In the Taittiriya Upanishad we are told that 1 unit of human joy is that enjoyed by a young person described as being in the prime of life, fit and healthy, possessed of strong mental faculties, amazingly good looking and incredibly well read, spiritually disciplined and ethical, and in possession of untold wealth (not exactly the person next door). Try to imagine the effort that would be required to have untold wealth and untold wisdom. Imagine the effort required to live a highly ethical and spiritual life. It can take a whole lifetime – by which time we will have lost our youthful vigour. The other person, however, who enjoys the same level of joy is ‘a follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire’ (which can be anyone who makes the effort).

100 times that unit of human joy is one unit of the joy of a being called a Man Gandharva in a higher loka [realm]. In this embodiment as a celestial musician there will only be the experience of subtle enjoyment and no pain. To attain this loka one needs to have accumulated a huge amount of punya [merit] from leading a value-driven and prayerful life. The other person, however, who enjoys 100 times the unit of human joy is the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times that unit of the joy of the Man Gandharva is one unit of the joy of a higher celestial being called a Divine Gandharva in an even higher loka. (To attain this loka one needs to have accumulated even more punya from leading a value-driven and even more prayerful life). The other person, however, who enjoys 100 times the unit of Man Gandharva joy is the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times that unit of the joy of the Divine Gandharva is one unit of the joy of the higher celestial beings called the pitṛs (personal ancestors as well as the progenitors of mankind) in a higher loka. (To attain this loka one needs to have accumulated a huge amount of punya from leading a highly value-driven and intensely prayerful life). The other person, however, who enjoys 100 times the unit of Divine Gandharva joy is the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

Thus the pattern continues…

100 times the joy of the pitṛs is that of those born as gods in heaven. AND the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times that is the unit of joy enjoyed by those born as gods called Karma Devas (those who reach the gods through Vedic sacrifice). AND the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times that is the unit of joy enjoyed by Indra, the king of the gods. AND the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times Indra’s joy is the unit of joy enjoyed by Bṛhaspati, the preceptor of the gods. AND the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times that is the unit of joy enjoyed by Virāṭ (cosmic gross body). AND the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

100 times that is the unit of joy enjoyed by Hiraṇyyagarbha (cosmic subtle body). AND the follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire.

So if you keep multiplying the one unity of human joy by 100 till you get to the joy of Hiraṇyyagarbha, you end up with that enormous figure – 1 followed by 20 zeros!! Unimaginable.

The point being made is that you can reach that enormous level of enjoyment by righteous living, sacrifice, worship, prayer – imagine the enormous amounts of discipline, discrimination, detachment and austerity that would be involved to get to such a high loka!!! The average person has barely enough discipline to follow simple injunction like not eating meat, let alone the austerity involved to get to that highest heaven! Simple yoga once a week and the practice of distracted meditation twice a day is not going to deliver it!

BUT…

Every person can be ‘a follower of the Vedas, unaffected by desire’. That’s the good news. That’s how to become very, very, very happy!