SB 11.23.52
Devanāgarī
आत्मा यदि स्यात् सुखदु:खहेतु: किमन्यतस्तत्र निजस्वभाव: । न ह्यात्मनोऽन्यद् यदि तन्मृषा स्यात् क्रुध्येत कस्मान्न सुखं न दु:खम् ॥ ५२ ॥
Text
ātmā yadi syāt sukha-duḥkha-hetuḥ kim anyatas tatra nija-svabhāvaḥ na hy ātmano ’nyad yadi tan mṛṣā syāt krudhyeta kasmān na sukhaṁ na duḥkham
Synonyms
ātmā—the soul himself;yadi—if;syāt—should be;sukha-duḥkha—of happiness and distress;hetuḥ—the cause;kim—what;anyataḥ—other;tatra—in that theory;nija—his own;svabhāvaḥ—nature;na—not;hi—indeed;ātmanaḥ—than the soul;anyat—anything separate;yadi—if;tat—that;mṛṣā—false;syāt—would be;krudhyeta—one can become angry;kasmāt—at whom;na—there is no;sukham—happiness;na—nor;duḥkham—misery.
Translation
If the soul himself were the cause of happiness and distress, then we could not blame others, since happiness and distress would be simply the nature of the soul. According to this theory, nothing except the soul actually exists, and if we were to perceive something besides the soul, that would be illusion. Therefore, since happiness and distress do not actually exist in this concept, why become angry at oneself or others?
Purport
On the spiritual platform there is neither material happiness nor distress because there the living consciousness is fully engaged, without personal desire, in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. This is the actual position of happiness, aloof from false bodily identification. Rather than uselessly becoming enraged with others for one’s own foolishness, one should take to self-realization and solve the problems of life.
