Hear from Me now about the three kinds of pleasures, O the greatest of the Bharata clan! That pleasure is said to be of the nature of Sattva which is gained by long practice of disciplines, which puts an end to all sorrows that man is heir to.
(BG 18.36)
The animal has its happiness in the senses, the man in his intellect, and the god in spiritual contemplation.
— Swami Vivekananda (CW, 1:186)
🟢 Sattvic Happiness ⬇️
It is like poison in the beginning but nectar-like at the end, and which springs from the serenity arising from the consciousness of the Àtman.
(BG 18.37)
The experience of the worldly-minded teaches us that sense-enjoyments are the highest ideal. These are tremendous temptations… to control the twofold motive powers arising from my own experience and from the experience of others, and thus prevent the Chitta [mind from being governed by them, is renunciation. These should be controlled by me, and not I by them. This sort of mental strength is called renunciation.
— Swami Vivekananda (CW, 1: 209)
🟠 Rajasic Happiness ⬇️
That pleasure is declared to be of the nature of Rajas, which is born of the union of the senses with their objects, which seems nectar-like in the beginning but turns to be poison in the end.
(BG 18.38)
All happiness which comes from the senses will, eventually, bring pain…All enjoyment will make us thirst for more, and that brings pain as its result. There is no limit to man’s desires; he goes on desiring, and when he comes to a point where desire cannot be fulfilled, the result is pain.
— Swami Vivekananda (CW, 1:243)
🔴 Tamasic Happiness ⬇️
That pleasure is of the nature of Tamas, which springs from sleepiness, sloth and heedlessness, and which is delusive in its effect on the spirit from beginning to end.
(BG 18.39)
The majority of us cannot see beyond a few years, just as some animals cannot see beyond a few steps. Just a little narrow circle — that is our world. We have not the patience to look beyond, and thus become immoral and wicked. This is our weakness, our powerlessness.
— Swami Vivekananda (CW, 1:33)