Without a goal in life, this life is meaningless. You earn money, you eat, drink and enjoy yourself but you still have worries. How can this be your aim in life? What is the point of a human life that goes to waste? Having been born a human, what should you do to attain the goal of a human life? If you want worldly happiness, you should give whatever you have to others. You can expect happiness only if you make others happy, otherwise misery will come to you for making others miserable. Understand the law of this world and of all the religions in just this one statement: ‘He who wants happiness should make others happy and he, who wants misery, should make others miserable.’ Do whatever suits you. Someone may question about how it is possible to make others happy without money. Money is not the only thing that you can give; you can keep an obliging nature, run errands for others or give advice to people. You can oblige others in many ways.
The main aim should be to attain the knowledge of the Self and Salvation(Moksha). The secondary aim should be to spend life helping others. If nothing else is understood, then life should be spent without hurting anyone. Everything else is a waste of time and energy. Once the aim is resolved within, whether it is attained or not, the awareness of the aim helps one attain the goal.
Many people have the aim of attaining God, but to do this one must get to know the true nature of God. Just by chanting the name, spending fifteen minutes a day in front of an idol of God, does not lead to God realization. For this one needs to find and meet a Gnani Purush. By attaining the grace of the Gnani, the Self is realized and then the true awareness of God is attained. This God is the pure Soul and when one becomes one with the Self, direct devotion commences. The devotional practices seen in the world are indirect. For salvation direct devotion is necessary.
Life after life one has wished for liberation, but has not really resolved seriously for it. When an unflinching inner resolve is established to spend all the merit karma in attaining it (niyanu), one meets a Gnani Purush and attains Gnan. After Gnan, the niyanu has to be for moksha and the worldly wishes should be for salvation of the world. When the niyanu for moksha is established one attains final liberation in one or two life times. The aim has to be with the understanding of Gnan, not with ego mediated understanding. This is because the well meaning ego is often unpredictable and may lead one on the wrong path. The aim that is established with correct vision and knowledge will lead one to the end. The mind may interfere but not listening to the mind and proceeding according to the current understanding leads one to the goal.
The goal of humanity
Questioner: What is the goal of human life?
Dadashri: One should have passed by 50 % the examination that qualifies entry into life as a human being. If one has higher aims as a human being then he should attain 90% marks in the examination. Human qualities are necessary, isn't it? Where there is no humanity, how can one have an aim at all?
This life here is all ‘fractured’, without any aim. One does not even know why he is living. What is the essence of human life? It is the stage where one can decide his future life form. One can also decide for liberation, moksha when one becomes a human being.
Questioner: What is the prerequisite for attaining the exact goal of human life and how long is this endeavor possible?
Dadashri: One should know the qualities of ideal human beings and one should know how to attain them. One should go and sit near those human beings who have attained qualities of humanity.
Two types of goals in worldly life
Questioner: What should one do to attain his goal in life?
Dadashri: What goal have you decided for this human life? Tell me. Two types of goals need to be decided. The first is that if you cannot meet a Gnani Purush then until then, you have to live your life in such a way that no living being is hurt by you. You have to spend your time in the company (satsang) and vicinity of good human beings and avoid bad company (kusang) as much as possible. This should be the aim.
The supreme goal of not hurting a single living being to the slightest extent should be there. It is not our independent authority to give happiness to others. And if you happen to meet a Gnani Purush then remain in his satsang. With Him, all your goals will be accomplished and all your puzzles will be solved.
So what then is the goal of a human being? Human beings of India have the potential to become Gods. To attain one’s own Supreme Self is the final goal of a human being.
To eat to live or to live to eat?
Why do people brush their teeth all their life? After the age of 60 can one be excused from brushing? Why were Jain monks told notto brush their teeth? Why does one clean the tongue?
Our people clean their tongue to improve the taste of food, not solely for cleaning it. If it was really necessary to clean the tongue then the dogs and cats would have to do the same. This is an invention of human beings to improve their tastes of food. The monks (sadhus) on the other hand are told not to savor food but just go and get whatever they can, mix it all and just eat it. Hence they have no reason to clean the tongue. Our people on the other hand eat all kinds of sweets, spicy, fried and all kinds of gourmet preparations for their enjoyment and these foods then lead to unpleasant odors. They need to clean their tongues. Monks have to just fill their stomach to live whereas worldly people are living to enjoy food. Do you see the point?
Questioner: Yes. Yet I see some of these renunciates (sadhus) who seem to be living to enjoy these foods.
Dadashri: Yes. This is due to the changes that have come out in this era of the time cycle, Kaliyug. It used to be the rule in the past that monks had to eat to live.
Should money be the goal of life ?
I asked people why they were running after money so much. Why make money the goal of life? Money comes on the basis of merit karma (Punya). They ask, ‘is it not coming because of intellect?’ I replied, ‘If that was the case go see how these intellectuals are running around with hardly any shoes to wear while their dumb bosses are swimming in money.’ These intellectuals will give you all kinds of advice, but they themselves are poor. Those who are simple at heart and do not hurt others with their intellect have money. This money comes to them from their merit karma.
Questioner: With money comes food and comforts.
Dadashri: Yes, it does not come from God, and therefore people have lost their love for God. He has no faith in God. He does not know God at all. He loves what he sees. The world loves money, does it not?
The goal worth deciding in life
There is no reason to be worried about being cheated here. (Around the Gnani). If he comes here after being cheated by the world then it is ideal. But he does not know the result of letting go, getting cheated deliberately by others. Does anyone realize that it is very valuable to get cheated deliberately?
Questioner: The people would not know this.
Dadashri: I had learnt the system of allowing others to cheat me from a very young age. My mother Zaverba had taught me this. She would get cheated deliberately and thus give satisfaction to others. I had liked it very much that she gave satisfaction to others. And after all what is one going to lose by being cheated? What capital is one going to lose
Questioner: I still do not have the courage to let others cheat and take advantage of me, deliberately.
Dadashri: The courage to be cheated? It does not take me long at all. I would immediately understand that this man has come to me with the intention to cheat. So I would let him cheat me. It is difficult to get such a customer. How will you find such a client again? See, you still lack the courage.
Questioner: What happens in my business is that a certain person is charging me 1000 rupees more than the market price, and I am aware of this. I lack the courage to give him more than the market price. So I end up haggling with him and saying that, ‘this price can ever be.’
Dadashri: This deliberate action of allowing the other to cheat, with understanding, is an exception. Such exception is rare. Most people, who allow others to cheat them deliberately, do so out of shame, or some other inner motive. No one has such an aim in life, to allow others to cheat them deliberately. For me, this was a goal in life.
The State without conflict is the main goal
Every human assures that he keeps what is necessary for his worldly life, and he does so to protect him from any difficulties in the future. This safe side that one creates varies amongst people. But that is not the goal. That is the safe side on the road of life. So then what is the goal? The goal is to be free from anger, pride, deceit, greed, attachment and abhorrence. This must not happen with anyone under any circumstances. When one receives insults and slaps and yet does not experience any abhorrence towards the person doing it, then it is called the goal. The state of being free from all these weaknesses is the goal. And if weakness remains, then who will agree that you all have met the Lord in human form? If you have met the Lord and weaknesses remain then he is not the Lord.
Those who came in my contact must be benefited and experience happiness
Dadashri’s says, “We must know where we are heading?” we must set a target and follow the principles to achieve it and should not remain directionless. A tree bears fruits, wood, leaves but all meant for others to use. It never uses the same for itself. Similarly a human life must be used for other’s benefits and be a cause for their development. His whole life Dadashri laid the emphasis on his strong will that “Those who came in my contact must be benefited and experience happiness”. Pujya Niruma went ahead in this mission and ensured flow of suitable guidelines for us to follow.
Jai Sat Chit Anand