The current situation of all of us:
If we were to ask the average person what the best thing he or she might do in life is, almost all of the responses would revolve around expanding material facilities for the satisfaction of his or his family's material pleasures. Many people aspire to have big bucks, stunning beauty, great power, tremendous fame, etc. All of it is egocentric. We have come to believe that living a successful life involves pursuing our own feeling of fulfilment in this materialistic, selfish, and self-centred world.Where is the confusion?
In practical terms, the idea of sensual pleasure is merely an illusion. We cannot genuinely experience happiness in the realm of material things. In this material world, there is no true pleasant substance. This material reality is known as Maya, which is Sanskrit for "that which is not". We have concepts like pleasure and love, among others. However, the greatest pleasure and love are not to be found in this world of materials.
Searching for the 'Greatest Happiness":
However, we usually discover that the enjoyment of the mind and senses is limited, fleeting, and insufficient to truly fulfil the soul, which is the true nature of the living person. In order to give living beings an opportunity to fulfil their material goals and comprehend their true spiritual situation, the Supreme Lord (Super soul) likewise compassionately produces the material manifestation. The living being can be freed from the endless cycle of birth, death, and suffering in materialistic existence by adhering to the correct instructions that the Supreme provides (Bhagavad Gita) by restoring his original spiritual consciousness and eternal place.
Thus, you just read the guidance that the Supreme Being has offered anytime you are unsure about what you are intended to do with your life or when you lose sight of who you are. Don't suppose the Lord created this world without providing us with the means to escape from it or at least make sense of it. In other words, the purpose of material creation is to provide living beings with the option of either progressing toward ultimate liberation through spiritual development or following their material and bodily cravings and cultivating a more transient sense of pleasure. Everyone has the freedom to select any option. However, even in animal species, one can experience temporary pleasures like sex, eating food, defending against any danger, etc which we all as human beings also do. Now ask yourself that where is the difference between animals and human beings? Therefore, contributing to the growth of Self-realization is the highest use of human life which is not there in animal species. That's why the human form is the greatest form among all other species.
The Untold Bitter Truth:
Despite our best efforts, we are all destined to live as servants forever. We can do nothing but serve. That's just how we are. Even the supposedly greatest man in the world can be studied and found to be a servant in any big company or serving people. A country's president is the servant of his countrymen, and if countrymen are dissatisfied with his performance, they will remove him from office. If we talk about the common men, they even serve animals (dogs, cats, etc) regularly by keeping them as their pets. Well-educated students are serving in corporates under too much pressure. What to say more? Therefore, everyone is a servant in various ways. No one is self-sufficient. However, serving in the material world is not satisfying at all. Serving God is the only way we may be truly satisfied.
How to achieve that great unlimited happiness?
We must understand that this material world is not our home before experiencing spiritual life in its truest sense. We live in a hostile foreign nation. And here in this unfriendly foreign nation, we (souls) can never be satisfied. We must return to Godhead (Super soul), to our true home, in order to be joyful. Therefore, there is no purpose in attempting to settle into a comfortable situation in the material world. It cannot be done. In the world of material objects, we can never be happy. That reminds me of a fish trying to be joyful while swimming outside. It is impossible. The aquatic environment is necessary for fish to survive. On land, the fish can never be happy. Similarly, we need to go back to that ocean of happiness rather than keep arranging things here to be happy, which is never gonna make us happy forever. Since we are spiritual beings, only a spiritual environment can make us joyful. In a material environment, we can never be happy.
Final words:
We can return to our normal state of being, when we are completely happy in spiritual joy, if we start engaging in authentic spiritual practises once more, which are the organic behaviours of the pure living being. Making the connection and reconnecting with the Supreme is all that is required. When one reaches the pure activities of the soul, which are devotional service to the Supreme Existence, he/she has gained this condition of being.
However, our desires become tainted with lust, anger, greed, and stupidity when we are imprisoned in the physical body and have a materialistic consciousness. We believe that the ultimate purpose of existence is to bring happiness to the mind and body. We believe that if we meet all of our physical and mental needs, we will be happier overall. As a result, we lose sight of our inner soul and are unable to enter the utterly happy condition that comes with restoring our spiritual consciousness. Then, even though we have everything we believe we want, we somehow go through life feeling empty and unfulfilled and not understanding why.
Therefore, the ultimate purpose of human life is to engage in the practises that enable us to reclaim our spiritual consciousness.
Credit: International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Referred Scriptures: Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuran
Chant and be happy:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna - Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama - Rama Rama Hare Hare
