The Purpose of Life

One day during my morning walk, I saw an old man cooking on the roadside. I sat down beside him, curious about his simple setup. He lit a fire with a small piece of wood, arranged four bricks around it, and gently shaped dough with his palms to fry puris in very little oil. He cut the brinjal and potatoes in a relaxed manner, using every part of the brinjal, even the top. Despite having no way to regulate the heat, each puri came out perfectly. He was an ironsmith.

Later, I kept thinking about him. Do he and other simple people wonder about the purpose of life? Is it love, compassion, happiness, helping others, self-realization, or what?

A few days later, my friend, who is happily married and enjoying life with her husband, family, and children, visited me. She buys gold and diamonds, fulfilling all her desires. Suddenly, she asked me, “What is the purpose of life?”

I pondered for a while. What should I say? She seemed to lack nothing. If I say, to find true happiness, she might say she is already happy. Not knowing what to say, I smiled back, but she persisted. Finally, I said, “I know my purpose of life, but I don’t know yours. I guess you have to find it yourself.”

She asked, “What is your purpose in life?”

I replied, “To be more calm and peaceful, and to know the truth.”

She asked, “What do you think is the truth?”

I said, “I haven’t found it yet.”

She pressed on, “Still, what do you think?”

I thought back to a memory and shared it with her. “When I was 10 years old, our school took us on a trip to a bell temple near Nainital. The teacher told us, ‘When your turn comes to get close to the goddess, make a wish, and it will be granted.’ As I waited for my turn, I thought hard about what to ask for. Should I ask to get rid of my school, bad teachers, and strict granny? Or for my own room in the house? Or to become the best student and win awards? Nothing seemed worth that one wish.

When my turn came, I closed my eyes and, for a few moments, went blank. Then, to my surprise, I asked, ‘Oh goddess, please give me true knowledge.’ I was just 10 years old.”

My friend smiled and left, but I wasn’t sure if my answer made any sense to her. Later, I kept thinking about it. What could be the purpose of human life? It must be the same for everyone.

A few months later, a thought came to me – The fact that my friend asked this question indicated that something was missing in her life. Birds, animals, and simple people around us, often not so educated, seem to live their purpose naturally. They are present in the moment, simply “being.”

Our position is like a fish swimming in a pond, unaware of her swimming skills. The fish makes every possible effort to realize that she has been swimming since birth, it is a part of her very own nature. “The purpose of life is just to be ‘aware” of our own nature”. Now she swims as never before. Nothing much changes, but growing confidence in this awareness makes her very happy.

Poem

What are we missing?

To learn how to swim! That fish knows

But to be aware of what she knows.

Go slow…go slow