5.1 Meaning of Life

The meaning of life is an enigma which remains unraveled by almost everybody. 

As with every law of existence, ignoring or ignorance of a truth is no excuse to escape its effect. We are ignorant of the truth because our focus of life mostly centers on managing the events (the means) & not the intent (the meaning). 

We are paranoid about every development in life & equally passionate about our ability to deal with them. We spend days, sometimes years, honing our skills & sharpening our intellect to meet occasionally anticipated, but mostly imagined eventualities of life. 

If we have tackled or tamed the challenges with ease & élan, we are impressed; if we missed or messed the chances, we are depressed. Ignorance of the truth makes life awesome as well as awful. Ignoring of a truth, on the other hand, produces a plethora of problems: 

In secular life, for example, we are mostly opportunity-driven & much less aptitude-driven, the reason why many are disenchanted with World.

In religious life, for example, we are mostly belief-driven & much less faith-driven, the reason why many are disappointed with God.

In spiritual life, for example, we are mostly intellect-driven & much less intuition-driven, the reason why many are disillusioned with Truth/ Self.

In short, we pay a price for every misplaced focus.

We start contemplating on the reason for our existence mostly when misery strikes us or misfortune stalks us, when life-companions desert us or life-force departs us.

The steps in decoding the meaning of life:

We need a starting-point and an analytical-tool to initiate the process.

Developments of life, about which we are exceedingly obsessed with, is perhaps the best starting point for finding the meaning of life.

The process of Negation (Neti, Neti), used in Self-Enquiry (Atma Vichara), is perhaps the best tool to find the clue to meaning of life.

Developments of Life: Objects, People & Situations are what constitute life’s developments. Correspondingly & collectively they tax our psychological, emotional & intellectual capabilities. Except in diseased, deep-sleep or post-death scenario, we can't resist their incidence & influence.

What controls them:  It is the Laws of Nature which control them. This Law, through Creative, Sustaining & Destructive forces, makes them rise, reign and recede from our life.

The parody of life is that though its developments are cyclical with the attendant frequency, intensity & longevity, yet we consider them permanent!

The comedy of life is that, being a law of nature, they are outside our control, yet we imagine that we are the lord of all that we see and survey!!

The tragedy of life is that though we fail in our endeavor in mastering them, yet we keep attempting the impossible ad nauseam!!!

Though they constitute our life, yet they are outside our control. On the other hand, how we manage their developments is within our control.

Therefore, it is not in ‘Life’s developments’, but in the ‘Management of life’s developments’, we may find the clue to meaning of life.

Management of life’s developments: We negotiate life’s developments through Action-performance (Kriya), Desire-fulfillment (Iccha) or Ignorance-mitigation (Jnana).

Every moment of life is peppered with action – some taken up volitionally, others forced by circumstances. 

Even our very query (= finding the truth behind my life) is an action. I am impelled, compelled and propelled to commit acts, not once or few times, but all through life. 

Action makes life demanding as well as devastating, exciting as well as exhausting. It ‘tries’ as well as ‘tires’ us. 

The greatest discourse (Gita) on duties-of-life & truths-of-existence took place not in the placid places-of-learning (Gurukulam), but on the fiery fields-of-action (Kurukshetra) (one of the meanings of ‘Kuru’ in Sanskrit is ‘action’, as in ‘Kshetre, Kshetre Dharmam Kuru’). Such is the importance of action in our lives.

Therefore, it is not in the ‘Management of life’s developments’, but in ‘Action-performance’, we may find the clue to meaning of life.

Every action is an outcome of desire. I want food; hence, I cook. I want money; hence, I work. I want peace; hence, I meditate. I want societal welfare; hence, I do social service. 

Thus for every action, there is a desire preceding it. We can’t resist action because desires are overwhelming. Man is mind, and mind is desires. No wonder, Buddhism reckons that desire is the root cause of miseries.

Therefore, it is not in the ‘Action’, but in ‘Desire-fulfillment’, we may find the clue to meaning of life.

As per spirituality, desire itself is an outcome of ignorance. Even in secular life, action & desires need knowledge for performance/ fulfillment. 

Hence, from womb to tomb, we are on the learning path – every aspect of life/ existence has to be unraveled. 

Some are more efficient/ endowed in getting over secular ignorance; they scale the summit of social/ professional excellence. Some are endowed/ enlightened in getting over primal ignorance; they scale the summit of spiritual existence.

Therefore, it is not in the ‘Desires’, but in ‘Knowledge’, we may find the clue to meaning of life.

The inevitable result of action-performance, desire-fulfillment and ignorance-mitigation is experience. 

Though learning is an internal process of an individual, the feed-matter for the learning (=knowledge) flows only from interface/experience with objects-of-world. Body acts to fulfill a desire & mind desires to undergo an experience. 

In fact, Macrocosmic Existence (Creation) itself is an (universal) experience of God. Microcosmic Existence (Life), on the other hand, is a (limited) experience of Individuals.

Therefore, it is not in ‘Knowledge’, but in ‘Experience’, we may find the clue to meaning of life. 

We are endowed with five Action organs (Karmendriyas), five Sense organs (Jnanendriyas) & the sixth sense, Mind (Manas), to facilitate secular experience. 

But experience is only a milestone in our life’s journey; like a highway sign-post, they convey the progress thus far, or the distance hence – but provides no clue as to the destination or destiny! 

What is important about experience is that we should learn from them, so that journey ahead is meaningful. 

But the paradox of life is that we fail to learn from life’s myriad experiences. Every such failure, especially when action-performance/ desire-fulfillment/ ignorance-mitigation is done without regard for norms/ values, invites & invokes Law of Karma. 

Remaining content with every-day experience is not the sole objective of human beings. We want to reach the summit of existence – what the scientists propose as Self-actualization, or what the Spiritualists propound as Self-Realization. 

We have the potential to scale the zenith of existence, and until then, we never remain content with what we are, or what we have, or what we know. 

This is the reason for our propensity to continuously improve our level of performance, quality of life, or understanding of world/ existence. 

This process of improvement is called Evolution. The lower order beings do not, and cannot, seek it. They face/ live life as it comes and what it brings. 

We, human beings, are uniquely positioned in the existence spectrum to seek it! Experience is one of the best means to Evolution. We can evolve through both positive & negative experiences.  

Therefore, it is not in ‘Experience’, but in ‘Evolution’, we may find the clue to meaning of life.

Righteous Efforts (Dharma), True Desire (Satya Kamam), Exalted Knowledge (Para Vidya) & Exemplary Experience (Anubhava), individually or collectively, instantaneously or progressively, helps us in evolution. Their opposite leads to regression, which relegates us in the ladders of existence.

Evolution proposed here differs from Darwinism. Darwinism is concerned with biological/ physical evolution, whereas our evolution is concerned with mental/ spiritual process. Darwinism applies to entire population, whereas ours addresses only individuals. Darwinism is concerned with developments over a few millennia or more, whereas ours is spread over a life-time or less. Darwinism takes place in passive/ involuntary mode, whereas ours takes place in active/ willful mode!

Evolution leads us to the next & last level of existence, i.e. Realization of our True Nature, which some may argue as the ultimate goal of life. 

But then, realization is a one-step & instantaneous process. ‘End’ of evolution denotes the ‘end’ of Realization as well! 

Also, Realization is not ‘begotten’ by self but ‘bestowed’ by Self (Cf. Kathopanishad: ‘This Atman cannot be attained by study of the vedas, nor by intelligence, nor by much hearing. He whom the Self chooses, by him the Self can be attained. To him this Atman reveals its true nature (Naayamaatmaa pravacanena labhyo na medhayaa na bahunaa śrutena; yamevaisha vrunute tena labhyah tasyaisaaatmaa vivrunute tanum Svaam)’). 

Evolution, thus, signifies the outer-most frontier of human efforts.

Therefore, the meaning/ goal/ thrust of life is Evolution.

How do we evolve?

Evolution means growing/ progressing, obviously to a state better than current one. Evolution can take place in two planes: 
Secular and Spiritual

Secular Evolution: It is the progress we make in the worldly plane.

It can take place at two levels: Physical & Mental.

Physical growing-up happens almost impromptu – body is geared & wired to ensure that, with minimal input from our end – well-controlled food, well-maintained health & well-availed rest; body takes care of the rest.

Mental development, on the other hand, is a wilful process & needs active input from our end. Most problems of secular life occur only because of our failure to evolve mentally.

Consequently, despite living in a borderless & boundless world, our own mind is a scary place with scanty space for our own self!

Mental evolution is developing our Psychological, Emotional & Intellectual attitude.

Psychological Evolution: By nature, our senses drag us to Objects of senses constantly. Consequently we develop an attraction, repulsion or fear (Raga, Dvesha, Bhaya) for them. 

So long as the Psychological mind has a free run/ reign, we remain prisoners of world (Wealth/ Wine/ Women, for example). Our life is a grade/ shade better than animals as our behaviour is instinct-driven & not intellect-driven.

Psychological evolution involves developing a dispassion for objects – its possession & enjoyment. 

It is the attitude of disinterested ownership and detached enjoyership. 

It is a state where attractive objects, alluring people, or appealing situations do not disturb or destroy us. 

Emotional Evolution: Most of life’s problem centers on our inability to tackle relationships with family/ friends, peers/ bosses, neighbors/ society. 

We not only refuse to accept the real problem (i.e. our emotional immaturity), but also superimpose an imaginary problem (i.e. world is out to harass me). 

We are emotion-driven & not evolution-driven. Emotional immaturity makes us regress.

Emotional evolution is developing:

 Love for self: Love for self is a conviction that, ‘I am a child of the universe, no less than others’. We love ourselves despite our draw-backs & past-baggages. If I can’t command my own love, how can I demand that of others’? (cf. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (BU): It is not for the sake of all, that all is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved)! 
Compassion for others (Dayatvam): Compassion means deference to the feelings & consideration for the well-being of fellow-beings.

 Equanimity of mind (Samchitatvam): Every individual is a bundle of emotions. They are expressed mostly out-of-sync with the demands of the situation, the reason why we end up with hurt-feelings or ruined-relationships.

Raw emotion (Anger, Pride …) is easy to express, but carries maximum hurt-potential. Their refined version (understanding, accommodation, fairness, cooperation, affability, enthusiasm, humility …) is difficult to cultivate, but packs maximum feel-good punch. 

Cultivation of positive emotions needs conscious efforts and involves an outright overhaul of intellectual conditioning & sub-consious programming. 

Once sub-conscious is saturated with positive feelings & intellect is sharpened to judge difficult-people or disastrous-situations, flow of emotions is commensurate with the occasion. 

It means not being disturbed by the passing phases of life. It also means glad acceptance of life and its taunts & turmoils. 

It is a state where neither an advantage nor an adversity, neither a win nor a failure, neither a delightful nor a distressful situation produces any remorse or remonstration in us. 

Intellectual Evolution: This is probably the only aspect of life in which we are universally & uniformly initiated, through education. The problem, however, is that education can make us intelligent, but not necessarily wise; it can make us logic-driven, but not necessarily values-driven.

Developing wisdom is Intellectual evolution. It is the blend of intelligence & experience. Consequently a lady-of-the-house or a man-on-the-street is sometimes many notches wiser than a man-of-many-letters.

The ultimate purpose of mental development is:

   Putting in efforts to change what we can/ should

  Accepting gracefully what we couldn’t achieve, or can’t   attain

   Having the wisdom to know the difference

Efforts (Prayatna) are for planning a work and working the plan. Our vision & mission reflects in every approach to managing life’s developments.

Graceful acceptance (Prasada Buddhi) is for developing a philosophical attitude to life’s fortunate as well as fortuitous happenings:

instead of wailing ‘why me’, we accept them with a ‘why not me’;

instead of howling ‘what’, we dismiss them with a ‘so what’.

Developing wisdom (Vivekam) is for knowing when to gear up and when to give up.

Through mental evolution, we develop a broader/ balanced view of life.

Spiritual Evolution:

Spiritual evolution is developing an understanding of our True Nature or the Truth of Existence. 

Unlike secular evolution, where we have guides & guidance to point & pilot our progress, spiritual evolution is like walking on a razor (Cf. Kathopanishad: ‘Learned ones say that the path of spiritual life is difficult; it is sharp like a razor’s edge (Kshurasya dhara nisita duratyaya; durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti)). Hence, only the resourceful ones attempt it & the resolute ones attain it.  

An aspirant passes through a multi-step, multi-stage evolutionary process:

·    In the early stages of evolution, World is considered a certainty, & God, a probability. ‘I’ is immersed in secular pursuits.

·      In the next stages of evolution, World is considered a myth, & God, a possibility. ‘I’ redefines its relationship with apparent World & real God.

·      In the highest stages of evolution, God is considered as the only reality. ‘I’ is considered not different from God.

Pre-requisites for Evolution:

·       Efforts (Prayatna) in the form of Skill (Kriya Shakthi)/ Will (Iccha Shakthi)/ Knowledge (Jnana Shakthi).

·    Grace (Anugraha) in the form of blessings of Scriptures (Shastra Krupa), Teacher (Guru Krupa) & Divine (Deva Krupa)!

·      Faith (Shraddha) in the form of unshaken confidence in a higher Principle & total acceptance of its supremacy over us, our actions & our lives. Faith makes the surrender to the higher Principle (Ishwarpranidhanam) effortless and the flow of Grace from the higher Principle (Ishwar Kripa) seamless.

In summary,

·  The query on meaning of life conveys an elementary & enigmatic fact that, as the authors of our lives:

   
      It is we who have the responsibility for the life-flow            within & around us.

   
      It is we who have to develop an exact understanding of       the meaning of life.

   
      It is we who have to live an exalted life as per its tenets       through righteous Efforts, Faith & Grace.

·  Action is a pre-requisite to experience, and Experience is a prelude to Evolution. Hence, if action is performed on the basis of Dharma, evolution is guaranteed.

·  Evolution is the purpose and meaning of life.

·  
   Secular evolution takes us to the peak of living;

 Spiritual evolution takes us to the pinnacle of life.