What is the Purpose of Life?

[gHari]

 

My question with respect to the incarnations of God is: why did God need to incarnate himself in a limited physical being at any given time?

 

Of course God does whatever He pleases. And it pleases Him to please His devotees. It pleases Him to personally protect them. He describes this pleasure to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita (Song of God) verse :4.8:

<center>

paritrANAya sAdhUnAM

vinAzAya ca duSkRtAm

dharma-saMsthApanArthAya

sambhavAmi yuge yuge

</center>

paritrANAya--for the deliverance; sAdhUnAm--of the devotees; vinAzAya--for the annihilation; ca--and; duSkRtAm--of the miscreants; dharma--principles of religion; saMsthApana-arthAya--to reestablish; sambhavAmi--I do appear; yuge--millennium; yuge--after millennium.

To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

 

PURPORT

According to Bhagavad-gItA, a sAdhu (holy man) is a man in KRSNa consciousness. A person may appear to be irreligious, but if he has the qualifications of KRSNa consciousness wholly and fully, he is to be understood to be a sAdhu. And duSkRtAm applies to those who do not care for KRSNa consciousness. Such miscreants, or duSkRtAm, are described as foolish and the lowest of mankind, even though they may be decorated with mundane education, whereas a person who is one hundred percent engaged in KRSNa consciousness is accepted as a sAdhu, even though such a person may be neither learned nor well cultured.

<b>As far as the atheistic are concerned, it is not necessary for the Supreme Lord to appear as He is to destroy them, as He did with the demons RAvaNa and KaMsa. The Lord has many agents who are quite competent to vanquish demons. But the Lord especially descends to appease His unalloyed devotees, who are always harassed by the demoniac</b>. The demon harasses the devotee, even though the latter may happen to be his kin. Although PrahlAda MahArAja was the son of HiraNyakazipu, he was nonetheless persecuted by his father; although DevakI, the mother of KRSNa, was the sister of KaMsa, she and her husband Vasudeva were persecuted only because KRSNa was to be born of them. So Lord KRSNa appeared primarily to deliver DevakI, rather than kill KaMsa, but both were performed simultaneously. Therefore it is said here that to deliver the devotee and vanquish the demon miscreants, the Lord appears in different incarnations.

 

In the Caitanya-caritAmRta of KRSNadAsa KavirAja, the following verses (Madhya 20.263–264) summarize these principles of incarnation:

<center>

sRSTi-hetu yei mUrti prapaJce avatare

sei Izvara-mUrti ‘avatAra' nAma dhare

mAyAtIta paravyome sabAra avasthAna

vizve avatari' dhare ‘avatAra' nAma

</center>

"The avatAra, or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom of God for material manifestation. And the particular form of the Personality of Godhead who so descends is called an incarnation, or avatAra. Such incarnations are situated in the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. When they descend to the material creation, they assume the name avatAra."

 

There are various kinds of avatAras, such as puruSAvatAras, guNAvatAras, lIlAvatAras, zakty-Aveza avatAras, manvantara-avatAras and yugAvatAras--all appearing on schedule all over the universe. But Lord KRSNa is the primeval Lord, the fountainhead of all avatAras. Lord SrI KRSNa descends for the specific purpose of mitigating the anxieties of the pure devotees, who are very anxious to see Him in His original VRndAvana pastimes. Therefore, the prime purpose of the KRSNa avatAra is to satisfy His unalloyed devotees.

 

The Lord says that He incarnates Himself in every millennium. This indicates that He incarnates also in the Age of Kali. As stated in the SrImad-BhAgavatam, the incarnation in the Age of Kali is Lord Caitanya MahAprabhu, who spread the worship of KRSNa by the saGkIrtana movement (congregational chanting of the holy names) and spread KRSNa consciousness throughout India. He predicted that this culture of saGkIrtana would be broadcast all over the world, from town to town and village to village. Lord Caitanya as the incarnation of KRSNa, the Personality of Godhead, is described secretly but not directly in the confidential parts of the revealed scriptures, such as the UpaniSads, MahAbhArata and BhAgavatam. The devotees of Lord KRSNa are very much attracted by the saGkIrtana movement of Lord Caitanya. This avatAra of the Lord does not kill the miscreants, but delivers them by His causeless mercy.

 

[gHari]

The zakty-Aveza avatAra incarnations mentioned in the previous post are living entities from the Kingdom of God who come to this world empowered by God to perform a specific task for Him. Examples of these incarnations are Mohammad and Jesus Christ. Below is a quote from a vaisnava spiritual leader about such bona fide messengers of God:

 

 

PrabhupAda: Prayers. That's all. There are ten kinds of offenses in chanting Hare KRSNa. There are three stages of this chanting process. The first stage is offensive stage, and the second stage is light stage, and the third stage is liberated stage. So generally in the beginning we are almost in the offensive stage but we shall try to avoid the ten kinds of offenses as it will be explained. You have got printed copy. You take it. The first offense is zruti-zAstra-nindanam. <B>No scripture of the world should be blasphemed</B>. Sruti, especially Vedas. Sruti means Vedas. Actually, Vedas are the original scripture. Gradually many other scriptures have developed. They are called smRti. Sruti smRti.

 

zruti-smRti-purANAdi-pAJcarAtriki vidhiM vinA

aikAntikI harer bhaktir utpAtAyaiva kalpate

[bRS 1.2.101]

 

This is the definition given by SrIla RUpa GosvAmI, that to become a devotee of the Lord, KRSNa, one has to follow the principles of zruti and smRti, and pAJcarAtriki-vidhi. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga, there is no Vedic vidhi. Because Vedic vidhi is lost. Formerly, initiation was offered to a person who is actually born of a brAhmaNa father. Otherwise... Or the higher caste, the brAhmaNas, the kSatriyas, and the vaizyas, they were offered initiation, and the zUdras were not offered. That was the Vedic system. But in this age the zAstra says that kalau zUdra sambhava. In this age of Kali practically there is no more any brAhmaNa, kSatriya, or vaizya. Maybe by name, but in qualification they are not existing. Everyone is supposed to be zUdra. So in Kali-yuga the pAJcarAtriki-vidhi is accepted. The pAJcarAtriki-vidhi is also Vedic vidhi, corollary, given by NArada MahAmuni. But it is accepted by the Vedic followers, pAJcarAtriki-vidhi.

 

PAJcarAtriki-vidhi means if any one has a little inclination for spiritual development, he should be given chance. This initiation means to give chance. The BhAgavata says that kirAta-hUNAndhra-pulinda-pulkazA AbhIra-zumbhA yavanAH khasAdayaH. These are the list of the caNDAlas or less than the zUdras. So BhAgavata gives open road for everyone. Even one is kirAta... KirAta means... Generally they are called aborigines, or the very black aborigines living in the jungles, they are called kirAta. In our country it is called hanta (?). So anyway, Hun, Hun a class of people in the hill side of north Arctic. They are called Huns. So kirAta-hUNAndhra-pulinda-pulkazA AbhIra-zumbhA... There are very great list of the caNDAlas, less than the zUdras. The BhAgavata says ye 'nye ca pApA, not these classes, even less than them, even they are born in the family of sinful tribe, they can be also purified. Sudhyanti, they can be also purified. KirAta-hUNAndhra-pulinda-pulkazA AbhIra-zumbhA yavanAH khasAdayaH, ye 'nye ca pApA zudhyanti. They can be purified by association of VaiSNava. Yad-apa, yad-apAzrayAzrayAH. UpAzraya means just like a person who is a devotee of KRSNa and if anyone takes shelter of such devotee, he can be purified. This is called paramparA system.

 

So for this BhAgavata-dharma, there is no restriction. Anywhere, any part of the world, they can accept this BhAgavata-dharma. On that principle in Caitanya MahAprabhu's life also He accepted many Muhammadans also as His disciples. Just like ThAkura HaridAsa, he was born in a Muhammadan family, and He took many Pathans as His disciples when He was coming back from VRndAvana. So in this system, disciplic system of Vedic process, there is no restriction. Anyone can come. And this is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gItA also. Bhagavad-gItA, KRSNa says that mAM hi pArtha vyapAzritya ye 'pi syuH pApa-yonayaH. Never mind. Even one is born in a family which is considered to be sinful. Striya zUdrAs tathA vaizya. Even woman, the zUdra, and the mercantile class of men, anyone. MAm... Ye 'nye ca pApA.

 

mAM hi pArtha vyapAzritya

ye 'pi syuH pApa-yonayaH

striya zUdrAs tathA vaizyAs

te 'pi yAnti parAM gatim

 

They can also be elevated to the highest platform of perfection by the process of initiation. And kiM punar brAhmaNaH puNyA bhaktA rAjarSayas tathA [bg. 9.33]. Even such persons can be elevated, and what to speak of the brAhmaNas, bhaktas, devotees, and rAjarSaya, and great kSatriyas. There is nothing to speak about them. Even these people can be elevated.

 

So this BhAgavata-dharma is very nice, it is universal, it can be accepted by everyone. Unfortunately, so long there was no preaching of this BhAgavata-dharma. Now, by the grace of KRSNa, Lord Caitanya, the BhAgavata-dharma is now being expanded in the Western countries. I am very glad that boys and girls from this part of the world, they are also embracing and they are nicely chanting and following the rules and regulations. So I think KRSNa will be very... So initiation means this is the beginning. Now you have to follow the rules and regulations. What are the rules and regulations? Only four principles. Don't have any illicit sex life. Don't have any food besides prasAdam or foodstuff offered to KRSNa. And KRSNa does not eat anything beyond the vegetarian group. Because in the Bhagavad-gItA it is said patraM puSpaM phalaM toyaM yo me bhaktyA prayacchati. So you cannot offer KRSNa anything beyond this scope. So there is no question of nonvegetarian diet, including fish, eggs, even onions, and lentils, what is called? Lentils? That dahl, pulses? So you have got from your Godbrother, you will know. And you are eating here KRSNa prasAdam. And no gambling and no intoxication, including smoking, tea taking, coffee taking. No gambling, no intoxication. These four principles. No illicit sex life, no nonvegetarian diet, no gambling, and no intoxication. These four principles have to be followed and in the beginning the offenses. Where is...? You read the offenses. You haven't got?

 

So offenses are ten kinds of offenses. The first offense is to deride at the Vedic literature or scriptures. SatAM nindA. And those who are preaching God consciousness, never mind in any part of the world. Those who are preaching God consciousness. In your country, Christian... Not in your country. Of course, it was preached in Central Asia, but now Christianism is spread all over. So Lord Jesus Christ, he also preached God consciousness. And Mohammed, Hazrat Mohammed, he also preached God consciousness. Similarly, in India there was several AcAryas, RAmAnujAcArya, MadhvAcArya, God consciousness they preached.

 

So Lord Buddha, he, of course, did not preach directly God consciousness, but we accept him as the incarnation of God. Kezava dhRta-buddha-zarIra jaya jagadIza hare. He had to preach amongst the atheist class of men who were too much addicted with animal slaughter and he wanted to stop animal slaughter. That was his main business. So I've several times explained. Therefore he rejected Vedic authority. Because in the Vedic authority there is recommendation, under certain condition, of animal sacrifice. But he wanted to stop completely animal sacrifice. Therefore superficially he said, he denied the authority of Vedic ritual. Because if he accepted Vedic rituals then he could not preach this ahiMsA paramo dharma. So that is a great story. Anyway we accept, we VaiSNavas, we accept Lord Buddha as incarnation. That is mentioned in the SrImad-BhAgavatam. He is incarnation of KRSNa. Kezava dhRta-buddha-zarIra. So indirectly the Buddhists are worshiping God. They are denying, there is no existence of God but they are accepting the incarnation of God.

 

So anywhere the four prime religions of the world, namely Hinduism, Christianism, Mohammedanism or Buddhism, directly or indirectly, they are accepting God. And without accepting God there is no meaning of religion. That is not religion. According to BhAgavata, dharmaM tu sAkSAd bhagavat-praNItam [sB 6.3.19]. Dharma, what this dharma, religion means, the codes given by God. That's all. Just like KRSNa says in the SrImad-Bhagavad-gItA, sarva-dharmAn parityajya mAm ekaM zaraNaM vraja [bg. 18.66]. Now KRSNa, in the beginning said that dharma-saMsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge. "I come, descend, in order to establish religion." Now again at the end He says sarva-dharmAn parityajya. He came to establish religion. And in the end He says that "Give up all sorts of religion." What does it mean? That means religion means surrendering unto God, or KRSNa. That is religion. If there is no such principle... Surrendering unto God, that is religion. Not the rituals. Rituals are superficial. The BhAgavata says sa vai puMsAM paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokSaje [sB 1.2.6]. You follow any kind of religion, that doesn't matter. But the test will be how much you have developed God consciousness or KRSNa consciousness. That is the test. If that is lacking, then you have simply wasted your time.

 

dharmaH svanuSThitaH puMsAM

viSvaksena-kathAsu yaH

notpAdayed yadi ratiM

zrama eva hi kevalam

[sB 1.2.8]

 

If by following the ritualistic principles of any kind of religion, if one has not developed God consciousness or love of God, then it is simply waste of time, laboring. That's all. So gradually people are coming to the stage that God is dead. They have developed so much love for God that they want to see God is dead. That means they have not followed any kinds of religion. This is all useless. Srama eva hi kevalam. Simply they have wasted. God cannot be dead. It is crazy proposal. How God can be...? If we are praying to God, "O God, give us our daily bread," and the bread is supplied to us, how God is dead? God cannot be dead. So these are crazy proposals. Don't be attached to all these nonsense proposal. God is existing. He is nitya nityAnAm. Just like we are existing, similarly God is existing. And He is the chief amongst the eternals. We are also eternal. Na jAyate na mriyate vA kadAcit.

 

So these are Vedic injunctions. God is there, I am here, God is eternal, I am eternal, He is sac-cid-vigrahaH, I am also, at the present moment, my body is material. But when I am liberated I also become sac-cid-Ananda vigrahaH [bs. 5.1]. So these things gradually you'll learn from SrImad-BhAgavata, Bhagavad-gItA. Now this Hare KRSNa, this chanting process is cleansing your heart. As you advance in cleansing your heart, so God becomes revealed unto you. God is sitting with you. IzvaraH sarva-bhUtAnAM hRd-deze 'rjuna tiSThati [bg. 18.61]. KRSNa is sitting in everyone's heart. Simply we can see Him as soon as the heart is clean. SRNvatAm... And God will help you.

 

zRNvatAM sva-kathAH kRSNaH

puNya-zravaNa-kIrtanaH

hRdy antaH stho hy abhadrANi

vidhunoti suhRt satAm

[sB 1.2.17]

 

As soon as with devotion and faith you chant this Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare, God will help you. KRSNa will help you from within to cleanse your heart so that you will be able to see things as they are.

 

So we should avoid blaspheming the persons who have preached God consciousness all over the world. We should not deprecate the value of scriptures. And the most obstinate sinful activity is to act sinfully on the strength of chanting Hare KRSNa. Because it is said that as soon as you chant Hare KRSNa you become freed from all sinful activities. There is no difference between KRSNa and KRSNa name. Absolute. So if somebody thinks that "I am chanting Hare KRSNa, therefore I can continue committing all kinds of sinful activities," that is the greatest... NAmnAd balAd yasya hi pApa-buddhir. Anyone who commits sinful activities... I have already explained the four kinds of sinful activities you should avoid. But if you think that you are chanting, therefore there will be no reaction of sinful activities, that is the greatest sin. Greatest offense. Never. Don't commit any sinful activities. And sAmyaM zubha-kriyA api pramAdaH. This is another great offense. That don't accept this chanting as something auspicious activity. It is transcendental to auspicious and inauspicious activities. It is a vibration from the spiritual sky which will attract you gradually to the spiritual sky, beyond this material sky.

 

'Vyakto 'vyaktAt sanAtanaH. Paras tasmAd tu bhAva anya. As you get information from the Bhagavad-gItA, there is another nature which is called spiritual nature and the devotees are trying, all the transcendentalists... Some are trying to merge into the spiritual existence only, and we devotees, we want to keep individuality and want to become associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead KRSNa. So gradually you can learn it from the lectures and the books and with association with your Godbrothers and sisters. So this is your initiation. Take it very seriously. Chant Hare KRSNa very faithfully and your life will be successful.

 

Thank you very much. Hare KRSNa. Now chant Hare KRSNa. (end)

 

[Guest guest]

न प्राणेन नापानेन मर्त्यो जीवति कश्चन ।

इतरेण तु जीवन्ति यस्मिन्नेतावुपाश्रितौ ॥ ५ ॥

5. Man does not live by breath alone, but by He Who is the power of breath.

 

हन्त त इदं प्रवक्ष्यामि गुह्यं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ।

यथा च मरणं प्राप्य आत्मा भवति गौतम ॥ ६ ॥

6. Listen, I shall tell you of the secret, eternal Brahman, and what happens to the individual self after meeting death.

 

योनिमन्ये प्रपद्यन्ते शरीरत्वाय देहिनः ।

स्थाणुमन्येऽनुसंयन्ति यथाकर्म यथाश्रुतम् ॥ ७ ॥

7. Some souls seek a womb for the sake of getting a new physical body. Others go into immovable forms, like mountains and plants, in accord with their activities in the past (karma) and also in accordance with the religious tradition they had heard (sruti).

 

COMMENTARY

When a person faithfully lives their life according to the spiritual and religious ideals of their culture, the person’s beliefs are taken into account when their karma is judged. Krishna instructed his disciple Arjuna to fight against murderous, evil kings and to kill those kings. A man who follows the example of Arjuna and fights injustice, and kills people, is not considered to be a murderer himself when his karma is judged by Yama.

 

य एष सुप्तेषु जागर्ति कामं कामं पुरुषो निर्मिमाणः ।

तदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते ।

तस्मिँल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।

एतद्वै तत् ॥ ८ ॥

8. When all things sleep, that Person, the Highest Self named Vishnu, is awake, assessing all desires. That is the Pure, That is Brahman. That is the Immortal One, so they say. In It all the worlds are established. Beyond It none can pass. This, indeed is that Truth you seek.

[Guest guest]

Dear Imran,

 

While it is true that many (not all) of the images worshipped by Hindus represent actual physical beings that lived some time in the distant past, Hinduism does not hinge on their actual existence as much as Christianity or Islam. For instance, the historicity of Jesus Christ is absolutely vital for Christianity. But for Hindus, although there is enough and more evidence that Krishna and Rama existed, their historicity is not as important as their teachings or the symbolisms in the story of their lives.

 

On your question, why God needs to incarnate Himself from time to time, it is to stem the moral and spiritual degradation that would arise otherwise. Of course, you may ask why an actual physical incarnation is necessary; why can't He just control peoples minds without actually descending to this gross world. But that (contolling minds) would be playing with your self-will wouldn't it; the resultant Karma would be His not yours, right? The purpose of His incarnation is only to show you the Way to Light in the increasing darkness of spiritual & moral decline; the decision to take it is entirely yours.

 

Thank you,

 

Hari Kumar

 

 

 

[imranhasan]

Thank you, all my brothers. I request you to please allow me some time to consider all the arguments one by one. As that will be the only way for me to learn.

Respected Avinash, I request your attention for now. I write this with reference only to your last response.

 

To same extent I have found many people basing their opinions on something other than scriptures. Some of them outright refuse to believe in what scriptures say. Of course, they should not be called as Hindus. However, there are some who want to believe in scriptures but, on some particular topic, they are not sure what scriptures say and they get answer to that based on their personal belief. I would not outright consider them as non-Hindus, but I would say that their belief is not exactly as per the scriptures of Hinduism.

My dear brother and teacher, I praise your beautiful remarks. You are indeed a very tolerant man, not only in practice (which I have sufficiently experienced, personally... ) but also in your thought and ideology, as is evident from this statement of yours. God bless you.

 

I am myself not very much clear about this. I have read some stories in which somebody had to take the form of a tree till a particular time because of some bad action that he had performed earlier. After the expiry of that period, he was back in his earlier form. These stories do not talk about good and evil done by trees. But both tree-life and also the life after that were due to something that happened before the tree-life. But, I am not very clear about what scriptures say about good and bad done by trees. I will wait for sometime for somebody else to post answers. If nobody posts, then I will assume that those knowing the answers may not have read this post of mine and I will start a different thread on this topic.

I thank you, very sincerely for the attention and importance that you've given to my question. I would request you to please do try to find these answers and help me understand them too. I find your explanations and arguments very understandable indeed. Thank you.

In this respect, two further points may kindly be added in your investigation: Firstly, these questions may also kindly be answered with reference to animals and insects and all other life forms, besides humans. Secondly, to make these answers more generally understandable, any non-scriptural evidence (which obviously would have more general acceptability) may kindly also be offered for convincing others. Thank you.

 

I am not sure what should be considered as basic moral values. Could you give any example of what you could consider as basic moral value. The example need not be as per Hinduism. It could be based on your belief. Then I will answer what Hinduism says about that. Many would consider telling lies as bad. But, depending on situation, telling lies can be better than telling the truth.

By basic moral values, I mean the value of 'Truthfulness', 'Honesty', 'Justice', 'Kindness' etc. Remember, we are not talking about any situations. We are talking about the concepts truthfulness, honest, justice and kindness etc. When we say that "depending on situation...", we are then not talking about concepts, but the application of these concepts (whether by individuals or by societies). To explain this further, It would be a basic moral value statement to say that 'we should show kindness to those who are weaker than us'. However, there can be a situation where 'kindness' may go against another - more important - moral value in that situation. For instance, if you are made a judge, you should decide with 'justice'. In this situation, your 'kindness' towards the perpetrator may be seen as unjust and therefore 'unkindness' towards a person who has already been wronged.

Finally, just consider this: 'Truthfulness is what is right, but depending on the situation lying can be right'. The statement itself clearly implies that we do not need any justification for truthfulness, however, if we want to establish that lying is correct in a particular situation, we need to justify it from the situation. I think it will be even clearer to you to understand what I mean, if you try to imagine where 'telling lies can be better than telling the Truth'.

In view of this, I have always held that basic moral values are not specific to any religion. These are universal in their nature. Everyone, without exception agrees with and ascribes to these values. However, there can be situations in which deviations from these moral values may be considered justifiable.

I would love to hear your comments. Thank you, my brother.

[Avinash]

 

It would be a basic moral value statement to say that 'we should show kindness to those who are weaker than us'. However, there can be a situation where 'kindness' may go against another - more important - moral value in that situation. For instance, if you are made a judge, you should decide with 'justice'. In this situation, your 'kindness' towards the perpetrator may be seen as unjust and therefore 'unkindness' towards a person who has already been wronged.

I first thought that by basic moral values you meant those which should never be violated. However, as per the explanation given by you in which one moral value can be forsaken in favour of another greater value, I agree that basic moral values remain unchanged.

 

Finally, just consider this: 'Truthfulness is what is right, but depending on the situation lying can be right'. The statement itself clearly implies that we do not need any justification for truthfulness,

If we define truthfulness as what is right, then of course, truthfulness should always be adhered to. However, if we define truthfulness to mean "never telling things which are factually incorrect, then truthfulness can be violated in some situations because in those situations telling lies may be better than stating the fact.

 

however, if we want to establish that lying is correct in a particular situation, we need to justify it from the situation.

Agreed.

 

I think it will be even clearer to you to understand what I mean, if you try to imagine where 'telling lies can be better than telling the Truth'.

So, by basic moral values, you mean those values which do not need any justification if adhered to, but violating these values does need justification. Yes, in that sense basic moral values remain unchanged.

 

In view of this, I have always held that basic moral values are not specific to any religion. These are universal in their nature. Everyone, without exception agrees with and ascribes to these values. However, there can be situations in which deviations from these moral values may be considered justifiable.

Yes, that is correct. Basic moral values are and should be independent of religions. Then only there can be harmony between followers of all religions (including the followers of no religion) if all of them want to follow basic moral values.

[imranhasan]

Thank you, very much my brother Avinash,

 

Gettting back to the original topic under discussion, may I please ask you to kindly state in your precise manner, what might we state as the purpose of life, according to Hinduism?

 

Thank you, very much.

[Avinash]

According to Hinduism, the purpose of life is to conduct ourselves in such a way that we get rid of the cycle of life and death and reach the supreme abode. Depending on what we do in this life as well as some of what we did in some of our previous lives, our next life will be decided. This is a corollary of what we call as the law of karma. Do good and good will happen to you. Do bad and bad will happen to you. We know that there are different grades of good works. Two works may both be good, but one may be better than another. Accordingly there are different heavens. Likewise there are different hells. Through various lives, if we keep on becoming better and better, then we will achieve higher and higher heavens. Someday we may even achieve the highest of all possible heavens, which is the supreme abode. Once we reach that, then that will be total bliss in the sense that our sufferings will cease. Now, the details of that supreme abode varies from one group of Hinduism to another. But, I have written above what is the commonly believed purpose among different groups.

[imranhasan]

Thank you, my brother. Your reply is precise as expected.

 

According to Hinduism, the purpose of life is to conduct ourselves in such a way that we get rid of the cycle of life and death and reach the supreme abode. Depending on what we do in this life as well as some of what we did in some of our previous lives, our next life will be decided. This is a corollary of what we call as the law of karma. Do good and good will happen to you. Do bad and bad will happen to you. We know that there are different grades of good works. Two works may both be good, but one may be better than another. Accordingly there are different heavens. Likewise there are different hells. Through various lives, if we keep on becoming better and better, then we will achieve higher and higher heavens. Someday we may even achieve the highest of all possible heavens, which is the supreme abode. Once we reach that, then that will be total bliss in the sense that our sufferings will cease. Now, the details of that supreme abode varies from one group of Hinduism to another. But, I have written above what is the commonly believed purpose among different groups.

Is this purpose mentioned in the scriptures? Can you please guide me to where I can find it in the scriptures?

Also, would you agree that the questions related to the 'good' and 'evil' actions in trees, animals, insects and all life forms other than humans is pertinent with reference to the full understanding of this purpose?

Thank you, very much my brother. God bless you.

[agyat_theunknown]

Know everything and decide by yourself...

[agraman]

In the scheme of things made by the Great Intelligence it is well nigh impossible the motives behind Creation of all living beings including animals,plants,human beings.The Great Inrellgence we call God when we accept is omnipresent,omniscient and omnipotent pervades the entire cosmos and abide by in all beings of all sorts.So in effect the plants,animals also form part of that Great Power.That Power has defined some well settled laws of nature which can't be disputed by any being have to be scruplously followed and the results also can be enjoyed or suffered and the Great Being won't interfere in the normal activities.The Creator has done out of His/Her/Its own will and never bothered abt the after effects.That is for the creations to understand on its own and follow.In the schematic things of all creatures only human beings hv been given the power of of discrimination.

This shuld be used in a logical way and if used in good causes that will lead the huma being to great heights and if not will lead to its downfall.

 

Naturally there will be some confusion what exactly the Supreme Power created all these things and for what purpose.This is a riddle that has been plagueing the manking from the very inception.Who am I and what am I and what is the purpose of my existence?So far nobody has found an answer to this point.Since the Power that created human beings hv given the option of utilising the intelligence also the Seers of yore thru their penance for years to find out the real cause of this existence came to the cnclusion that all we see in this world is nothing but a dream as we are not separate from that Power which created everything.For that one has to take the spiritual route with proper discipline and inquiry and there is a power called Kundalini which lies dormant in all human beings which has to be arisen thru severe practices and when the same moves upwards from the baseof the spine to the head the individual passes thru various experiences and attains various powers and eventually reaches the highest goal in Samadhi and in that state the individuality is lost and the being sees everything as I,I,I.This I has nothing to the body concept but merges in the Great Power or the individual soul merges with the universal soul and there is no difference.This is sa state of affair which has to be experienced and can't be explained by words.These are the wordings of all realised sols and it is well nigh impossible for the ordinary folks immersed in their day to day problems.So they just preach worship God sincerely and in course all will come to good.This is a greattopic which will take much time to go deep into that but only persons interested in spritual uplife can understand this and others can only put questions and raise doubts as the same with the present state of evolution is difficult for them to grasp.There may one in a million whoc can achieve that stage.But ultimately all the beings will reach the source after undergoing innumerable births and deaths.It is just like a cycle when one starts from a point and going on rounding it and reaches the full circle and there the aspirants goal ends.

[Eternal Law]

Purpose of Human Life - To Understand the message of Bhagavad Gita and to love with faith that God, Allah, The father ... whatever you want to call that one and only one Krishna (personal form of impersonal formless Brahman).