सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद्बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् | वेत्ति यत्र न चैवायं स्थितश्चलति तत्त्वतः || २१ ||
sukham ātyantikaṃ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam vetti yatra na caivāyaṃ sthitaś calati tattvataḥ
sukham—happiness; ātyantikam—supreme; yat—which; tat—that; buddhi—by intelligence; grāhyam—accessible; atīndriyam—transcendental; vetti—knows; yatra—wherein; na—never; ca—also; eva—certainly; ayam—he; sthitaḥ—situated; calati—moves; tattvataḥ—from the truth.
“Where one knows the transcendental happiness accessible to the intellect but beyond the senses — established in which, one does not move from truth —”
The happiness described here (ātyantikaṃ sukham — supreme happiness) is categorically different from sense-pleasure. It is atīndriyam — beyond the range of the senses. It is not heard, seen, touched, tasted, or smelled. But it is not inaccessible: it is graspable by a purified intellect (buddhi-grāhyam). This is the happiness of samadhi — infinite, not dependent on any external condition, and so stabilising that one 'does not move from truth.'
The happiness you are seeking through all your external pursuits — recognition, relationships, achievements — is a distorted reflection of this inner happiness. Taste it even briefly in meditation and you will understand why the sages called it the only happiness worth having.