Darshan with Swami Krishnananda – 1996

by Swami Krishnananda

46. The Purpose of Life

(Darshan given on October 9th, 1996)

A visitor: What is the purpose of life?

Swamiji: The purpose of life is to achieve perfection, and nobody in the world is perfect. There is imperfection everywhere. You feel you are one among the many, and the existence of other things delimits your freedom. You cannot be 100% free as long as there are other people who also want that freedom. So you are located in one place; and getting tied up to one location, one place, is a consciousness of finitude. You are one among the many, but are not everything. Finally, if you analyse yourself carefully, the wish of everyone is to be so complete that nothing outside could interfere with that perfection. But there is no such thing which will not be interfered with by somebody else. So it finally takes you to the relationship between you and the world. The world is limiting you, and you cannot have mastery over the world. The world seems to be too big for you because it existed even before you were born. So here is a very important point. A thing that existed even before you were born controls you, and then everything that is in the world also is the controlling factor, so that you feel utterly helpless in this big ocean of unintelligible vastness of the world. Neither can you have any say about other people, nor can you have any say about the world. This question arises because you do not know your relationship with other people, and also you do not know your relationship with the world.

Now, you must know in what way you are connected with the world. If you say “I have no connection with the world” then you cannot live in the world, and if you say “I have no connection with other people” then also you cannot live in the world. You have got a vital connection with everybody in the world, and you have a vital connection with the natural world also. It is up to you to find out what kind of relationship it is. This is not a matter to be discussed casually in a few minutes. It is a deep, profound secret of life. A lot of study, a lot of analysis, a lot of deep thinking, and what you call meditation are necessary.

To clinch the matter without going into great detail, the purpose of life is to come in contact with that which has projected this world, projected you, and projected other people. We are all effects of a cause. The world is changing. People are changing. You are changing. The entire atmosphere is in the state of transition because everything changes. That change can be directed towards something transcendent, which itself is not changing. That Changeless Being is transcendent. It is above the world, above other people, above yourself. It is all-pervading inclusiveness of perfection. This is what religion calls God. You may call that by any name: the Universal, Ultimate Existence. It is the cause of the whole world, the cause of everybody, the cause of you, so that everything seems to be a bundle of effects with transition characterising everything. Nothing is static. Everything is moving. You have grown from childhood to an adult, and everything moves, moves, moves, moves, which they call evolution. The whole universe is moving, but moving towards what? It is moving towards that which itself does not move. That is the aim of life, the purpose, and I cannot give a long answer to you now. You be satisfied with this for the time being.

Another visitor: Physics has come to an end where it sees consciousness as a part of…

Swamiji: Physics is coming to that conclusion that life is made of consciousness. All right, let us take it for granted that life is consciousness. So what happens after knowing this? After knowing that life is consciousness, what impact does this have on our daily life? How does it help your daily life? Having known this great truth, in what way has it changed your pattern of life practically?

Visitor: It impacts me in two big ways. One is, I feel I must have an experience of, or study or understand consciousness and spiritual life. The other is, I must make others see this also.

Swamiji: What you are saying to me is an object of deep meditation. Life is consciousness is another way of saying the whole universe is consciousness. It comes to that. And if the whole universe is consciousness, there is nothing else to think of in the mind because you cannot think anything outside consciousness, outside the universe. When you cannot think anything outside the universe, then all your problems are solved in one minute. So when you deeply contemplate this matter, it is like the whole universe contemplating that it is consciousness. Can you do meditation like this: The whole universe is consciousness, and it is contemplating on itself in this way, and you are also a part of it. So the whole universe is a glowing light of perfection, absolute consciousness. It is wonderful to hear this. If your heart has accepted this, you become a superman almost. You will not be a human being afterwards. Then you will have such strength that you may help others, or whatever it is. First of all, make yourself perfect, then you can make others perfect.

Another visitor: I have a sincere desire to grow and to help others grow in the knowledge of the Self, and also spread spiritual values.

Swamiji: You have used the words “knowledge of the self”. What are the characteristics of a person who has knowledge of the self?

Visitor: Peace.

Swamiji: Everybody here has peace. There is nobody without peace, but still they are not having Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is different from peace. It is another thing. Spirituality does not mean peace. It is something more than that.

Visitor: Freedom.

Swamiji: It is much more than that. No word can explain it.

Another visitor: I have a doubt about whether I am Self-realised or not.

Swamiji: Nobody can be realised in this birth so easily. Only you are preparing for it. If God is kind enough, He can liberate you in this birth or He may do it next birth. You should never ask for anything from God. If you ask for anything, it will be an obstacle for your Self-realisation because asking is a mental action, and the mind is always against spiritual progress. So you should only meditate on the greatness and glory and all-pervading nature of God, and never ask for anything. Then you will progress. Meditation does not mean asking, expectation. Neither expect anything nor ask anything. You don't ask the sun every day: “Please come up and give light to me.” You need not say that. It will be automatically done. So if you live a regulated life, you will maintain health. Similarly, if you regulatedly think without interfering with the fruit of the action that you are performing… The whole Bhagavadgita is this teaching: You do your duty, but never ask. Then it becomes an interference. Then you will succeed. Your thoughts should be only of God or mantra, but never expect anything. Then you will progress.