Miscellaneous - Religion   

The purpose of life

CHENNAI DEC. 17 . What is the purpose of life? Some say the purpose of life is not to come back to the earth again. Others say love is the purpose of life. Why would some persons say that they do not want to come back? Because they find there is no love here or when there is love it is very painful. When some people are pained and troubled, they do not want to be born here again. If this place could be so wonderful and full of love and divinity, then the desire not to come back would drop naturally. When we see the purpose of life from all sides then we will realise what we want is love that does not die out, a love that does not cause pain, a love that grows and stands forever. Only a mature mind can realise the purpose of life, said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in an interactive discussion with a group of people. A confused person will never be able to achieve this. One gentleman was asking a person standing by his side in a railway station as to where the train was going. Each time when a new train arrived he repeated the question. Finally the person to whom the question was put, asked the questioner as to where he wanted to go so that he will help him to get into the right train. Pat came the reply, "I want to cross the rail line to go to the other side after all trains have arrived and left". This person will never be able to cross the line.

One may ask as to why there are so many gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. This was because our forefathers, who were intelligent beings, believed in diversity. The spirit can manifest in hundreds of thousands of forms. If you limit God to one form you may tend to lose interest in that form after some time. Our forefathers believed that God existed in each and everything — in trees, water source, fire and other elements of Nature and they worshipped them. Only little minds will question this belief. The Panchayatana system where five gods are worshipped can be compared to the Panchayats that exist today. Lord Ganesha is a dynamic person who resolves the conflict. He is the remover of all obstacles and hurdles. Surya is very aggressive, bright, dynamic and enthusiastic who brings about changes. Lord Vishnu sees that every movement is made in the right direction by "maintaining" it. Mother Goddess is there to create things. Lord Siva represents spiritual wisdom. Each of them is needed. The existence of different gods and goddesses is just to maintain harmony. Dedication and love for work must be the motto of everyone.

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• The Hindu Crossword No. 7546
• Solution to puzzle 7545
• The purpose of life
• dated December 17, 1952: Fasting Sriramulu passes away
• dated December 17, 1952: The Tests with Pakistan
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