Miscellaneous - Religion   

Purpose of human life

CHENNAI : The purpose of human birth is realised only when an individual gains spiritual knowledge, which puts an end to rebirth. Liberation is not the only fruit of spiritual quest but also attainment of mental peace and eternal joy even while living in this world. As human birth is a rare opportunity one should strive to realise this goal in this life without wasting it just in materialistic pursuits. The first step towards reorienting oneself to this objective is to develop discrimination between what is essential and what is not important in life. This enables the seeker to remain focussed when his mind is swayed by sensory attractions of the world.

In his discourse, Swami Mitrananda said only very few developed the urge to strive for liberation. Lord Krishna has stated in the Bhagavad Gita, "Hardly one among thousands of men strives to realise Me; of those striving Yogis, again, some rare one (devoting himself exclusively to Me) knows Me in reality." On the face of it this hard fact will be difficult to swallow and also depressing but this should be taken in the right spirit for it is not to dissuade a person from striving for liberation that the Lord has said this. It is to reinforce that one who develops even some interest in spiritual life must consider himself lucky enough to strive more seriously that such observations are made in scriptural texts.

Many spiritual seekers start earnestly but with so many distractions in worldly life get diverted along the line. So the determination to persist till the end is realised is very important. The example of Nachiketas described in the Katopanishad is a case in point. When Yama (the lord of death from whom he learnt spiritual knowledge) tried his best to deter him by offering power and pelf, and whatever he wanted with the consideration that he was a young boy, Nachiketas spurned all of them and wanted only that which would give him eternal joy— knowledge that liberates. It is such one-pointed passion for realising the objective that can bestow success in spiritual life. After training the mind to be discriminating, the spiritual aspirant must understand the nature of the Supreme Being.

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