Many people find this to be a strange question – why did we come to earth? Why did we take birth? Did it happen just by chance? Nothing happens by chance. It all happens by design. We didn’t land upon the earth without rhyme or reason. Our birth is controlled by the Law of Karma. Once born, we are in command of our actions. Either we can drift through life and reach our end, or we can discover the purpose of life.
What is the purpose of life? Life is the journey between birth and death. Neither can we control birth nor can we control death. But we are in charge of everything that happens in between. If we don’t discover the purpose of life, then we will just come back to planet earth again and again. We would have a new body, but as per Karma, we would experience the triple suffering – the pain of the body, misery of the mind and agony of the ego as we visit this planet again and again.
Is there a way to escape this transmigration, this constant cycle of death and rebirth? The Buddha, the Awakened One shared his realization that is known as Nirvana. It is an escape from this cycle through a process of self-realization. Different saints have given this different names, but it means the same–that one ultimate goal—our life’s purpose. The purpose is to discover who we are and why we are here.
Most of us don’t like this idea of living with discipline. We like life to be free-flowing. There should be no questions asked, no purpose to discover. We must just enjoy this journey. And as we do just that, we forget the existence of the one who created this universe. We don’t realize that the Divine is within us. We don’t express our gratitude. Therefore, there are times when we are so lost in the world and misery strikes us. Then, when we are helpless, we are forced to think of the one we call ‘God’.
Is it not a simple truth to realize that all this magic happening around us has some logic, some meaning and some purpose? Can the entire universe unfold day after day without a reason? Are we all meant to come to earth and consider life a picnic so that we can have fun and then leave? Don’t we have a responsibility to find out the meaning of death and what happens thereafter? Should we not introspect on why some children are born blind and some born into families with wealth and happiness? Most of us are zapped by what happens, till we face ‘the End’.
Even when it is time to go, we don’t stop to think about the mystery called death. Do we ever stop to ask, ‘Before my body loses its breath, what am I supposed to achieve?’A few people are fortunate. They discover the purpose of life. They go on a quest and they realize the truth. Self-realization not only makes their life meaningful; it also liberates them from all kinds of misery and suffering. It shows them a way to communicate with the Divine, just as it liberates them from the constant cycle of death and rebirth.Do you want to make the best of your life? Then pause for a moment and understand what life is all about. Realize there is a deeper meaning to this gift called ‘Life’. Ask questions, and don’t accept everything people say. Investigate what you read, till you find out the truth. If possible, find a life coach, a Spiritual Master, who will guide you forward on this journey called ‘Life’. Don’t just consume life, thinking that you are having fun, till you suddenly realize one day that life is done.