness. That is your fault|God created you to become happy. He's happy. You are part and parcel of Krsna. You should be happy. But you don't accept the way of happiness. That is your fault.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:Your business is how to become happy, because by nature you are happy. Diseased condition, that happiness being checked. So this is our diseased condition, this material, conditional life, this body|Your business is how to become happy, because by nature you are happy. Diseased condition, that happiness being checked. So this is our diseased condition, this material, conditional life, this body.]]

=== Happiness in a Forest Fire? ===
Why do our plans fail? Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the material world is designed as a place of correction, not enjoyment. He compares it to a forest fire or a prison house. Trying to become happy here by making adjustments—buying a better car, changing the government, or accumulating money—is a hallucination. The environment itself is incompatible with permanent happiness.

* [[Vaniquotes:People are trying to become happy within the material world, but this is like trying to be happy in a forest fire|People are trying to become happy within the material world, but this is like trying to be happy in a forest fire.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:It is said in the Bhagavad-gita, duhkhalayam. It is the place of miseries. You cannot become happy in a place which is meant for miseries. That we have to understand|It is said in the Bhagavad-gita, duhkhalayam. It is the place of miseries. You cannot become happy in a place which is meant for miseries. That we have to understand.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:Everyone tries to become happy by planning in the material world, but the law of nature is so cruel that it sets fire to one's schemes; the fruitive worker is not happy in his schemes, nor is there any satiation of his continuous hankering for happiness|Everyone tries to become happy by planning in the material world, but the law of nature is so cruel that it sets fire to one's schemes; the fruitive worker is not happy in his schemes, nor is there any satiation of his continuous hankering for happiness.]]

=== Secret: Dovetailing Consciousness ===
Real happiness begins when we stop acting independently and start acting for Kṛṣṇa. This is called "dovetailing" our desires. Just as a hand is happy when it feeds the stomach, the living entity is happy when it serves the Supreme. This service attitude immediately relieves the soul from the anxiety of the material struggle. Śrīla Prabhupāda assures us that as soon as we taste the nectar of service, our miserable life vanishes.

* [[Vaniquotes:We can become happy and peaceful by keeping our individuality if we dovetail our consciousness with the supreme consciousness|We can become happy and peaceful by keeping our individuality if we dovetail our consciousness with the supreme consciousness.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:Simply we have to change the consciousness, that "I am doing for Krsna, not for my personal." In this way, if we develop Krsna consciousness, then we come to our original consciousness. Then we become happy|Simply we have to change the consciousness, that "I am doing for Krsna, not for my personal." In this way, if we develop Krsna consciousness, then we come to our original consciousness. Then we become happy.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:As soon as we have little taste of this devotional service, at once all our miserable life becomes happy|As soon as we have little taste of this devotional service, at once all our miserable life becomes happy.]]

=== Sarve Sukhino Bhavantu ===
The Vedic mission is ''sarve sukhino bhavantu'': "Let everyone be happy." Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only practical implementation of this ideal. Political "isms" (capitalism, communism) have failed to bring peace because they address only the body. Spiritual knowledge addresses the root. By spreading this knowledge, we perform the highest welfare work.

* [[Vaniquotes:We want to see everyone happy. Sarve sukhino bhavantu. But people do not know how to become happy. They do not take the standard path to become happy. They manufacture their own way. That is the difficulty|We want to see everyone happy. Sarve sukhino bhavantu. But people do not know how to become happy. They do not take the standard path to become happy. They manufacture their own way. That is the difficulty.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:Spread this Krsna consciousness movement. Parama ananda-khanda. People will be happy. Our mission is to see sarve sukhino bhavantu: everyone become happy. We don't want to see that we exploit somebody else and I become happy. No|Spread this Krsna consciousness movement. Parama ananda-khanda. People will be happy. Our mission is to see sarve sukhino bhavantu: everyone become happy. We don't want to see that we exploit somebody else and I become happy. No.]]
* [[Vaniquotes:Live with us and you will be happy. We can guarantee you will be happy. Yes. Hare Krsna. Our Vedic mission is sarve sukhino bhavantu, everyone be happy. This is our mission. And we know how to become happy. That is our credit|Live with us and you will be happy. We can guarantee you will be happy. Yes. Hare Krsna. Our Vedic mission is sarve sukhino bhavantu, everyone be happy. This is our mission. And we know how to become happy. That is our credit.]]

=== Conclusion ===
The choice before us is simple. We can continue our independent struggle in the material ocean, swimming aimlessly and suffering the waves of birth and death, or we can take the boat of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda's message is one of profound hope: happiness is not a myth, nor is it far away. It is right here, waiting for us to simply change our consciousness. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and strictly following the instructions of the ''Bhagavad-gītā'', anyone—regardless of their past—can become eternally, blissfully happy.

=== Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani ===

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category [[Vaniquotes:Category:Becoming Happy|Becoming Happy]]. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

(See our [[Vanipedia:Methodology for AI-Assisted Articles|Vanipedia:Methodology for AI-Assisted Articles]])
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