The purpose of human life

We are all one, we all have come from one and the same source,
and we have to go back to the same source. That is our purpose of our human life.

                                                                                             Dr. Harbhajan Singh 

Man has great potential within him

All great souls who have come to this world told mankind, "You have great potential within you, and you are, therefore, exceedingly blessed to have been given human birth." But, what is the purpose of this human life? Why is it highly praised, and what is this great potential it holds?
 

The value of human life lies in the fact that only in the human form God can be realized. But, we must remember that it is the soul which can experience knowledge of the Lord – not the mind, not the senses, not the intellect, nor vital airs. Through every age this subject has been explained by sages: that to establish clear understanding, the intellect is made to work; but as those sages have proved, realization is a different matter. Intellectual understanding at the level of mind and senses is both useful and, in nearly all cases, necessary; but man must gain knowledge of what he really is – what he is as soul – then only does it become possible for him to realize what God is.
 

So, on the spiritual path to God-realization, one must first take steps toward self-realization. And, what does it mean to know oneself? It is not enough merely to say, "I am not the senses, I am not the mind; I am a conscious entity, I am soul." This is just a verbal expression of feeling, or is the sum total of inference gained by reaching a conclusion through the intellect. Realization is something separate from all this.

In the Upanishads it says, "When the senses are controlled, the mind is stilled, the intellect is also stilled, then the soul is united." So, it can be understood from this that as long as the soul does not gain freedom from mind, senses, and intellect, it cannot experience or know itself, and, therefore, also cannot experience God. If this highest knowledge is not gained in life, then man has not derived the full benefit or potential that lies within his grasp as a human being.

                                                                                                                                                                 Sant Kirpal Singh

 

 

Man is in search of happiness, but has no peace of mind. Even if he succeeds in achieving his objectives, he remains dissatisfied. His search for peace and happiness, therefore, never ends. Saint Augustine says that God gave us the senses for using them properly, but we misuse them by indulging in sensual pleasures; whereas the bliss for which we should have striven remains enshrined in scriptures only.

Man is an ensouled entity gifted with body, mind, and intellect. He takes good care of his body for the sake of his domestic, social, and political well-being. Intellectually, he has made strident advances. He has successfully explored the earth, oceans, and space and has made atomic bombs. A single atom bomb can destroy millions. Strangely enough, with all his achievements he remains ignorant about the prime source of energy from which his body and mind derive their strength – soul – his true self. He has so much identified himself with the body that he is unable to distinguish his soul from the body.

"This is a very important subject and today I will try to come in close contact with you, so that we must understand the real subject. This problem has baffled all the human-being, so this subject is very beautiful and we should put full attention to that subject, because that is the only subject, for which this man-body is given. Everything else in this world is a side-issue. Our purpose is to realize ourselves and to realize God."

We got together for a very special purpose. The subject is: Man know thyself. All Masters in the world stressed on these two, three words very much. Guru Nanak said it, Kabir, Christ, all competent Masters who so far came in the world, they stressed upon this subject very much, because self-realization proceeds to God-realization. When we know ourselves, then we can know the Overself.

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