Miscellaneous - Religion   

Life is a journey

CHENNAI: Life is perceived and interpreted differently (riddle, mystery or opportunity) according to each individual’s faith, beliefs, intellectual attainments, preferences, and so on. When probing the definition of life, it is interesting to note that though one tends to think predominantly in terms of human life, in actuality, life pervades all aspects of creation. This enquiry into the nature and value of life with the aim of exploring its meaning and purpose is the most worthwhile pursuit of any individual, said Sri Tridandi Sriman Narayana Chinna Jeeyar Swami in a discourse. Such a meaningful exercise leads to an awareness of the truth that life is the journey of a soul through a body and the purpose of human life is to seek salvation.

According to the Upanishads, it is the Supreme Being who is responsible for the creation of the entire universe and of the different forms of life in it. The Taitriya Upanishad states that few beings appear as if they have form while some appear to be formless; some are animate and some inanimate. Many more are unseen and have no names in human terms. In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says that His divine Sankalpa allows the soul to pass through the body through its many births. When the soul migrates from one body to another, the subtle body (the senses and the mind) accompanies it through cosmic existence as the wind carries with it the aroma of fragrance.

The divine force of the Lord also accompanies the soul in its path to support all beings. He enters the earth to nourish herbs, plants, etc., and He becomes the fire of life in the bodies of all living creatures. The life existing in any kind of body, human, animal, bird, insect, plant or even a stone, is the manifestation of the Lord; hence it is the Lord’s power that gives these their particular name, form, texture and function.

Life is the period of the journey of the soul when it dwells in a particular embodied form. Just as a car journey entails the driver to master the rules of the road so that the pathway (with unexpected hurdles) can be carefully negotiated, an individual has to cross life’s journey (a mix of joy and sorrow) with care without forgetting the goal of the journey, Moksha.

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