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In this material world, everyone is trying to search out happiness and get relief from misery. There are three kinds of miseries caused by our material condition: adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. 

Adhyatmika miseries are those caused by the body and mind themselves. For example, when there is some dis-arrangement of the different functions of metabolism within the body, we get a fever or some pain. Another kind of adhyatmika misery is caused by the mind. Suppose I lose someone who is dear to me. Then my mind will be disturbed. This is also suffering. So diseases of the body or mental disturbances are adhyatmika miseries.

Then there are adhibhautika miseries, sufferings caused by other living entities. For example, human beings are sending millions of poor animals to the slaughterhouse daily. The animals cannot express themselves, but they are undergoing great suffering. And we also suffer miseries caused by other living entities.

Finally, there are adhidaivika miseries, those caused by higher authorities such as the demigods. There may be famine, earthquake, flood, pestilence -- so many things. These are adhidaivika sufferings.

So we are always suffering one or more of these miseries. This material nature is constituted in such a way that we have to suffer; it is God's law. And we are trying to relieve the suffering by patchwork remedies. Everyone is trying to get relief from suffering; that is a fact. The whole struggle for existence is aimed at getting out of suffering.

There are various kinds of remedies that we use to try to relieve our suffering. One remedy is offered by the modern scientists, one by the philosophers, another by the atheists, another by the theists, another by the fruitive workers. There are so many ideas. But according to the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, you can get free of all your sufferings if you simply change your consciousness to Krishna consciousness.

So, you should try to love Krishna, and you will see how much you are satisfied. There is no other way to become fully satisfied. Earning great amounts of money will never give you satisfaction. I once knew a gentleman in Calcutta who was earning six thousand dollars a month. He committed suicide. Why? That money could not give him satisfaction. He was trying to have something else.

So my humble request to you all is that you try to understand this sublime benediction of life, Krishna consciousness. Simply by chanting Hare Krishna you will gradually develop a transcendental loving attitude for Krishna, and as soon as you begin to love Krishna, all your troubles will be eradicated and you will feel complete satisfaction.

An excerpt from the book `Journey of Self-Discovery' authored by Srila Prabhupada