PURPOSE OF LIFE- HAVE YOU CREATED ONE FOR YOURSELF?

Updated on October 18th, 2022

I am sure everyone, at some time or the other, wonders as to “What is the Purpose of his or her Life”. The associated queries which come to ones mind while seeking an answer to this question are:

Questions on Purpose of Life

-Is it the God who has created you has laid down the purpose of your life? Is it your biological parents who gave you the birth have given you the purpose of your life? Is it that you yourself have defined the purpose of your life?

-Was your Future already decided at the time of your birth itself? Was  it destined that you would be what you are today?

-Is it necessary to have a purpose of Life?

-When and from where does the purpose of life come?

-At what stage in life you are clear that you have purpose in this life which you have to achieve?

-Once you have got your purpose, does it remains constant or it changes with passage of time?

-Is the purpose of life the same as the goals that you set for yourself to achieve in your life?

These are some of the questions which generally haunt us and to which we probably have no satisfactory answer.

Your coming into this world was not your choice. It was either Gods will, destiny or an accident. You never had a choice of your parents or timing or place for coming into this world.

Having taken birth, the journey of your life began. Your personality, your character and your values developed over a period of time is a result of your upbringing and  exposure to the environment you got.

 

Is there a God given Purpose?

Whether there is a God given purpose for your existence or not is not clear.  If God has laid down an individual purpose for you then how is going to be communicated to you. Spiritual minds  may tell you to discover your purpose of life inside yourself by getting connected to God through spirituality and meditation.  However, for most human beings to do so does not appear easy.

Are your Goals the Purpose of Your Life?

Mostly, when we talk about purpose, we are actually talking about goals that we set for ourselves.  If our goals are giving us our purpose of life, what is the ultimate Goal of our life? Is it one of the following?

–Earning adequate Wealth

–Building strong Relationships

–Becoming a renowned Professional- viz;   Doctor,  Engineer, Pilot etc.

–Becoming powerful by achieving a position in society

–Becoming a Celebrity

–Achieving good health and fitness

–Doing something useful to the society

All  the items listed above  point toward achieving something which gives you satisfaction in life by fulfilling your material, physical and emotional needs. The satisfaction that you achieve after fulfillment of these needs is temporary and not long lasting. Once you achieve your set goal, you feel satisfied but that satisfaction is temporary and you want more.

The cycle of Goal setting and Fulfilment

So you  create now goals which again when satisfied give rise to yet another set of new goals and the cycle continues. For example, if your goal is to become a Billionaire and you are able to achieve this goal, you feel very good and on the top of the world. However, with the passage of time the satisfaction and feeling of achievement fades away. Whatever you have achieved becomes a way of your life. It does not fascinate you anymore.

You now set new goals to achieve more material wealth and your threshold of satisfaction goes higher and higher as you start comparing yourself with others who are still better than you. This way you get into a cycle of goal setting, achieving and setting worldly goals once again. In pursuit of getting more and more, you tend to lose sight of  the real purpose of life. The wealth, power and position that you earn basically results in satisfaction of your wants.

Meditation helps in focussing and concentrating your mind

Everyone’s goal in life is to avoid pain and acquire happiness, peace and wisdom. Man seeks happiness in wealth, love, sex, entertainment, liquor and even in drugs only to be disillusioned as all these pursuits do not bring a lasting joy but disappointment and distress in the end. Regular practice of Meditation  will bring your body, mind and soul in perfect harmony and will give a greater physical and mental power to achieve a successful, happy and peaceful life.

Is having a Purpose in Life necessary?

If setting and achieving goals is not the purpose of your life then what is the Purpose of Life? Is there any other purpose? Does one needs to have any other purpose?

Every venture, mission and journey has to have a purpose. Similarly Life is a journey and a mission to be fulfilled and so it has to have a purpose. Who will give this purpose?

Who will give you the Purpose of your Life?

It is you yourself who has to decide and define Purpose of Your Life to make it meaningful. For justifying your existence, you and you alone and no one else has to identify, define and create a purpose of your life.  Yes, every human being is capable of creating a purpose for himself/herself.

Essential Elements of Purpose of Life

Whatever you decide and define to be the purpose of your life, it needs to have the following four elements:

–Love whatever you are doing and do it to the best of your ability. If you do not like what you are doing and there is something else you would love to do, switch over to doing what you like and love, as soon as possible.

–Make your existence worthwhile by being useful to society. Whatever you do must contribute something to community directly or indirectly. Someone must benefit.

–Whatever you do and achieve should not be at the cost of others. There should be no injustice done to anyone.

— Introspect & practise regular meditation to harmonise you body, mind & soul.

A purpose of life once defined incorporating these four elements will give a direction and a focus to your life. Your life would become meaningful to you. By doing what you love to the best of your potential, benefiting others and practise regular meditation without hurting anyone will bring satisfaction, happiness and contentment in your life. This would eventually give you Peace of Mind. And this is is the ultimate goal of life.