Blog

The above title pre-supposes that we know about the goal of human life and that we have consciously set about achieving it. If we ask a large segment of people as to what their goal of life is, their answers will be a shocking discovery. Majority of the people are living aimlessly. They have no specific goal or purpose for their lives, least of all a spiritual one. People are mostly guided by their gross desires of eating, drinking and merry making (‘khana, peena aur bhogna’), and appeasement of their inflated egos, thinking that they are fulfilling life’s purpose.

This blog intends to:-

• Emphasise the need for a goal.
• Goal setting.
• Introspection, to see whether we are moving to fulfill life’s goal.

NEED FOR A GOAL OF LIFE

“A man rushed out of a big hotel and jumped into a taxi. He ordered the driver to start moving. As they moved out onto the main road he asked the driver to go faster and faster. Fully engrossed in the thrill of the ride, the man asked the driver to turn left and right at random. After going round and round in circles all over the town, the driver asked him as to where he wanted to go. The man said that he didn’t know, he just wanted to keep moving, enjoy the ride and the scenery around him. The driver dropped him back at his hotel and told him that when he came out the next time, he should be clear about his destination and purpose”.

Many people feel that just moving along means that you are making progress and getting closer to achieving your objective. In this example it is amply clear that rushing around here and there will not take us anywhere unless we have a purpose to fulfill, and a destination to reach.

GOAL SETTING

From the above importance of setting a well defined goal for our lives, is evident. Let us look at another scenario.

Imagine a game of football where there are NO goal posts on the football field, and two teams are kicking the ball here and there. Since there is no definite goal, they can play on endless without achieving anything. Suppose there are mutiple goal posts around the field; the players will not know which one is the real goal post, and which ones will make them go round and round in circles, without achieving the desired results. An experienced coach can guide his players to the right goal post for scoring and fulfilling the game’s purpose.

Life is very much like the game of football mentioned above. If we run around without knowing our goal, or are confused by seeing too many worldly goals around us, we will not achieve the life’s real purpose. It is when we meet our Mentor (our realized  Satguru), who like the experienced coach shows us the real goal for our life. We then start living a meaningfuliy.

Satguru’s charisma attracts us to him and binds us. He imparts spiritual knowledge and transforms our lives. For the first time we come to know that the purpose of a human beings life is TO REALISE GOD. This realisation is not possible without Guru’s guidance and God’s Grace (‘Kripa’).

It’s not that everyone is living aimlessly. Their aims are worldly and very varied, ranging from fulfilling their heart’s desires for happiness, prosperity, wealth, and working for earning name and fame. Many people aim to raise a family and bring laurels to their forefathers. Very few, if any, have God realisation as their aim of life from the very beginning.  Some quote the Scriptures and argue that even our sages have written that a man’s endeavors should be four fold in the given order: dharm, arth, kaam, moksha, (ie, fulfill his designated duties, earn wealth, fulfill desires to seek happiness, and lastly seek salvation or God realisation ). Such arguments are misleading. Spiritual seekers should not be led astray by such ill informed persons.

Things that stand out clearly are:-

(a) All beings are seeking to be happy in life. Happiness they feel, lies in fulfilling their desires (mere man ki ho), acquiring wealth and appeasing sense organs. Therefore, these are the most sought after goals in the lives of most people.

(b) Our aims in life are changing according to the stage we are in, and according to our  needs.  From educational aims in childhood, to job seeking, getting married and raising a family, social recognition in adult life. In old age, we are desiring security both financially and socially.

(c) Our aims also keep changing all the time depending on our environment and the company we are keeping, eg, if we are in the company of Sat Guru or other like minded sadhaks, all our worldly aims will disappear. The famous psychologist Maslow in his hierarchy of needs has pointed out that a man’s lower needs have to be fulfilled before he starts delving in higher needs. As stated by him, man first gives priority to his physiological needs (physical needs), then social needs, psychological needs (including recognition & security), and then comes self acctualisation (ie, doing his duties without motives and turning towards a higher goal of spiritualism).

(d) For most people, God realisation is last in the list of priorities, ie, when they find that everything else has been taken care of or when their capabilities are failing, they shift their attention towards God.

MEETING WITH THE MENTOR

Left to ourselves we will never be able to rise above the mundane physical level, and animal instincts. Our mind deluded by our desires and ego can never break the shackles that bind us to the lower levels of our needs. It is only when we meet Sat Guru (our realized Mentor), that he corrects our priorities. Through constant grinding Sat Guru drums it into our heads that we are born to realise God and become free of worldly bondages. It is very clear that for a ‘Sadhak’ (Spiritual Seeker) there is one and only one goal for his life – TO REALISE GOD.

Are We Moving Towards Fulfillment of Life’s Goal

The question whether we are moving forward for the fulfillment of our life’s goal has to be answered by the ‘Sadhak’ himself. He should carry out a daily introspection and answer some or all of the following questions truthfully. These questions will focus the sadhak’s mind on issues that he may not have paid attention to. This will help him to draw up a road-map to follow for his spiritual practice in future.

Inquiry for introspection should include:-

(a) Do I have enough faith in spirituality, devotion and determination in my heart to move forward towards the goal relentlessly for a sustained period of time.  Because of our social conditioning, in the beginning, a  surpisingly large number if sadhaks are skeptical.

(b) Do I have faith in Sat Guru, and have I developed love for Him, so that I can remain bound to Him till my goal has been reached.

(c) Do I look forward to the daily Satsang by my Guru, or by others on his behalf, or do the worldly distractions appeal to me more. Ask yourself honestly – ‘What is calling me?’ Is my heart pulling me towards God or towards the world.

(d) How much time am I devoting for my spiritual practices such as satsang, naam jap, reading scriptures, ‘sewa’ (service for the benefit of others), etc.

(e) Do I consider the above activities as the most valuable part of my life. Therefore, am I putting untiring efforts towards it.

(f) Have I noticed the following changes in my thoughts, feelings and attitude :-

• Has my attachment and attraction towards material things has reduced.
• Do I look towards hoarding (‘sangrah’), for securing my future, or do I have faith in God to provide for me at all times.
• Am I attracted to money and objects of sensual pleasure.
• Am I overly attached to people (‘moh’), beyond the normal call of duty.
• Can I tolerate adverse conditions and situations (‘sahansheelta’).
• Can I control my passions, such as anger, resentment and greed.
• Do I feel the urge for boosting my ego, name and fame, and seek praise.
• Do I have compassion for others, particularly those who are needy.
• Do I have forgiveness and charity in my heart.

(g) Do I like to remain alone and silent and contemplate on God. Do I like to be with myself or am I seeking company of someone or the other all the time.

(h) Am I over reacting (‘pratikriya’) to situations and words/actions of people, and if so, how long does it take for me to regain control.

(i) Have I reached a state of equanimity during my practices.

(j) Have I accepted the Will of God, and surrendered completely to Him.

(k) Have I developed an attitude of gratitude for all that God has given me.

(l) Do I feel the presence of God everywhere and in everyone. According to the Gita, this is the highest level of achievement for a sadhak (Gita Ch 7 Ver 19).

(m) Am I afraid of vices and doing wrong, because God is watching.

(n) My highest ideal is to develop love for God, have I been able to get closer to this objective. Sat Guru Bhagwan says, “Secret of all Secrets is to develop LOVE FOR GOD”.

There can be a number of more questions that a ‘sadhak’ can ask during his self enquiry. The more he introspects the more clearly he will see his future course of action.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion it is reiterated that through Guru’s guidance and God’s Grace we come to understand the Goal of human life. It is one and one only, ie, “God Realisation”. In the material world, we are so busy and stressed in our daily lives, that we cannot see beyond our nose. We lose sight of the real Goal, and get engrossed with me and mine, and in the daily needs of food, shelter, security, and pleasure.

Sat Guru has enlightened us by saying that, as we move towards our Goal we will get more and more influenced by the qualities associated with God ‘Sat, Chid, Anand’ (Truth, Knowledge and consciousness, and Bliss). The surest way to check our progress on the spiritual path is to see God everywhere, to see how Blissful we are feeling, and how much unattached we are feeling from the world with the assurance that everything is in God’s Hand.