It’s kind of strange…this life of ours! One moment everything is just so fine and with the snap of a finger…the world is turned upside down for some….
Guess most of the people will agree with this statement of mine considering the tsunami has just left shattering the dreams and aspirations of millions worldwide.
Such things happening leave me wondering as to what is it that we are living for? What is it that we really want? What is it that keeps us going? What is the purpose of life?
A friend of mine asked me not long ago-“why do you think you are born? What is it that you accomplish in life? What is the purpose of your life?”
Giving a very politically correct answer I said all the nice things I could think of…. being loved, being taken care of, leading a comfortable life…. -these are a few things that we want out of our life!! But when a question is asked and if ever you think that it is not up to the mark, you give the reply as well!!! And so did I get a reply from this friend of mine-“the purpose of life is to end. Happiness is what we want; it’s not the purpose!! Keep thinking. Good night”. But how was I to sleep? When he had left me with so many questions still lingering around? This small question and answer round has left me wondering whether the purpose of life is to end, only?
Seriously when nothing seems to go right for us, when we cannot find even a single spark of happiness in life does that mean that purpose of our life is defeated? Does it mean that there is nothing else left for us to do?
But at the same time when everything seems to fall in place, everything seems to go just the way it is supposed to, can we make ourselves realize that the purpose of life is to end…all these things are meaningless!! Does it mean that we have to make ourselves understand that happiness is just momentary….finding happiness and peace cannot be made the purpose of life!!
What is the purpose of life…I ask with all honesty and seriousness!! I haven’t been able to either justify my reply or my friends!! It feels like all I am doing is go round and round the circle but haven’t found the center yet!! Keep thinking…I still am…
5 comments:
ur always tryin to b politically correct..
now instead of lookin g for the meanin this way do somethig constructive..u'll feel mucch better..
jus tell me, if an infant unfortunately meets his end soon after birth..wud u say tht his lifez purpose has been achieved?
Purpose of life... ummm... i don't really know, but yes certainly it is to live... Living does not mean, earning money, eating food.. haiving a family, it means something above that. All this that i have just mentioned r the signs of existence. We have to live, not only exist.
Probably u have been disturbed by the Tsunami, but think of those who lost their loved ones on that day. Even for them life does not stop. As i read somewhere, this quote by Robert Frost "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on". You have been disturbed by the Tsunami, but have u ever thought of Kashmir. This wasr has been there 50 yrs now, still people r losing lives everyday. Again life goes on.... Think about it...
Thanks anonymous. This one simple question is powerful enough to save one from commiting suicide. Atleast he will reevaluate his decission.
Purpose of life?
This is one question has tormented me more that anything else. Searching for the answer, I went through a series of adventures, frustrations, hardships, failures, excitements and shames..
The reality is that only a few people in this world dare to ask this question. And when I seek comforts in life, I too fear this question. But something in me keeps pricking. It pinches me with the same question, again and again. When no one and nothing gives me solace, I turn to God and there I find hope -- as if an oasis in a desert.
If happiness is what we all want, may be happiness of SOMEONE is the purpose of our existence!!
Who can be that some one? Can he be I my self? Can he be you? Or can he be some mortal like us? Why should someone imagine himself as the central purpose of everyone's existence?
But among all of us, there is one special person. He is the one who never deserts us. He is the one who takes care of us, who fulfils our needs, and gives us the intelligence to fulfill our desires. Not a single day passes when he forgets to arrange for our food. The unknown friend.. May be He is the one we all are searching for, but searching for Him at a wrong place, in a wrong way.
Is He God?
Is to give Him pleasure that we all exist? Are we longing for that happiness which would come by pleasing our eternal friend?
My happiness is what I want for MYSELF, and I am momentarily excited when it somehow comes to me. Is it He who is arranging for us those moments of happiness? If happiness is what we all want, may be His happiness is the purpose of our existence!!
When I face this world, I feel like an orphan, about whom no one cares. But what did I do that I have got such loving parents? When I see a helpless child, I don't get those affectionate feelings naturally. Why did my parents have so much of affection for me? Is it because, He induced those feelings of affection for me in my parents?
In my voyage to where I stand now, almost nothing came easy; I had to fail 10 times to succeed once. But who taught me how to suck my mother’s breast? Who taught me how to attract my mother's attention to say "mother, I am hungry"? I was just a helpless child….. Who taught me how to cry? And what did I ever do to all around me that they should care about me? I was just a helpless child…..Was it He who taught me when I was a helpless child?
If I reflect back in to the pages of my life, I find that it is He who never deserted me. But how ungrateful was I, how rarely did I cared for Him.
Happiness is what I want for myself. Is it He who is arranging that for me? Why is He doing such favors to me? Is it because He loves me? Is it because He keeps thinking about my happiness? Is it because he is unable to see my suffering?
But at times He gives me distress too? Why? Is it because He wants His love to be reciprocated? Is it because he wants us to turn back to Him?
Please forgive me, O my Lord, I remember you only when I am in distress, but you never forget about my happiness. Even in that distress, when I remember you, you shower upon me those feelings of your loving kindness -- for which I am longing, as a traveler in a desert longs for water. Put me to hell, if you will, O my Lord, but while I suffer give me the remembrance of all those favors which you have done to me. Give me the remembrance of your loving kindness, and I will be able to pass any test that you give me.
Will that day ever come when I will play with you? Will that day ever come when we will shed tears together? If I ever become so fortunate, give me a chance to play with you, sing with you, fight with you, eat with you, have fun with you and LOVE you. Will that day ever come, when I will really love you? O my Lord, let pleasing you, and seeing you happy with me be the purpose of my existence, eternally!!
Dear Vatsala,
I find it difficult to believe that the purpose of our life is to end it all. If that was the purpose, why did we take birth at the first place? I also find it difficult to believe that our life can ever come to an end. From childhood, to youth, to old-age, we remain the same person. It is only the body which is changing every moment. New cells are generating every moment and at the same time the old ones are degenerating. When was it that we (the proprietor of our bodies) take birth, or when do we ever die? The body is always dead. It is only we, the living force, make the dead body look alive. So I find it difficult to believe that our life can ever come to an end. Then the only solution I am left out with is that we have to live – but a life of loving reciprocations with someone special. That is my utopian dream.
We love to live when we live to love!!
If happiness is what we want, then is it His happiness which is the purpose of our existence?
Keep posting, I love your posts.
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