What is the purpose of life?

[Guest guest]

?

 

 

[livingentity 0]

Quite simply, it is to remember Krishna and to revive our eternal constitutional position.

[Govindaram 1]

Hare Krishna

 

What is the purpose of Life:

No.1 Krishna and to revive our eternal constitutional position.

 

What is the purpose of Life:

No.2 Eating, Sleeping, Mating, Defending..

 

2Purpose's of Life /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

Which should you pick?

[Guest guest]

To attain the essence of spiritual life.

 

Take your time to read the thread

The Perfection of life

 

anadi

 

(some quite unfortunate persons have repeatedly tried to deviate or stop the discussion between Raya Ramanada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)

 

[livingentity 0]

http://iskcondc.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl?ndx=11

[Guest guest]

About the purpose, the vedic people know of three realizations.

 

see:

 

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/4324/3Realiz.htm

 

[kalkinoire 0]

The purpose of life is discovered when you have evolved beyond the need to ask the question. You attain a spiritual awareness which encompasses all. The awakening is within everyone. It is our goal to achieve this. Christ, Krishna, and Buddah are some examples to follow. However, every entity's reality is a dismarmony within the harmony that flows along one stream in space time. Unlock the secrets. Every way is part of the stream, flow with it not against it, your enlightenment is awakened or not during the ride. Its already there!!! Life is only a variable, a transition, a playground of matter energy and consciousness.

[moorthi 0]

Scriptures and sages say it is to realise the oneness of the universe. There is only one Brahman otherwise known as

Vishnu Shiva Krishna etc. Multiplicity does not exist in reality. One attains this by making one's mind pure and through the grace of God.

 

This is a very short, concise attempt at describing the answer to the eternal question.

[yasodanandana 0]

you are wrong... spiritual world cannot be worst than the material world, so if we have variety, vaikunta is necessarily full of spiritual multiplicity, or better, vaikunta is the actual source of the variety

 

we have brahman, paramatma, bhagavan

 

they exist eternally, none of them are illusory

[Guest guest]

 

Scriptures and sages say it is to realise the oneness of the universe.

 

 

Which scriptures and sages say this?

 

 

There is only one Brahman otherwise known as

Vishnu Shiva Krishna etc.

 

 

How do you know?

 

 

Multiplicity does not exist in reality.

 

 

 

Again, upon what are you basing these theories?

 

Cheers

[I_love_krishna_ 0]

What is the purpose of life?

 

well, there are many answers to this. If you think you should enjoy yourself in life, then you are absolutely right.

 

The best enjoyment however is the service to krishna/God/whatever you want to call him. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

In my view, the best service to krishna aside from the deity worship would be selfless action for the society... like volunteering in hospitals etc.

 

I am sure of it, because it gives the mind great peace. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

Give yourself fully for His pleasure. Everyone is aware of the universal principle that it is 'better to give than to receive' - but why is it so? Because it is in giving that we receive that which is really worth having - and it is not something which can be quantified or measured - still we all inherently recognize this universal principle.

 

So if life is about giving then we should try to find out where to give so that our energy expendure will do the most good. Who can receive unlimitedly? Krsna is called the reservoir of pleasure - only he can receive unlimitedly. Your most valuable possession is your own heart. Give your heart to Krsna - then your life will have meaning and fulfillment.

 

Your servant,

Audarya-lila dasa

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I am a practicing Muslim and I don't wanna say as usual that, I respect all the religions exist on this earth, all Gods are one whether it's Allah, Jesus or Rama blah blah blah.... In fact and short I would say I don't at all believe in any religion except Islam. But as a human being I do respect, love all fellow humans live on this earth because everything on this earth created and maintaining by ALLAH (SWT).

 

Now... as far as your question is concerned.. you have asked a very good question and this question tickles everone's mind everyday.

 

Here is the asnwer to your question in Islamic perspective. It's upto you to decide whether it's right or wrong.

 

------------------------

"A young man looks at himself in the mirror and he asks himself: Why am I here? Why do I do the things I do? What's my purpose? Another young man looks at himself in the mirror and he tells himself I know why I am here, I know why I do the things I do and I have a purpose in life.

He smiles to himself and feels satisfaction in his heart as he thinks of his lord, Allah swt. The first young man stares at his seemingly happy face but his heart aches. His heart fills with a dull pain and he is left to wander aimlessly after true happiness. The vital difference between the confidence and happiness of the second young man and the lack there of in the first young man is ISLAM.

Islam is a religion that teaches one to give up their de sires and to fulfill the desires of their lord Allah swt. People are not truly free until they break free from the chains of inner passions and surrender to the will of Allah swt. As a Muslim one's ultimate goal is to please Allah swt. Thus, a Muslim becomes a fighter and survivor in this world full of temptations and evil.

 

One must fight and break away from the voice of Satan urging to fall into the traps of evil. This battle against evil does not go unseen. For at the end Allah swt promises the ultimate prize and glory. This prize is entrance into the doors of paradise. It is this knowledge that drives a Muslim closer to his lord and keeps him away from evil. His heart is filled with happiness as he seeks ways to get closer to the paradise promised him.

 

A Muslim has a goal, a destination, and a path to follow. He will never be lost as he looks towards Allah swt and his message. A disbeliever does not have any of these things. He has no one to guide him; he has no destination, no path. He is lost. Yet, he cannot give up on his mission to find happiness. He searches and is filled with answers like, enjoy life while it lasts, don't worry be happy, and follow your dreams.

 

In the quest for answers these prove to be unsuccessful and lead down a winding path of turmoil. Without any strong hold on one's desires a disbeliever defies all limits to enjoyment in life, and is bombarded with problems. Problems he tries to solve by forgetting about them. He tries to forget with drugs, alcohol, and drowning himself in a life filled with ecstasy and pleasure. In Islam, enjoyment in life is a blessing from Allah swt. However, it is not a driving force in life.

 

Enjoyment is allowed within the realms of Islam. Allah swt protects his creation and he cuts harmful things at their roots. An excellent example is drinking. A mother holds the dead body of her three-year-old son as she cries out in pain Why? Why? to the drunk driver who barreled into their car. Another innocent life taken away by drunk driving, and added to the thousands killed each year.

 

Drinking is the cause of many social problems that plague our society. Islam has not only forbidden drinking, but it also forbids people from buying, selling and transporting any alcoholic related beverages. By having such a full approach against this problem Islam prevents victimization of innocent people, death by liver disease and break up of families. So many lives are shattered as men come home drunk, brutally hit their wives and children, and in the morning cannot remember a thing.

 

No law mandated against drunk driving or battery can stop these tragedies. The highest authority, Allah swt, deals with it by making it forbidden and thus preventing any of these things from occurring. He provides an incentive to obey him (paradise the ultimate reward and his pleasure) and a mechanism to make it easy for his creation to follow his commandments (such as the five daily prayers and fasting). Allah swt, through the Holy Quran, guides Muslims to remain on the straight path, the path that will attain happiness in this world and the next. This straight path can be found in the guide for all of mankind, the Holy Quran.

 

The Quran is the manual for life. It gives one a focus and a destination. Every single aspect of this life is covered in t he Quran. As a follower of Allah's words one can never fail. The Quran tells of relationships with parents, rights of a wife, rights of orphans, etc. Allah swt gave mankind this manual and he blessed us with the final Messenger as the most beautiful examples for all of humanity to follow. Islam is the solution. Without this solution a disbeliever will forever look in the mirror and his head will fill with hundreds of unanswered questions. The boundary between right and wrong will become a blur to him. He will forever be lost, like he is, now in this evil illusion inspired by temptations and desires. The problems of the world will always entangle him until he submits to Allah, the one God who has created him. O Allah, guide humanity to your mercy -

 

--------------------------

 

Few may point-out Islam doesn't have tollerance for them I would say..

 

NEVER JUDGE A RELIGION BY IT'S PEOPLE; JUDGE A RELIGION BY IT'S SCRIPTURE...

 

May Allah guide you ...

 

[yasodanandana 0]

"in fact and short I would say I don't at all believe in any religion except Islam."

 

your explanation is very good, and it is a basic understanding of spiritual reality that fits for every bona fide religion

 

the next step, for you, is to use your intelligence and see that, if all the authentic religions describe in the same way the joining of the spiritual path and the right behaviour of a spiritual man, a saint, a practitioner.. obviously they belong to the same root

 

when you go to the doctor, you recognise him from the behaviour and the ability to cure people, not from a sign or an affiliation to some organization

 

so do recognise a religious man from the features, not from the name of an organization

 

"a Muslim one's ultimate goal is to please Allah"

so if you find anyone who's ultimate goal is to please god... he's your companion and brother

 

remember.... breaking the unity of religious people, making them fight... is a great work of satan (maya..kaliyuga), because in this way the materialists can say: "see them.. they are fighting exactly like we are doing every day... what is the difference? surely god is a false thing if he cannot make them at least peaceful and collaborative!!"

 

"religious" wars, exclusivism, fanaticism, intolerance are an offence to god, a blasphemy

 

[Guest guest]

BHAKTI YOGA

 

Bhakti cannot be easily defined, because it is transcendental. Sandilya describes it as intense loving attachment to God (paranuraktirisvare). Rupa Goswami describes it as harmonious pursuit of Krishna, unenveloped by jnana and karma and uninterrupted by the desire for anything else. Narada describes it as indescribable love of God and the most sublime of all human experiences, on attaining which man craves for nothing else. He is maddened with joy and delights in his own self. He always swims in the ocean of nectar and is not drawn to the enjoyments, either of this world or the next, which are to him like the turbid waters of a muddy pool.

 

BHAKTI IS THE FUNCTION OF THE HLADHINI SHAKTI

 

These descriptions, however, give us only a general idea of the character of bhakti. They do not tell us what it exactly is. No one before Jiva Goswami told us what it was. It was he, who for the first time defined it as the function (vrrti) of the Hladini Shakti of Bhagavan, the shakti that causes bliss. Bhagavan places it in the hearts of His devotees, so that they may be entranced as well as He.

 

How do we know that Bhakti is the shakti of Bhagavan, not jiva? Sruti says that Bhagavan is eternally unmanifest (avyakta). No one can see Him without the help of His own shakti. Only he can see or know Him, whom He Himself chooses - yamevaisa vrnute tena esa labhya (Mundaka Sruti .3.2.3.).

At the same time the Sruti says that shakti alone takes the jiva to Bhagavan, bhakti alone enables him to see Him - bhaktireva enam nayati, bhaktireva enam darsayati (Mathara Sruti). This makes it clear that bhakti is the shakti of Bhagavan.

 

BHAKTI IMPLIES SELFLESS LOVING SERVICE OF BHAGAVAN

 

Bhakti implies service. Selfless loving service of the lord is the essence of bhakti. Though the devotee serves the lord for the pleasure of the lord, pleasure comes to him automatically. Such is the very nature of bhakti. But if the devotees attitude of bhakti is tainted in the slightest degree with concealed desire for his own pleasure, he is deprived to that extent of the supreme delight that comes from suddha of pure bhakti. He condemns even pleasure that automatically comes to the devotee from an act of service, if in any manner it causes obstruction to service.

 

It is regrettable that the idea of service is not properly understood and appreciated by those, who find it difficult to reconcile it with their ego. They think that the path of bhakti is meant exclusively for persons, who are intellectually weak and temperamentally submissive. They cannot understand that in the spiritual world, where love reigns supreme, to serve is to love and to love is to rule. In love self-sacrifice is self-realization ands self-effacement is self-fulfilment. In love there is reciprocity. Each member of the relationship of love feels deficient without the other, each wants to draw close to the other and to win the other by love and service. The lord being the other member in the relationship of love in bhakti, He feels deficient without His devotee. He draws Himself close to him to realize Himself more fully through love and service to Him. He derives greater pleasure in being controlled by His devotee than in lording it over him.

 

BHAKTI IS A SPIRITUALLY GRAVITATING FORCE THAT WORKS AT TWO ENDS

 

Bhakti is a spiritually gravitating force that works at two ends. In our hearts it roots out all egotistic impulses that carry us away from the lord and releases the integrating forces leading to complete surrender of all our faculties, so that knowledge, love and will may act in complete harmony with the divine rhythm. In God it energizes His mercy and releases the forces of redemption, which lead to the final integration of our being with Divine Will. This is confirmed by Krishna's exhortation to Arjuna, in which He asks him to surrender himself completely to His will and promises, on his so doing, to free him from all bondage and sin. This is the principle of divine grace necessarily implied in bhakti.

 

It may be asked, how the principle of divine grace can be reconciled with the transcendental and self sufficient character of the divine being, who remains unaffected by prakriti and is without any desire or motive. The answer lies in the nature of bhakti. Bhakti is not something phenomenal. It is the function of the Hladini shakti (the potency that causes bliss) of Bhagavan. It energizes, as we have seen, both Bhagavan and the bhakta (devotee). Like the lamp, which reveals itself as well as other objects, the hladini shakti of Bhagavan, placed by Him in the heart of a pure devotee, causes bliss to Him as well as to the devotee. In fact, Bhagavan, the supreme relisher of bliss (rasika shekhar), relishes the bliss, flowing from His Hladini Shakti, placed in the heart of His devotee (shaktyananda), even more than He relishes the bliss, which flows from the nature of His own self (svarupananda). On account if the gravitational force of the Hladini shakti the bhakta is drawn towards Bhagavan and Bhagavan towards the bhakta. Thus the bhakta surrenders himself to Bhagavan and Bhagavan surrenders Himself to the bhakta. Grace is nothing but the surrender of Bhagavan to the bhakta.

 

[Guest guest]

BHAKTI IS THE ONLY MEANS FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF BHAGAVAN

 

Bhakti is the only means for the attainment of the supreme lord.

Sri Krishna said to Uddhava:

na sadhayate mam yogo na samkhyam dharma uddhava

na svadhyayastapastyago yatha bhaktirmamorjita

- It is not possible to attain Me through jnana, yoga, renunciation, penance, study of scriptures or the performance of duty, in the same manner in which it is possible to attain Me through bhakti. (Bh.11.4.21)

He also states:

sadhavo hrdayam mahyam sadhunam hrdayam tvaham

madanyatte na jananti naham tebhyo managapi

- The devotees are My heart and I am the heart of My devotees. They know nothing except Me and I know nothing except them. (Bh.9.4.68)

 

aham bhakta paradhino hyasvatantra iva dvija

sadhubhirgrastahrdayo bhaktirbhaktajanapriyah

- Like one, who has no freedom at all, I am completely under the subjection of My devotees, as if they always hold Me in their fist. (Bh.9.4.63)

 

bhaktya mamabhijanati

- By means of bhakti I am fully known. (Gita 18.55)

 

Sri Chaitanya says that jnana, the way of knowledge, karma, the way of action and yoga do not lead to the same goal as bhakti. Jnana, which consists in discrimination and contemplation leads to the realization of Nirvisesa (formless and attributeless) Brahman and the souls immersion in it. Yoga, which consists in the practise of yama (restraint), niyama (culture), pranayama (breath control) etc. leads to the realization of Paramatma, which is but a partial aspect of Bhagavan. Karma, which consists in the performance of nitya (compulsory) and naimittika (occasional) duties, leads to the attainment of heaven for as long as the effect of the good deeds performed does not get exhausted. But none of them leads to the attainment of Bhagavan.

 

BHAKTI IS THE ESSENCE OF ALL RELIGIONS

 

It is important to note that even for the attainment of their respective goals, such as they are, jnana and yoga have to depend on bhakti. Yoga cannot even begin without bhakti, because it implies faith in Bhagavan, whom the yogi aims at realizing in His partial aspect as Paramatma. No matter how long the yogi performs the yogic exercises and practises austerities, all his efforts will come to nothing if he lacks in bhakti. Because Paramatma is savisesa (qualified) and we cannot realize Him through yoga, without bhakti, yoga is sometimes regarded as a kind of bhakti called yoga-misra-bhakti (bhakti mixed with yoga) or santa-bhakti.

 

Even Samkara recognized the necessity of bhakti, for jnana. He says in his commentary on Gita that jnananishta or fidelity to knowledge without which liberation is not possible, is itself the result of archana-bhakti or bhakti which consists in the ceremonial worship of the deities. Again in his commentary on Brahma Sutra he says that though liberation is the result of higher knowledge (vidya), bhakti prepares the ground for higher knowledge by bringing the grace of Bhagavan.

 

The realization of Nirvisesa Brahman through jnana is also not permanent without bhakti. Sri Chaitanya speaks of two kinds of men, who follow the jnana-marga: Those who do not have faith in Bhagavan and seek to realize Nirvisesa Brahman independently and those who have faith in Him, but desire to attain Mukti (liberation). The former attain Mukti and the state of immersion in Brahman after a great deal of effort, but there is every possibility of them again falling prey to Maya. The latter attain the state of immersion in Brahman more easily due to the grace of Bhagavan. Bhagavan lets them enjoy this state for some time, but ultimately lifts them up to His own Dhama, so that they may enjoy the state of contiguity with Him, which is more pleasurable than the state of immersion in Brahman.

 

Jiva is but an infinitesimal part of the Tatashta Shakti (marginal potency) of Bhagavan, who has come under the influence of Maya. His power is limited. The power of Maya, as the shakti of Bhagavan is unlimited. He cannot, therefore, cross the bounds of Maya without the grace of God. Jnana, Karma and Yoga, involving independent efforts on the part of the jiva to overcome Maya, are of no avail. The only course open to him is the path of bhakti. Krishna Himself says: "It is difficult indeed to overcome My Maya independently of Me. Only those who are sincerely devoted to Me, can overcome it". Jnana can, in a sense, lead to Bhagavan, but not jnana based on our limited understanding. Only jnana, which proceeds from the higher intelligence granted by Sri Krishna, to one who is sincerely devoted to Him or jnana which is the product of bhakti (the Hladini Shakti of Bhagavan), can dispel the clouds of ignorance and enable the jiva to attain Bhagavan.

 

Thus whatever the path of religion, bhakti is essential for the realization of the goal. In fact the path of realization is but one and that is the path of bhakti. This is the real teaching of the scriptures. Sri Chaitanya regards it as the very essence of the Vedas. If the people speak of many paths of realization, they do so, because their intelligence is clouded by Maya. The intelligence of different persons is differently conditioned by the three gunas of Prakrti. Therefore they interpret the Vedas differently and speak of the paths of realization as more than one. Bhakti is not only the essence of the Vedas, but of all religions.

 

 

[dzimmerm 0]

To learn and to love.

 

Or more precisely, to learn how to express love more completely as well as gaining and internalizing knowledge about the world that you are part of.

 

dzimmerm

[kailasa 0]

=(

[moorthi 0]

I base it on the Upanishads and Bhagavatham.

 

Om Sri Krishnarpanamasthu

[kailasa 0]

Exuse, this is purpos material life.

[Subala 1]

purpose of life is -

 

just get some ghee, doesn't matter - you steal, borrow, sell something but get some ghee...

 

why? because anything you cook with ghee is very tasty...

 

-by our friend Charvaka muni

[yasodanandana 0]

what do you think of olive oil? /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

 

I base it on the Upanishads and Bhagavatham.

 

 

 

The theories you put forward have no basis in the above scriptures.

 

Cheers

 

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

Donno who you are but wanna tell you onething... It's almost impossible for a Hindu to recognize the true religion and trur Lord because, Hindus have crores of Gods/Godesses... so if one is not then the other one /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

 

Even the true god comedown and tell you that I am the true god even then also you don't consider it and you people just live in some myths and you can't leave them at any cost.

 

If someone talks the reality then you start talking about sprituality, karma, ...la blah blah.... it's a waste of time talk and discuss these issues on the net cause at the end of the discussion there will be no Result...

 

If you wanna have real, clean and result orient Debate then comedown we will have good debate or you tell me your address I will comedown if it's in my limits...

 

I pray to Allah to give more power to your brains to think beyond what you are thinking now...

 

Have a good one...

 

Regards

Shahid

[yasodanandana 0]

you are simply deluded to have not found people wanting to fight with you... and if you want to fight me you demonstrate that you do not know my beliefs at a sufficient level to start a real discussion and to make real objections to me

 

"I pray to Allah to give more power to your brains to think beyond what you are thinking now..."

 

for this i thank you with all my heart, but with your "tribal" exclusivism you are not helping me even a little bit