What Happiness Is There in Heaven That Is Not on Earth?

Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj, Vrindavan - an intimate conversation with revered Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. Seekers ask questions about their lives and spiritual practice, and Maharaj Ji resolves them.

The Full Discourse

Radhe Radhe Maharaj Ji. Paras Kohli Ji from New Delhi offers countless pranams at your feet, Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji, happiness and suffering are two wheels of the same vehicle. My question is: what is that happiness that exists in heaven but not on earth? And what is that suffering found in hell that is not found on earth?

Is heaven something truly special? Heaven has Indra, the king of heaven, the lord of the three worlds. Gautama the sage became disturbed by lustful thoughts toward the wife of a rishi in the mortal realm, and he acted upon them. So what is so special about heaven? If Indra, the enjoyer of the apsaras, thought to act immorally with the wife of Gautama the rishi in the mortal realm and then acted upon it, then it means that the happiness which Indra sought is not found in heaven.

That happiness, after attaining which no desire remains - that is God. Heaven is also false. What is real? The happiness of heaven is also false. Not only that -

ब्रह्म स्तंभ पर्यंतम सर्वम मायामयं जगत सत्यम सत्यम पुन सत्यम हरे नाम केवलम
From the pillar of Brahma unto the highest, all is of illusion; the world is truth, truth, and only truth is the name of Hari.

From the level of Brahma to the highest realm, everything is in maya. Maya means false, means deception, means illusion. Inside it is something else. Now, suppose your entire life has been spent in the enjoyment of every happiness. Now what do you have? If someone asks you what you possess, then it is the same longing, the same desire to enjoy, something more. Then this false game continues. Maya - there is neither happiness in heaven nor happiness in the mortal world.

If there is true happiness - what is it? It is found in God. Just as the ferryman was washing God's feet, and later God gave him a ring - the ring of Sita Ji. What does he say?

अब कछु नाथ न चाहे मोरे
Now, O Lord, I desire nothing of mine.

When this comes out from the heart - that what I wanted, I have obtained. Now I desire nothing. That will come to pass only in God and nowhere else. Otherwise, millions of desires will arise. No one is ever satisfied. Therefore, neither in heaven is there happiness nor on earth is there happiness. Happiness is in God - the one who is

आनंद सिंधु सुख राशि
The ocean of bliss, the treasure of happiness.

Understand this firmly. This is why I gave the first example about the lord of the three worlds, King Indra of heaven - though the master of all of heaven, he acted immorally with Ahalya, the wife of Gautama the rishi of the mortal realm. How despicable! That is when he also received the curse - a thousand forms... This is why there is happiness nowhere. Happiness is in God, in God's name, in God's form, in God's feet.

All of you: Om Prakash Garg Ji from Madhya Pradesh, Radhe Radhe. Maharaj Ji, countless pranams at your feet.

Maharaj Ji, is the complete elimination of the fear of death, the end of the desire to gain something - that is, the dissolution of longing for worldly material comforts - and the rapid growth of intense yearning to meet Shri Ji - is this the highest level of surrender? Maharaj Ji, please dispel my doubt.

The bondage of the soul is the chain of ego. Because we have forgotten our true nature and have become established in body consciousness - the ego of being male or female, which has now awakened: "I am this." This is the grave fault causing the soul's cycles of birth and death:

पुनरप जननम पुनरप मरणम पुन जननी जठरे शयनम
Birth again, death again, again dwelling in the womb.

The soul is consciousness, dense with bliss, an ocean of joy, itself the nature of the Supreme Self. But it has moved toward bodies in search of happiness. It has moved toward the indulgence of the senses. It has forgotten its own nature. Those attached to enjoyment and dominion -

भोगेश्वर प्रसक्त नाम तत चेत व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धि समाध विधते
Those engaged in enjoyment and dominion, whose consciousness has turned toward objects - the resolute mind brings them steadiness.

Those who have found happiness in enjoyment and wealth, whose minds have become distracted whether by enjoyment of the body or enjoyment of objects, who have developed liking for money, riches, prestige, and honor - they are ruined. They are swept away in the current of maya. And this current is such that without the grace of the guru, it does not stop.

Only guru's grace:

गुरु कृपा ही केवलम
Guru's grace alone is supreme.

One who has taken refuge in the guru, and through the guru receives:

अज्ञानस ज्ञानजन सलाकया चक्षुर मिलितम तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः
The guru dispels ignorance and bestows the light of knowledge; salutations to such a guru.

When ignorance is destroyed and the light of knowledge is given, then our current of maya stops. Our mind's tendencies have become attached to enjoyments. Our knowledge has become clouded such that it believes: "I am a woman, I am a man." This is the very cause of our downfall. The root cause - culture is the origin:

संस्कृति मूल सू प्रद नाना सकल शोकदा दायक अभिमाना
Ego rooted in conditioning is the source of all sorrow.

The root of all conditioning and giver of all suffering is this ego of the body. We have forgotten our true nature as consciousness and identified so much with this five-element body that we say: "I am male, I am female."

This is the cause of our downfall. And when we take refuge in the guru and when through the guru we receive naam-upasana, the spiritual practice of the divine name, then this very root is destroyed. When those signs you spoke of begin to manifest: food and drink are no longer pleasing. No soft garments of spring seem beautiful. All worldly objects taste bitter to the tongue. Every lover's path is unique:

ना काू सो बोलबो ना कोई व्यवहार अपनी कुंवर किशोरी को जयत निहार निहार
I speak of none, engage with none; I see only my young Divine Beloved again and again.

The signs of surrender are: finding no happiness in any enjoyment, the mind dwelling in God's name, form, pastimes, qualities, and abode, and remaining undefeated by any duality - pleasure or pain, honor or dishonor, gain or loss. If this surrender is firm, then God is attained. But one who does not practice naam jap, who has no love for the stories of God's pastimes, who has no devotion to listening and speaking of God - whatever spiritual practice they may do, their ego will only be strengthened. What is happening? The ego is being reinforced. Our cycle of coming and going will not stop. It will stop only when ego is removed. Whether it is the ego of righteous deeds or the ego of unrighteous deeds, ego remains ego. The destruction of ego itself is the sign of true surrender.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Haiku 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Ego is destroyed by the grace of the Guru. The worship that the Guru has given destroys ego completely. Then one sees that sadhana is progressing by the grace of the Guru. Bhajan is happening by the grace of the Guru. Our spiritual advancement is happening by the grace of the Guru. There is no trace of ego in it—like "I did this." No, this happened by the grace of the Guru. So whoever has taken refuge in the grace of the Guru and has surrendered to Radha-Krishna, there are signs in such a person. What are the signs, Maharaj Ji? Maharaj Ji is saying that these are the signs: yearning—intense desire to meet Shri Ji, the craving for worldly material comforts completely disappears, the fear of death ends entirely.

Yes, absolutely. Very beautiful—you have spoken very carefully chosen words. "I am the most sinful person on earth. What will happen to me, Lord?" But we don't think about our past anymore; we think about our future. We should not think "We are not Radha-Krishna's"; instead we should think, "Now we are under the shelter of Radha-Krishna." Now see the sign—now let the past be destroyed. Whatever happened until now, the mistakes we made were due to the influence of God's maya. Now we are under the shelter of God. Now let us chant the divine name abundantly. Do you chant the name? Chant abundantly. Yes, chant the divine name abundantly. It is through naam jap itself that one experiences supreme bliss.

This text is taken from the video's auto-generated captions—there may be errors in the words. Please listen to the video for the authentic words.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)