The Reality and Truth of Life on Earth

Discontent is seen on the face of everyone. No one seems to be happy and joyous, even if he has all the desired objects of the world. But the day comes when one awakens to the reality that searching in the external world is in vain, that only the search within is rewarding and satisfying. Then, one begins following the path of the inward journey. 

The Bhagavad Gita says that when the individual self finds delight and joy in the Self, that is the highest if all joys. It is called love without an object, meditation without form, love without desire, and meditation without an obstacle. That is sattva-endowed joy. Such joy is born only after the serenity of Self-Knowledge is attained. All the pleasures experienced by the senses is but momentary, and it is also the source of pain. But the profound joy that is attained by Self-Realisation is permanent and everlasting, for the Self knows no pain, no misery, and no worry.

The joy experienced by rajas-endowed people arises from the contact of the senses with the objects of the world. It is relished like nectar in the beginning, but it is like poison in the end. Tamasic pleasure deludes the human mind in both the beginning and the end. It springs from the ignorance of sleep, laziness, and negligence.  

Source: pgs. 446-447, Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Rama