God is the goal of life. (CWBSSB, p. 91)

 

The Vedas lay down four goals before men; Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. But, they have to be pursued in pairs, Dharma and Artha together and Kama and Moksha together. (SSS Vol.9, p. 93)

 

Whoever subdues his egoism, conquers his selfish desires, destroys his bestial feelings and impulses and gives up the natural tendency to regard the body as the self, he is surely on the path of Dharma; he knows that the goal of Dharma is the merging of the wave in the sea, the merging of the self in the Over-Self. (DV, p. 4)

 

There are four stages in the journey toward the Goal of seeking and reaching Him; each one is called a loka, a region which you reach. The first is avidya loka; the region of ignorance and delusion from which you start, prompted by chain of grief and pain it inflicts on you. The second is the vidya loka, where you penetrate into the Vijnanamaya kosha, the intellectual plane and are able to distinguish between the true and false, the kernel and the husk. The third is the anandaloka, where you are immersed in bliss, at the glimpse of the Eternal Source of Power and Peace. And, lastly, you have the Go-loka, where Go-pala reigns and aIl the Go’s (Jivas, sparks from the Divine, waves of the Premasagara, the Ocean of Love) are one in ecstasy and enlightenment. (SSS Vol.8, p. 52)

 

Through Viveka and Vichara, one achieves Vijnana and through Vijnana, one is able to grasp the Truth, to realise the Atman, to know the Atman. That is the ultimate goal of all life, the stage that is beyond the past, present and future. (JV, p. 20)

 

Shiva, Parvati and Ganapati can be interpreted as symbols of the Karma, Bhakti and Jnana margas to the Goal. (SSS Vol.7, p. 20)

 

The ocean is the goal of all waters, so too all tastes find their goal in the tongue; all forms realise themselves in the eyes; all sounds are for the ear; all resolutions have the mind as their goal; that is to say, the entire Jagat merges in Brahman. (UV, pp. 63-64)

 

As the rivers have the sea as their goal, the jivas have Brahman as their goal. Permanent joy can never be received by the ‘conscious’ Jiva from ‘material’ objects. Moksha is the acquisition of permanent joy, it is called the attainment of Brahman. Fixed exclusive devotion to Godhead can come to those who have no attachment to the wild phantasmagoria of name and form, which is called the ‘world’. That alone can win Atma jnana. He is the real vedantin who sees the world as an instrument, for escape from its coils. (GV, p. 229)

 

Greatness depends upon the Sadhana and the success achieved in it, in Anushthana and in Nishtha. ‘Awake, arise and stop not till the goal is reached’ it is said. ‘Uttishthata Jagrata Prapya Varan Nibodhata’. But one need not march towards the goal. It is not some place where you have to go. It is, just the opening of the eye, the removal of the veil the waking from the dream, the lighting of the Jnana-deepa. (SSS Vol.2, p. 56)

 

My dear! all are our fellow passengers, our travellers – all life, plants, animals, not only my Bhakta but our brother brute, our brother plant, not only our brother the good, but our brother the evil, our brother the spiritual and our brother the wicked, they are all going to the same goal; all are in the same stream, each is hurrying towards that infinite freedom. Hislop! The moments of realisation are those when all thoughts of worldly property, worldly desires, worldly needs, are all melted into God, into truth.

 

My dear one! Every being is in the universe has the potentiality of transcending the senses; even the little worm will one day transcend the senses and reach God. No life will be a failure.

 

There is no such thing as failure in the Universe. A hundred times man will hurt himself, a thousand times he will tumble, but in the end he will realise that he is God.

 

My Boy! You and I are both outlets of the same channel that is God; as such your nature is God and so is mine. You are of the nature of God by your birth right, the pure heart is the best mirror far the reflection of truth so that all these disciplines are for the purification of the heart and as soon as it is pure, all truths flash upon it in a minute, all truth in the universe will manifest in your heart if you are sufficiently pure.

 

Hislop! The harder the circumstances the more trying the environments, the stronger are the men who come out of those circumstances so welcome all these outside troubles and anxieties.

 

When the bubble bursts, it finds itself the whole ocean. You are the whole, the infinite, the all. Out of long churning this milk of the world comes butter and this butter is ... God. Men of heart get the butter and the butter-milk is left for the intellectual. (MBI, pp. 233-234)

 

So long as there remains a separate river distant from the ocean, which is its source and its goal, then the river will retain a separate name and have an individual identity. But once the river gets merged into the ocean, it gets the taste of the ocean, it gets the form of the ocean, and it takes on the name of the ocean. If you want to become one with the Lord, you have to get the feeling of the Lord, you have to get the form of the Lord, you have to get all the characteristics of the Lord, Himself. Only then can you become one with Him. You have to feel that all the attributes of the Lord should manifest themselves in you. ‘The broad mindedness of the Lord should become part of me. The selfless feelings which characterise the Lord should become part of me. The unbounded love of the Lord should become part of me’. When you have this feeling then you reach the position of ‘I and He are one’ there will be perfect unity. You must continuously strive for this feeling; you should make every effort to acquire it. Then one day you will reach that fulfilment. This is the ultimate goal of human life. (DBG, p. 35)

 

Detachment from the world and its objects, and attachment to the divinity, must become your goal also. This is the destiny of all human beings, for, in the course of their spiritual evolution, every individual will, in time, develop renunciation and dispassion towards the objects of the senses, and at the same time, develop an intense aspiration to realize the Atma within. (DBG, p. 126)

 

The four goals of human existence (Purusharthas) have been declared to be dharma (Righteousness), Artha (earning of wealth), Kama (fulfilment of desires) and Moksha (liberation). It may not be possible for all human beings to achieve these four goals. There are four qualities which man has to develop if he is to pursue properly the four Purusharthas. These are very necessary for the students. It is the failure to understand these four requisites properly that has been the cause of many grave consequences. These four are Maitri, Karuna, Mudita, Upeksha. These are four important qualities required by everyone. (D3 , p. 42)

 

Bhakti indicates that man needs, in addition to the four Purusharthas (the objects of life - Dharma Artha, Kama and Moksha) - a fifth object, devotion to God. Adi Sankara characterised this devotion as the mark of Jnana. (SS Feb 86 , p. 31)

 

To reach the goal you need to obtain God’s love. In fact, for a devotee, pleasing the Lord is itself the goal. It is his most important duty; he must make sure that every act he performs will satisfy the Lord. Krishna taught, ‘Obey My commands and perform your duty’. In obeying the commands of the Lord and fighting in the war, Arjuna’s actions became a Yajna, a sacred sacrifice. Because Arjuna obeyed the Lord’s commands and fought in the war, his battle became a Yajna. (DBG, p. 248)

 

Householders who carry out their duties are any way preferable to Sadhus (spiritual aspirants). They follow their dharma and they tread the correct path in unceasing remembrance of the Lord and so these householders realise their goal. (Div, p. 8)

 

God is one. The goal is one. But the paths are different. Religions are different but the goal is one. Though the clothes are different, the cotton is one. Jewels are many; gold is one. The colour of the cows may be different but milk is one. Beings are many but the in-dweller is one. Flowers are different but worship is one. We are bound by this world. It is only for our living that we have so many varieties. All are one in fact. (DTB Vol.6, p. 16)

 

The handkerchief is in my hand, and my hand is bigger than the handkerchief. God is bigger, and so God is not in you. It is more correct to say that you are in God. And how do you get God? Love all and serve all. (WLMG, p. 268)

 

To achieve release, man kneels before

A million gods, in frantic pain.

If he but blasts the ego within,

The goal is reached; he is freed indeed!

(SSS Vol. 15, p. 241)

 

The Goal of man’s life is neither happiness nor sorrow. Man can find fulfilment in life only if he can trace the origin of happiness and sorrow. In fact, man attains wisdom from sorrow and not out of happiness. The sages and seers of yore had to face great hardships and troubles before they could set great ideals to the rest of the world. That is why their teachings have left an indelible impression on the hearts of the Bharatiyas. Both the individual and the society can achieve progress and prosperity only after undergoing many trials and tribulations. Man has to face not only difficulties, but censure and criticism also. But noble souls will never care for difficulties or criticism. Welfare of the society is their main objective in life.

 

You should welcome sorrow just as you welcome happiness. You will attain equanimity of mind on you when you treat happiness and sorrow alike. In the human body, head is considered sacred whereas feet are not considered sacred. When somebody comes to your house, is it possible to welcome only the head and ask the feet to get out? When you welcome the head, you welcome the feet also. Likewise, when you welcome happiness, you welcome sorrow too. (SSS Vol.33, p. 136)

 

In the final dissolution, or Mahapralaya, Ishvara too will become non-existent. Brahman alone will exist. Then, how can the Sankalpa of Ishvara be hetu? It cannot be. While considering this subject, you should not take Brahma, Vishnu and Ishvara as three separate entities. These three are forms of the three Gunas. All three are One Paramatma. But, since it is difficult to understand the working of the world, it is explained and grasped as three; three forms engaged in three types of actions, bearing three names. At the time of creation, dissolution is absent. Both can co-exist only beyond time. Man who exists in Time, action, and Cause can never hope to grasp it. When you transcend the three Gunas, you too can attain that but, not till then. So, without spending time in such understandable problems, engage yourself in the things you urgently need, traversing the path which will lead you to the Goal. (San Vah, p. 122)

 

In Bharatiya Culture, the four goals of human existence-Purusharthas-have been declared to be: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (earning of wealth), Kama (fulfilment of desires) and Moksha (liberation). It may not be possible for all human beings to achieve these four goals. There are four qualities which man has to develop if he is to pursue properly the four Purusharthas. These are very necessary for students today. It is the failure to understand these four requisites properly that has been the cause of many grave consequences. These four are: Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksha. These are four important qualities required by everyone.

 

The characteristics of each of these qualities have not been rightly understood or explained. For instance, Maitri (friendship) is regarded as mere friendliness. What is friendship? Whom should you befriend? How is one to be friendly? These aspects have to be understood. One should not cultivate friendship with all and sundry. Friendship should be cultivated only towards those who are one’s equals in age, status, culture, etc. Friendship with those above or below one should be avoided. This is the true meaning of friendship. When you do not like to be lorded over, the friendship will break. When you develop friendship with those below you, you may attempt to boss over them. When they do not acquiesce in this, the friendship will break up. Therefore friendship will be enduring only when it is as between equals in age, wealth, status, etc.

 

Karuna (kindness or compassion): Kindness should be shown towards those who are in a lower position than ourselves in respect of age, wealth, health, status, education, and the like. Only then compassion becomes meaningful and valuable. Kindness justifies itself in such cases.

 

Mudita (appreciation): This quality relates to the attitude to be shown towards those who are better off than you. You should feel happy when you see such persons. They may look wealthier than you or better placed than you in position and possessions. You should feel happy on seeing them. You should rejoice at the sight of persons holding higher positions or scoring higher marks. Mudita means freedom from envy and feeling happy over the better fortunes of others.

 

Upeksha: There are two terms Apeksha (liking) and Upeksha (dislike or disinterestedness). We should have no liking for those who indulge in bad deeds or entertain bad thoughts. They should be kept at arm’s length. Keep away from all those who are filled with bad thoughts, indulge in bad talk and bad actions. This is Upeksha.

 

If you cultivate these four qualities, you do not need any other goals in life. Friendship with equals, compassion towards the lowly, rejoicing in the good fortune of those who are better off and keeping away from the wicked-these are the true objectives to be pursued in life. It is because of the failure to observe these directives that the quality of life has deteriorated. (SSS Vol.22, pp. 100-102)