What Is the Goal of Life?

What is goal of life or way of life? How does life unfold?

Today’s consumerist world is making us think that maximising pleasure and minimizing pain is the purpose of life. This is because sellers have come out with so many products meant for this, and they have to promote these.

But when you hear and read only these for a long time, without knowing, you would start thinking that this is what life is — get pleasure, get rid of pain — in a limited sensory and physical sense.

I am just glancing through this newspaper:

• An insurance ad – how to make your retired life secure.

• A calcium tablet – every woman above 30 should chew this every day to remain healthy.

• Travel agency – go to Australia with them, to enjoy.

• Mutual fund – sahi hai – secure your future.

• Food mela – taste different kinds of delicacies.

• Assured gift if you buy medicines from a certain pharmacy.

• A car that can change your status.

• There is also someone selling knowledge – an admission in a university abroad.

Now, the media giants know, even more than you, what you are interested in. They know what your weaknesses are. When you keep on seeing these perpetually, you end up thinking that this is what life is all about:

Enjoying in a weekend resort, buying designer clothes, relishing a delicacy, buying the best car, flying business class, having your home in an exclusive apartment complex, securing your retirement with insurance policies and mutual funds, nutritional supplements for health, a bed that can give you peaceful sleep.

This is not the way of life in Sanatana Dharma.

In Sanatana Dharma, the emphasis is on gaining knowledge — evolving. Sanatana Dharma time and again warns not to get trapped in the pursuit of sensory pleasure.

Both pleasure and pain are equally good teachers.
Both good and evil are good teachers.

We mostly see that people with a defence background — army, navy, airforce — they are strong, both physically and mentally. Where does this come from? From the tough situations they face in life.

If they live in a protected environment where you crib for every minor discomfort, then they will also be like any other person. Tough situations, if and as and when they come in your life, are not to run away from. Face them — you will emerge stronger.

And what is your character? It is the sum total of impressions that the incidents in your life leave behind with you. If you have always lived in a protective environment, it is absolutely certain that you will be a weakling.

Someone will have a balanced character only if he or she has faced both good and bad in life — not otherwise.

Your strengths — you will discover — they are already within you. You only have to identify them and make them active.

It is like a SIM card. All functions are already programmed into it. Then, your service provider sends a signal to it, and it becomes active.

This is what our life experiences also do. They activate strengths within you, characteristics within you, and make you evolve into a stronger person, better person.

This, your pursuit of pleasure can never do for you. Indiscriminate pursuit of pleasure can only spoil your mind and body.

This is what our scriptures teach us.

The purpose of life, goal of life, way of life — should be to gain knowledge and thus evolve with knowledge.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi