Hindu Article - Aim of human life

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Friends,

 

Aim of human life

 

 

CHENNAI SEPT.11 . Happiness is the natural state of all living beings

and except man all other creatures seem to be content with their lot.

In the case of human beings pursuit of happiness is a never-ending

quest, which shows that he is unhappy with his present situation.

This makes it imperative that the reason for this human predicament

must be understood, as there is no point in leading a life, which is

not joyful. Among all beings only humans are endowed with the sixth

sense, a superior faculty with which it is possible to seek higher

levels of awareness. So, by nature he is a very complex being and

capable of becoming aware of the Self. The lives of men of wisdom

like Gautama Buddha and Adi Sankara open the spiritual dimension to

every individual to realise it in his life.

 

There is much to learn for a spiritual seeker from the characters

portrayed in the epics and the Puranas. Sahadeva among the Pandavas

was a realised man who had insight into life situations. When Lord

Krishna elicited the opinion of all of them about taking recourse to

the war only Sahadeva differed from the others for he knew that the

will of the Lord would prevail. He bound Him by devotion that Krishna

had to beg him to release Him from his hold.

 

In his discourse Sri T.G. Narayanaswamy said the Bhaja Govindam of

Sankara highlighted that wisdom was the solution to human suffering.

As human birth is a privilege it becomes incumbent on every person to

probe into the meaning of his life. When an individual does not think

and act in conformity to his destiny he stagnates in his evolution

towards liberation from rebirths. This search for wisdom is an inborn

human instinct but man in his quest proceeds till the level of

sciences and somehow does not persist till he discovers the truth,

which is the basis of all knowledge.

 

When the spiritual goal becomes clear then the seeker will understand

that he cannot escape from facing the consequences of his actions and

thus is able to face setbacks and sufferings in life with mental

fortitude. The Lord exemplified this during His advent. Rama has been

highlighted as an exemplar of an ideal son because He went in exile

to the forest for 14 years to fulfil Dasaratha's promise. Rama could

have listened to His mother's plea to remain in Ayodhya, but He did

not. According to the Kamba Ramayanam He utilised this opportunity to

exonerate Himself of His misdeed to Manthara done unintentionally

when He a child.

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