viṣādaṁ madam eva ca
na vimuñcati durmedhā
dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
Synonyms
Translation
Purport
It should not be concluded that a person in the mode of goodness does not dream. Here dream means too much sleep. Dream is always present; either in the mode of goodness, passion or ignorance, dream is a natural occurrence. But those who cannot avoid oversleeping, who cannot avoid the pride of enjoying material objects and who are always dreaming of lording it over the material world, whose life, mind, and senses are thus engaged, are considered to be in the mode of ignorance.
TEXTS 36-37
sukhaṁ tv idānīṁ tri-vidhaṁ
śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha
abhyāsād ramate yatra
duḥkhāntaṁ ca nigacchati
yat tad agre viṣam iva
pariṇāme 'mṛtopamam
tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam
ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam
sukham-happiness; tu-but; idānīm-now; tri-vidham-three kinds; śṛṇu-hear; me-from Me; bharatarṣabha-O best amongst the Bhāratas; abhyāsāt-by practice; ramate-enjoyer; yatra-where; duḥkha-distress; antam-end; ca-also; nigacchati-gains; yat-that which; tat-that; agre-in the beginning; viṣam iva-like poison; pariṇāme-at the end; amṛta-nectar; upamam-compared to; tat-that; sukham-happiness; sāttvikam-in the mode of goodness; proktam-is said; ātma-self; buddhi-intelligence; prasāda-jam-satisfactory.
TRANSLATION
O best of the Bhāratas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress. That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.
PURPORT
A conditioned soul tries to enjoy material happiness again and again. Thus he chews the chewed, but, sometimes, in the course of such enjoyment, he becomes relieved from material entanglement by association with a great soul. In other words, a conditioned soul is always engaged in some type of sense gratification, but when he understands by good association that it is only a repetition of the same thing, and he is awakened to his real Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is sometimes relieved from such repetitive so-called happiness.
In the pursuit of self-realization, one has to follow many rules and regulations to control the mind and the senses and to concentrate the mind on the Self. All these procedures are very difficult, bitter like poison, but if one is successful in following the regulations and comes to the transcendental position, he begins to drink real nectar, and he enjoys life.