Online edition of India's National
Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 21, 2002
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Objective of human life
CHENNAI
DEC. 21
. "The Sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening with utmost
regularity every day. The stars glitter beautifully in the sky in
the night and hide themselves during the day. The wind blows
incessantly and sustains the living beings without taking rest even
for a moment. The rivers make pleasant sounds as they flow
permanently. Who is the Master under whose sovereignty all these
marvels are taking place? That is God and hence we should listen to
His command and obey it," says a Telugu poem. Everyone is keen to
know the objective of life but few succeed in their endeavour. One
in a million will persist with strong determination not to give up
till he realises the goal. Ordinary mortals, who however know the
significance of the verse above, do not make efforts in this
direction as they think it is something beyond their reach. Immersed
in worldly pleasures, they fail to understand that there is a higher
purpose in human life than these enjoyments.
It is necessary for a person
to take efforts to acquire wisdom and experience Bliss. The
Taittiriya Upanishad gives an analogy of a bird in this respect. Its
head represents "steadfast faith" (sraddha). Its two wings stand for
"Righteousness" (Ridham) and Truth (Sathyam). The trunk symbolises
Yoga and the tail denotes the Self. Righteousness or virtue will
remain unchanged in all periods of Time — the past, present and the
future. Deep and sustained faith is very important as it results in
gaining wisdom and the Lord in the Gita reiterates this. In the
field of spirituality in particular this unwavering faith is very
essential. The Upanishads have expounded the principle of faith (Sraddha)
in varied ways. Wisdom attained through it will fetch liberation
while knowledge obtained without it will bind men. The Taittiriya
Upanishad teaches that the eternal principle of "Liberation" should
be understood, practised and propagated.
In a lecture, Sri Sathya Sai
Baba wanted everyone to strive for the purity of these three. For
instance, when a glass chimney is placed over a lamp, after some
time, a thin layer of soot is formed and consequently light becomes
dim. Only when the chimney is cleaned there will be brightness. The
soot that gets accumulated can be compared to the ego that envelops
one's mind preventing the entry of Divine wisdom. Ego gets in when
the path of Truth is abandoned and to drive it out, worldly thoughts
should be kept under control.
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