It was a matter of great privilege to have been invited for the 87th founding anniversary of the Narayana Gurukula in Ooty. What better then, I thought, than to spend the time reflecting upon the teachings of His Holiness Sri Narayana Guru, foremost among social reformers, thinkers, erudite scholars and saints that India has been home to.
The following are my thoughts gathered in deeply introspective moments during the occasion
What is the purpose of our lives? Is it to acquire fame and recognition? Does it lie in amassing a great deal of wealth and material comforts? Or is it meant to get our hands on superior positions that yield power, prominence and money? For most of us, that is the very and only purpose of our lives!
In truth, the real purpose of life is to be able to live in happiness and peace of mind and pass away to another realm that awaits us in continuation of the great cycle of existence, and pass away from here to another place, we all will, in a span of time. That is the absolute and whole truth!
So then, why is it that we spend a great deal of time and energy to acquire those things that will not be a part of us for all time to come? The answer lies in our unending desires and a gross inability to categorize and differentiate our wants and needs, the former of which is almost always mistaken for the latter!
I’m not here to sermonize on how good or bad the world is today, unfortunately it has become a matter of extreme relativity and certain debate to which no agreement can be elicited upon! Neither am I here to tell you how you must lead your lives, for that is certainly your prerogative and I am no authority!
I’m here, merely wondering how important it is to reflect upon our thoughts, words and deeds. I'm also thinking aloud on how peaceful it must be to be able to delink the self from the constant pursuit of desires and wants! None of us is superior or otherwise for what we possess or don’t in a material form. If some of us really are, it is because of our attitude, the ability to reason well, and most importantly the ability to live our lives in a peaceful manner. There is no higher purpose than to be able to live without hatred, prejudice, dishonesty and doubt.
Today, there is a lot of talk on how to change the world, on how to normalize it, on how to harmonize it and so on. I say, there is no need for any of that. And, why so? That is simply because, the world is made of us, people like you and I, and when we make a concerted effort to effect a change from within ourselves, the world will automatically witness the change that we envision! So technically, it is us who need to change as opposed to the belief that change has to come from and be effected by an external entity!
Life is what you make of it. Always has been, always will be.
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