Thursday 18 December 2014

AIM OF LIFE?


I was in an ISKCON lecture, when a girl stood up and asked a question to the sage, speaking on spiritual solutions, the question was – what is the aim of our life? For the sage, it was a very-good-question, easily linkable to god and spirituality. However, I feel this was the crappiest question to ask while a lecture. What is the aim of our life? Really? Isn’t it obvious? The aim of life, is ‘to live’, which is why the term life is coined, because it means living or they could have called it anything chair, table, laptop and hundred other names. Why life? Because we are bound to live it, no matter what happens and how it happens. So why don’t we live it then, live it the way we want, do the things which makes us happy, work hard to get all those resources to reach at such stage and stop living in nightmares but start living in dreams.

Now, I, here by, am not declaring a war of the words with the existing fashion of living, but I have my allegations to it.

Since every other religious institute in the world has his own interpretation of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. I, in my conscience, resent to follow those interpretations as those are interpretations inspired from only the motives of the interpreter. For example, for a murderer, Geeta could bestow him with a divine consent to kill, just like it bestowed the same on Arjun-“By killing these people, you are freeing them of worldly illusions, as the ultimate thing is soul, a part of god, invincible in all aspects.”

The most famous quote from Geeta is “Karm karo, fal ki chinta mat karo” (Do you duty, without concerning about results). Therefore, as a human bearing almost a century of life, I found the simplest interpretation of this statement - that you should live, live your life the way that makes you happy and stop worrying about God, Moksha, heaven, hell and fifteen other afterlife worries, and think about it, why the god would give us such a long life if he would have wanted us not to live it with true freedom and spend our days and nights chanting-cum-dancing on songs which, literally, harasses the whole concept of melodious music. However, if one is really into whole this old men terrifically repeating same lines fifty times in a song, he has every right to do it.


Also, while we are on it, I would also like to point it that life is too short if you want to enjoy it and too long for believing in blind-faith-bearing illusions. I am not implying to stop believing in god, I am implying to start respecting the gift of god. However, if someone is looking for a debate, my gates are always open for a fair discussion.

13 comments:

  1. Also, you can comment your views here.

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  2. Thts like a fantastic article..

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  3. Bhai, I totally agree with your view about life.

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  4. Nice article although lacking the proper understanding of literatures and misleading the people in general. Although I am not a good debater, I would like to mention flaws of this article.
    Regarding living the life:
    You mean to say that LIFE is to live. It’s ok. But a dog, pig, camel, ass etc. also live. What is the purpose behind living a particular lifestyle? You can’t say that you are living in the same way the ass is living. Ass is not much concerned about his job, family, money, fame etc. He doesn’t have any aim. As we are human beings, much concerned about these things. It’s not that we are just living, we have a strong purpose behind our activities. That is called the aim of life. It is just like what is aim of your study in MNIT? You can’t say just study it, study it, study it……..why to bother about job, family, and relatives? Let me just study. Is it so?
    We have to live but not like animals. Human life is not meant for working hard like animals.
    BHAGAVATAM 5.5.1
    (Lord Rishabdeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.)
    You say that we should live the way we want. Just like a child is there, he doesn’t know what will happen if he touches the fire. But his mother knows very well. It’s not that we do whatever comes in our mind. We should depend on the higher authorities like mother for a child.

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  5. Regarding Killing:
    You have not gone through the deeper understanding of why arjuna killed? Arjuna may be interested or not in killing but for the sake of religious principles and taking it as a duty of Kshatriya, he had to kill. This is not a matter of simply killing. Krishna was emphasizing arjuna to do his duty as a Kshatriya. But arjuna was in illusion that it is killing. That’s why Krishna recited Bhagavad Gita to teach that if killing is part of our duty, we have to do it, but not whimsically. And duty should not be self-made. Again it should be decided by the authority.
    BG 3.30
    (Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.)
    BG 3.32
    (But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and do not follow them regularly are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their endeavors for perfection.)
    BG 3.35
    (It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another's duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for to follow another's path is dangerous.)
    BG 4.40
    (But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.)

    Regarding your (“Karm karo, fal ki chinta mat karo”)
    Please understand it thoroughly.
    BG 2.47
    (You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.)
    BG 9.27
    (Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform—do that, O son of Kunté, as an offering to Me.)

    This life is not all in all. There is life after this life also confirmed in Bhagavad Gita by Krishna himself.
    BG 2.13
    (As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.)

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  6. Regarding chanting (Glorifying the holy name of Lord):
    Kali-santarana Upanisad
    hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
    hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
    iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nasanam
    natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate
    The sixteen names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare destroy all the inauspiciousness of the age of Kali. This is the conclusion of all the Vedas.
    Padma Purana, Svarga Khanda 50.6
    harir eva samaradhyah sarva deve suresvarah
    hari nama maha mantrair nasyatpapa pisacakam
    (All the grievous sins of one who worships Lord Sri Hari, the Lord of all lords, and chants the holy name, the maha-mantra, are removed.)
    Brhad Naradiya Purana:
    harer nama harer nama
    harer namaiva kevalam
    kalau nasty eva nasty eva
    nasty eva gatir anyatha
    "In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting of the holy name of ONLY Lord Hari. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way."
    And you can go through this link for numerous references:
    http://www.krishna.com/some-scriptural-references-hare-krishna-maha-mantra

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  7. Regarding the So-called Enjoyment:
    The camel is a kind of animal that takes pleasure in eating thorns. A person who wants to enjoy family life or the worldly life of so-called enjoyment is compared to the camel. Materialistic life is full of thorns, and so one should live only by the prescribed method of Vedic regulations just to make the best use of a bad bargain. Life in the material world is maintained by sucking one's own blood. The central point of attraction for material enjoyment is sex life. To enjoy sex life is to suck one's own blood, and there is not much more to be explained in this connection. The camel also sucks its own blood while chewing thorny twigs. The thorns the camel eats cut the tongue of the camel, and so blood begins to flow within the camel's mouth. The thorns, mixed with fresh blood, create a taste for the foolish camel, and so he enjoys the thorn-eating business with false pleasure. Similarly, the great business magnates, industrialists who work very hard to earn money by different ways and questionable means, eat the thorny results of their actions mixed with their own blood. Therefore the Bhägavatam has situated these diseased fellows along with the camels.

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  8. Now see how Krishna concludes Bhagavad Gita:
    BG 18.65
    (Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.)
    BG 18.66
    (Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.)

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  9. Regarding Interpretation to Bhagavad Gita:
    You should not interpret bhagavad gita the way you want.
    Evaà paramparä-präptam imaà räjarñayo viduù (Bhagavad-gétä 4.2). ISKCON comes in the disciplic succession which is as follows:
    1. Kåñëa
    2. Brahmä
    3. Närada
    4. Vyäsa
    5. Madhva
    6. Padmanäbha
    7. Nåhari
    8. Mädhava
    9. Akñobhya
    10. Jaya Tértha
    11. Jïänasindhu
    12. Dayänidhi
    13. Vidyänidhi
    14. Räjendra
    15. Jayadharma
    16. Puruñottama
    17. Brahmaëya Tértha
    18. Vyäsa Tértha
    19. Lakñmépati
    20. Mädhavendra Puré
    21. Éçvara Puré, (Nityänanda, Advaita)
    22. Lord Caitanya
    23. Rüpa, (Svarüpa, Sanätana)
    24. Raghunätha, Jéva
    25. Kåñëadäsa
    26. Narottama
    27. Viçvanätha
    28. (Baladeva) Jagannätha
    29. Bhaktivinoda
    30. Gaurakiçora
    31. Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté
    32. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda
    Krishna is the highest authority.

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  10. Understand Bhagavd Gita from authorised sources.

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    Replies
    1. AkshayPatra is no authorized source, my friend. However, if you come to me in person I shall have power to falsify many of the teachings of akshaypatra who leads people like you away from your responcibilities o simply mislead you. I can even debate to your Prabhu only till you all kept a proper listening attitude, which prabhu lacks as I have already tried doing so. meet me in person, I have not much affinity to reason with you virtually.

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  11. Dear Piyush,

    I went through your article and my humble observations are:

    You shall read a lot on this subject with an open mind. Because of your little reading you are unable to judge what saints or philosophers are saying.

    There are many-many intelligent people in every field. If we don't understand what they are saying it is because we have not put in enough time.

    Normally, it takes a life time and good guidance before we can understand all this. I myself has put lot of time to understand all this, still I could only know about Hindu Dharma.

    I don't know about other religions but about Sanatan Dharma or Hindu Dharma, I can very easily say - that it is too great. It is highly scientific. Whatever it claims - it has achieved and practiced. It claims that if one follows it he can meet God and it is absolutely emphatic about that. But to understand it you shall read authentic text - like Gita, Veda and Upanishads and read authentic writers like Sri Aurobindo, The Mother, Vivekanada, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa etc. without any prejudice. If you pick up any sundry author, perhaps you will reach no where.

    It is difficult to discuss on forum, it takes lot of time, so I have stopped explaining things on social media.

    If you are keen we can meet and discuss your questions. I will be too happy to help you. We can even talk on phone.

    with love

    Nirupam Rohatgi

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