“The nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” (Bg.2.14)

“Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogi and is happy in this world.” (Bg.5.23)

Once we understand our eternal nature, which is beyond the body, we should become decreasingly influenced or motivated by bodily desires. Such desires and the pleasures we want to attain for the body are themselves temporary. They have a beginning and an end. Thus, happiness of this sort comes and goes, like the winter and summer seasons. If you don’t like the weather, wait a while and it will change. Similarly, no matter whether you are happy or sad, in due time it will change. It is automatic. Sadness is followed by happiness which may again be followed by moments of sadness. Material nature provides the changes that make this happen.

However, such changes are recognized through the mind’s interpretation of them. The senses detect various sensations and the mind judges whether it is agreeable or not. Then the mind develops certain moods based on the external conditions with which it is dealing. That is why this is called the mental platform.

As we can see, a person who is engaged in chasing after all their desires is often preoccupied with the superficialities of life. Like a drug addict always chasing after his next high, he is completely obsessed with it and so much of his endeavor is wasted for such temporary thrills. He gets no rest. So much time, energy and money is spent, and he is still not truly happy, though he may feel satisfied for only short periods of time.

In the same way, a person chasing after material desires or ways to satisfy the mind and senses loses so much energy and time, yet remains absorbed in the anticipation and hope for finding happiness, but in the guise of sensual or mental pleasure. This is not real contentment or fulfillment. Thus, genuine happiness eludes such a person. This is why it is said that, in order to be happy, it is better for a person to tolerate the dictates of the senses rather than giving into all of them. It is like the ocean that receives the waters from so many rivers, yet remains steady in spite of so much input.

One problem with trying to please the mind is that the mental platform is very flickering, and the mood of the mind is always changing. In other words, what was satisfying at one moment becomes boring or distasteful later. So the mind is always changing its wants. And the more you give it, the more it hankers. The more it will tell you how much it needs. Lust is a relentless master. It is like a fire being fed with gasoline. The more you feed it, the more it will consume.

So the point is that as we become free from the bodily conception of life by knowing we are actually the eternal soul within this temporary body, we will also become free from the bodily influence and sensual or mental urges and desires. The more we can do that, the more we can be happy in this world, and the easier it will be for our spiritual pursuits.