I am 23. Living in a so-called civilized society , people expect me to have answers to questions like ' what am I going to do in my life?', ' Where would I be 20 years from now in my career?', 'How much would have I saved by then?' , ' when am I going to book an apartment?'( The question is not whether I require an apartment of my own. It is just WHEN.) If I have answers to these questions by now and execute it as planned, I would be considered as someone who has achieved his ultimate goal of life.
Even if I have achieved it, the irony is that I would have been just an audience in setting MY OWN GOAL( Isn't it like me not attending my own marriage). So rather than answering the above lesser valued questions, the appropriate question to be answered would be 'WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE?'. Answering this question might help us to be an active participant rather than being just an audience in setting our own goal.
The answer that strikes me instantly is ' THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO BE SUCCESSFUL'. Though this answer sounds a bit generic, I like this answer because it projects me as an ambitious and determined man.( Yes, I am a man now. I no more have the luxury of being a boy.)
But it is much easier to project you as a strong-willed person than to actually be one.
So when I ponder over the question for few more minutes, my answer transforms to ' THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO BE HAPPY'. This sounds a matured answer. But in the name of becoming mature, people actually become less-ambitious and docile(May be this is the reason why with aging comes complacency.) There can be two answers to a question. But surely one must be better than the other(This is how we have been taught in our schools.) Let me start evaluating the two answers.
Is there a difference between success and happiness(or are they synonymous).I have seen successful people exuberantly rambling about how happy they are in life. So it does look like happiness is a by-product of success.In my very little experience I had with life, I was not all that happy when I was 'what people called success'. Everyone has their own definition of success. What if, my definition of success is 'TO BE HAPPY'( I know I am starting to get ambiguous).
Now that we have evaluated(and given lesser marks)success, let me start with happiness.To me, Happiness is highly deceptive that we can not trust it. What might seem happiness today,might not be the same few years down the line.Few years back, playing cricket was happiness to me.Today, better job with better salary is coveted happiness to me.This might change tomorrow.
So my conclusion(after two useless hours of thinking) is that' THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS LIVING'.This might sound too simple a answer to a possibly complex spiritual question.Not always there needs to be a complex answer for a complex quesion.As our innate quality, we tend to ignore simpler things which might well be the solution for bigger problems.
THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS LIVING
PS: If on a friday afternoon, you are all alone and you dont feel sleepy , this is how insane you could get.
Even if I have achieved it, the irony is that I would have been just an audience in setting MY OWN GOAL( Isn't it like me not attending my own marriage). So rather than answering the above lesser valued questions, the appropriate question to be answered would be 'WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE?'. Answering this question might help us to be an active participant rather than being just an audience in setting our own goal.
The answer that strikes me instantly is ' THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO BE SUCCESSFUL'. Though this answer sounds a bit generic, I like this answer because it projects me as an ambitious and determined man.( Yes, I am a man now. I no more have the luxury of being a boy.)
But it is much easier to project you as a strong-willed person than to actually be one.
So when I ponder over the question for few more minutes, my answer transforms to ' THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO BE HAPPY'. This sounds a matured answer. But in the name of becoming mature, people actually become less-ambitious and docile(May be this is the reason why with aging comes complacency.) There can be two answers to a question. But surely one must be better than the other(This is how we have been taught in our schools.) Let me start evaluating the two answers.
Is there a difference between success and happiness(or are they synonymous).I have seen successful people exuberantly rambling about how happy they are in life. So it does look like happiness is a by-product of success.In my very little experience I had with life, I was not all that happy when I was 'what people called success'. Everyone has their own definition of success. What if, my definition of success is 'TO BE HAPPY'( I know I am starting to get ambiguous).
Now that we have evaluated(and given lesser marks)success, let me start with happiness.To me, Happiness is highly deceptive that we can not trust it. What might seem happiness today,might not be the same few years down the line.Few years back, playing cricket was happiness to me.Today, better job with better salary is coveted happiness to me.This might change tomorrow.
So my conclusion(after two useless hours of thinking) is that' THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS LIVING'.This might sound too simple a answer to a possibly complex spiritual question.Not always there needs to be a complex answer for a complex quesion.As our innate quality, we tend to ignore simpler things which might well be the solution for bigger problems.
THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS LIVING
PS: If on a friday afternoon, you are all alone and you dont feel sleepy , this is how insane you could get.
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