Maybe not the ultimate answer, but something to grasp on:

1. Introduction to the purpose of life

Every now and again, we hear the clichéd question, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ or ‘What is the purpose of life?’ or ‘Why are we born?’. In most cases, we have our own agenda on what our purpose in life is. However from a spiritual perspective, there are two generic reasons why we are born. These reasons define the purpose of our lives at the most basic level.  They are:

• To complete the give-and-take account we have with various people.
• To make spiritual progress with the final aim of merging into God and therefore getting out of the cycle of birth and death.

2. Completing our give-and-take account

Over many lifetimes, we accumulate many give-and-take accounts that are a direct result of our deeds and actions. The accounts may be positive or negative depending on the positive or negative nature of our actions. As a rule of thumb, in the current era approximately 65% of our lives are destined (not within our control) and 35% of our lives are governed by our own freewill. All major events in our life are by and large destined. These events include our birth, the family we are born into, the person (or persons) we marry, the children we have, serious illnesses and the time of our death. The happiness and pain that we give and receive from loved ones and acquaintances are by and large simply a case of prior give-and-take accounts directing the way relationships unravel and play out.

 

However even our destiny in the current lifetime is just a fraction of the accumulated give-and take account that we amass over many lifetimes.

In our lifetime, while we do complete our give-and-take account and destiny earmarked for this particular lifetime of ours, we also end up creating more accounts by using our wilful action. This in turn finally adds up to our overall give-and-take account known as the accumulated account. As a result, we have to be born again to settle further give-and-take accounts and are stuck in the cycle of birth and death.

Refer to the article on, ‘Liberation from the cycle of birth and death (Moksha)’ as it explains how we get stuck in the cycle of birth and death.

 

3. Making spiritual progress

Samashti spiritual level refers to the spiritual level attained through spiritual practice for the sake of society (samashti sādhanā), while vyashti spiritual practice refers to the spiritual level attained through individual spiritual practice (vyashti sādhanā). In the current times, spiritual progress for the sake of society has 70% importance while individual spiritual practice has 30% importance.

The ultimate in spiritual development in any Spiritual path is merging with God. ‘Merging with God’ means experiencing God within us and all around us and not identifying with our five senses, mind and intellect. This happens at the 100% spiritual level. Most people in today’s world are at the 20-25% spiritual level and are disinclined to any spiritual practice for spiritual development. They also heavily identify with their 5 senses, mind and intellect. This is reflected in our lives when we focus mainly on our looks or are arrogant about our intelligence or success.

By spiritual practice when we grow to the spiritual level of 60% ( samashṭi) or 70% (vyashṭi), we are liberated from the cycle of birth and death. After this spiritual level, we can settle whatever remaining give-and-take accounts we have from the higher subtle realms of Maharlok and above. Sometimes however, people above the 60% (samashti) or 70% (vyashti) spiritual level may choose to be born on Earth to guide humanity in Spirituality.

 

 

Spiritual development is only possible through spiritual practice which conforms to the six basic principles of spiritual practice. Spiritual paths that do not conform to the six basic principles of spiritual practice lead to stagnation in an individual’s spiritual development.

Refer to the article on The importance of the earth plane in being able to do spiritual practice compared to other spiritual realms such as heaven and hell.

 

4. What does this mean in terms of our life goals?

Most of us have our own life goals. They may include becoming a doctor, being rich and famous or representing one’s country in a certain field. Whatever the goal is for the vast majority of us, more often than not, it is predominantly a worldly one. Our entire education system is set up to help us pursue these worldly goals. As parents too, we instill the same worldly purpose in our children by encouraging them to study and enter professions that give them more benefits monetarily as compared with one’s own profession.

One may ask, “How does having these worldly goals reconcile with the spiritual purpose of life and the reason for our birth on Earth?”

The answer is quite simple. We strive for worldly goals primarily to achieve satisfaction and happiness. The pursuit of the elusive ‘superlative and lasting happiness’ is intrinsically what drives all our actions. However even after we accomplish our worldly goals, the resultant happiness and satisfaction is short lived, we then search for the next dream to chase.

‘Superlative and lasting happiness’ can only be attained through spiritual practice which conforms to the six basic principles of spiritual practice. The highest form of happiness which is Bliss (Ānand) is an aspect of God. When we merge into Him we too experience perpetual Bliss.

This does not mean that we have to give up what we are doing and just focus on spiritual practice. What it does mean is that only by introducing spiritual practice in conjunction with worldly life are we likely to experience superlative and lasting happiness. The benefits of spiritual practice have been discussed in detail in our section on ‘Spiritual research for lasting happiness’.

In short, the more our life goals are in line with the intent of spiritual development, the more rich our lives become and the less pain we experience from life. The following is an example of how our perspective in life changes as we develop and mature spiritually.

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5. Example of how a worldly life can work with spiritual goals

In SSRF, we have a number of volunteers, who serve God by offering their time and work experience. For example:

• One of our members is an IT consultant and looks after the technical aspects of the website during his free time.
• One of the members of the editorial team is a psychiatrist and helps in checking the information being uploaded from a medical and spiritual standpoint.
• Another member of SSRF travels to different countries on work. She uses her free time to tell other like-minded organisations in that country about the website.
• A housewife helps to prepare refreshments for spiritual gatherings.

Members of SSRF have seen a quantum positive change in their lives when they sprinkle Spirituality throughout their lives. One of the key differences is an increase in happiness and a reduction in sadness. Even when SSRF members encounter a situation that should be painful or traumatic, they have experienced being shielded from the pain.

 

6. What is wrong with being born again and again?

Sometimes people think, “What is wrong in being born again and again?”

As we go deeper into Kaliyug (the Era of Strife), the current era of the Universe, life will be mostly riddled with problems and pain. Spiritual research has shown that worldwide, the average human being is happy only 30% of the time while 40% of the time he is unhappy. The remaining 30% of the time a person is in a neutral state where he does not experience happiness or unhappiness. For example, when one is walking on the road or doing some mundane task etc. and not having happy or unhappy thoughts.

The primary reason for this is because most people are at a lower spiritual level. Therefore our decisions and actions quite often give others pain or end up increasing the Raja and Tama in the environment. As a result, we end up accumulating negative karma or give-and-take accounts. Therefore for most of humanity our subsequent births will be more painful than our current.

While the world has made giant steps in economic, scientific and technical progress, we are poorer than previous generations in terms of happiness which is our most basic objective in life.

Given that all of us want happiness; rebirth and future lives will not give us the superlative and lasting happiness we desire. Only spiritual evolvement and merging into God will provide us with sustainable and lasting happiness.

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Now some info how we can prevent the intensity of Armageddon:

Basic principles of spiritual practice

How can we ensure rapid spiritual progress towards achieving Bliss?

Rapid spiritual progress can be achieved when we do spiritual practice according to the basic principles of Spirituality. Even though there are many different types of spiritual practice, whether our spiritual practice adheres to the basic principles of Spirituality is a true litmus test for its effectiveness. If not, we run the risk of putting in a lot of effort but not seeing the results that match that effort.

The six basic principles of spiritual practice are:

1. There are as many paths to God as there are people

 

 

 

When undertaking spiritual practice it is important to bear in mind that each individual is different and so what works for one person may not work for another. When climbing a mountain each climber thinks his way is the only way. But when he reaches the top of the mountain, he realizes that there were an infinite number of ways that could have taken him to the top. Likewise there are as many paths to God as there are people.

If five patients were to go to a doctor and each was suffering from a different ailment, then giving all five the same medicine would not result in each of them being cured. So also each of us are different and hence the same spiritual practice cannot be recommended for all. In a spiritual context each of us is unique across the following parameters.

2. Go from many to one

The impact of our efforts is much more powerful when we concentrate our efforts on the one, instead of the many.

Which is more effective?

• Digging one well to access water which is 10 meters deep or digging 10 wells of 1 meter each.

• Accruing frequent flyer miles from various airlines or sticking to just one airline.

The following is how this principle works depending on the various generic paths to God.

Path of Action (Karmayoga): In the initial stage, a seeker gives alms to several beggars. In the next stage, he focuses his efforts on a single cause such as a donation to a school or a hospital.

Path of Knowledge (Dnyānyoga): After studying various spiritual texts from new age philosophy to religious texts, a seeker finally turns to a single one that has the most percentage of spiritual truth in it.

Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga): A seeker progresses from worship of several Deities to that of one, goes to one place of pilgrimage rather than to many, reads one book of Holy verses rather than many.

Path of Chanting the Name of God (Namsankirtanyoga): Here, the seeker chants the Name of only one Deity instead of many.

Path of Guru’s Grace (Gurukrupāyoga): After visiting several Saints, a seeker finally visits only one Guru. Irrespective of the path of Spirituality one follows, spiritual progress does not really occur beyond a certain level without the grace of a Guru.

• The composition of the 3 subtle basic components (triguṇās) i.e. whether they are sāttvik, rājasik or tāmasik by nature.

• The five Cosmic Principles (Panchamahābhūtās) or Earth (Pruthvī), Water (Āpa), Fire (Tēj), Air (Vāyu) and Ether (Ākāsh)

• The degree to which different aspects of spiritual practice have been completed in prior births.

• The different accumulated account, destiny and wilful action that each one has.

• A person may also adopt a certain path depending on his temperament.

 

3. Progressing from gross (tangible) to subtle (intangible)

This principle states that we need to improve upon our spiritual practice by going from just physical actions, to a practice at a more subtle level.

A subtle spiritual practice is more powerful than a gross one. Take for example, a relationship where two people shake hands in friendship, while in reality, they may not like each other. The physical display of friendship is merely a façade. On the other hand, two people may feel genuine goodwill towards each other even though there may be no physical contact.

Likewise, when it comes to practicing Spirituality, going through the motions of external ritualistic worship (physical level) with no devotion needs to be replaced by having real inner devotion for God, or intense desire for spiritual growth.

4. Undertaking spiritual practice as per the spiritual level or spiritual capacity

We must check that the spiritual practice we choose is as per our spiritual capacity or spiritual level. A student, who has passed grade 3, will not be able to sit for the grade 4 exams if he has been continually studying only the grade 3 syllabus.

So too spiritual seekers should try to improve their capacity to do spiritual practice so as to not get stuck at one level of spiritual practice.

Let us go through the various stages of development from more gross forms of worship to more subtle forms as per the level of the seeker:

1. At an initial level we feel that we can make contact with the Divine only by going to a place of worship and through praying to a statue of God or a Divine Being.
2. Next we feel a connection with the Divine not just through rituals but through reading spiritual books whilst sitting in the place of worship.
3. In the next stage we feel that even words are too gross, and just experiencing the vibrations in a church or temple are enough to spiritually nourish a person.
4. After this we do not need to even go to a place of worship, but can experience God in the beauty of Nature; high up in the mountains, at a serene lake, etc.
5. At an even higher level, we do not need nature anymore but can experience God in daily living. Even if we are in an unpleasant place such as a filthy slum or in the middle of a war zone, we can perceive the comforting blanket of God’s presence, and can worship Him there in the quiet presence of our hearts.

 

5. Doing spiritual practice relevant to the times

In all things in life there is a time for them to happen. If the right thing happens at the wrong time then the desired result is not achieved. For example, if seeds are sown in the dry months instead of the rainy season, they do not take root no matter how fertile the land is. Similarly, certain spiritual practices are conducive according to the time or era.

Satyayug: This was a very pure era when the average spiritual level of a person was 70% (this is the level of a Saint). These people were so pure spiritually that the Path of Knowledge was best suited to them as they had the potential to spontaneously understand the implied meanings of all spiritual scriptures.

Trētāyug: This was the era when the spiritual level of the average person dropped to 55% and so they lost their potential to follow the Path of Knowledge. But they were spiritually capable enough to undertake penance (the kind that allowed a seeker stand on one foot for 12 years) and meditation (the kind that made a seeker meditate long enough for an ant hill to grow all over him).

Dwāparyug: There was a further decline in spiritual levels and people lost their potential for rigorous penance and sustained meditation. So it was divinely ordained such that they would be able to make progress through ritualistic worship. These rituals and sacrificial fires (yadnyas) were very time consuming and laborious as they had to be done after searching for the right ingredients. Along with this there were numerous steps which had to be followed to the last detail. But people were religious-minded enough to spend the time, effort and money to do them.

Kaliyug: This is translated as the ‘Era of strife’ and is the current period. The average person’s spiritual level has dropped to only 20%. Our capacity to do any of the above spiritual practices has greatly reduced. But considering the turbulent times we live in and the extent of the spiritual pollution – God has made a simple provision for us to still grow spiritually. All He wants of us to do as spiritual practice, is repeat His Name.

 

6. Offering to God as per your talent or capacity

All of us have some kind of resources at our disposal. These have been given to us by God. A basic principle in spiritual practice is that we use these same resources to serve Him as part of our spiritual practice and grow spiritually. The resources we have fall broadly into four categories:

1. Our body

2. Our wealth and worldly connections

3. Our mind and intellect

4. Our sixth sense

Let’s look at these four aspects in a little more detail:

 

1. Our body

Serving by our body’ means using our body to serve God. For example:

• Cleaning a venue and getting it ready for a lecture on Spirituality
• Driving seekers to the venue
• Putting up posters to advertise a lecture on Spirituality

 

2. Our wealth and worldly connections

An example of serving God by offering our wealth and worldly connections respectively would be: Paying for the venue where a spiritual discourse is to be conducted Arranging for a lecture on Spirituality at an institute which one is associated with

 

3. Our mind and intellect

Using our mind and intellect is about using our creative and intellectual processes to serve God. Examples of this would include: Using our intellect to study Spirituality, put it into practice and then tell others about it Using our writing skills to spread Spirituality by writing articles on Spirituality Helping in the maintaining of records and administration of an event

 

4. Our sixth sense

Some of us have been gifted with sixth sense from an early age. This is due to spiritual practice from either a previous birth or from this birth. The onus is on us to use it only to facilitate spiritual growth in us and others. The use of our sixth sense needs to be under the guidance of a Spiritual Master.

 

In summary, the following points can be kept in mind:

• By consistently offering what we have to serve God as part of our spiritual practice, we grow spiritually.
• Even if one does not have wealth or a high intellect he can still offer his body in service to God and thereby grow spiritually.
• The four types of offerings mentioned above are not mutually exclusive. If a person has a good intellect and a strong understanding of Spirituality he may be inclined just to offer his intellect. However the principle is about ‘offering all what one has’. As the person has a body and also may have some wealth, he should offer that along with his intellect.
• Out of all offerings, the mind and intellect is the most superior as through that medium one can help others understand and practice Spirituality.

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