We don’t have a choice. We have to live. But we can choose how to live! We can either live as prisoners behind the bars of misery and sorrow, attached to possessions and people, crying with shame and guilt, believing in the myth that we have grown up with or we can be free from all misery – it is a choice! We create our own prison and then cry that we are being forced to live a certain kind of life. We have wings to fly in the sky, but we tie our wings with strings, and we crawl through life, experiencing the pain of the body, the misery of the mind, and the agony of the ego, which we are not. We are free to discover who we truly are, but instead of doing so, we consume this beautiful gift called life, and soon, it is over. Some of us are so depressed, so full of anxiety, stress, and misery, that we contemplate suicide. We don’t realize that death is not the end, it is just a bend. We have to come back to earth, in a rebirth, again and again, till we are liberated from this cycle and united with the Divine. A very few amongst us are fortunate, to go on a quest, and to realize the truth about life. They are the ones who realize that the goal of life is Mukti – Freedom! Mukti or Freedom means living a life of everlasting peace, eternal happiness, and Divine Love as long as we are on earth. And then being liberated at death from the cycle of rebirth. Rebirth is not a myth. It is a reality! Just like we do not deny the death of the body, and the birth of a child, we cannot deny the existence of Universal Laws that appear to govern life on earth. No doubt that in our quest, we may be amongst the few who realize that this world itself is Maya, a Cosmic Illusion and everything is Leela, nothing but a show. We are just actors who come and go. But as long as we appear in a physical body, carrying Karma, the burden of our past actions, we have no option but to suffer the triple suffering, just as we enjoy the pleasures of this seemingly beautiful world. The ultimate goal is Liberation, Mukti, and Unification, Moksha, Nirvana or Salvation, whatever you may call it!
The journey of life is meant to be lived such that we ultimately return to our source. Most of the world calls the source or the Creator, God, without realizing that God is SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power. While science has discovered the truth that every molecule of matter is nothing but energy, and spirituality has proclaimed the same for thousands of years, man continues to live a life of ignorance. Man needs true Freedom, Freedom from ignorance, from the fairy tales and myths he has grown up with. Although we know that Santa Claus is a lie, we continue to believe in the lie, and we are trapped as slaves, and we take this ignorance to our graves.
When will man be free? When will we attain Mukti? We may spend our entire life chasing success and happiness, collecting money and wealth, creating name and fame, but ultimately, all this is meaningless. Death is certain. One day, we will leave all this behind and move on. But it is still not over. We will come back again. If we have not attained Mukti or Freedom, the cycle will continue. There will be pleasure and pain, loss and gain, sun and rain, and this will go on, again and again. What is our purpose? Are we meant to live, just to die? No! Our purpose is to go on a quest, and to find out who am I and why am I here. Those who go on a quest, discover the truth. They realize that the purpose of life is Mukti, Freedom.
Mukti or Freedom means Freedom from several hurdles and barriers on earth. It may be Freedom from lust and temptations, Freedom from possession and people, Freedom from habits and beliefs, or Freedom from addictions and desires. There are many aspects of Freedom that we need to achieve. As the body, we must be free from cravings of the senses; as the mind, we must be free from fear, worry, misery and stress; as the ego, we must be free from anger, hate, revenge and jealousy. In fact, we must, first of all, be free from the body, mind and ego, which we are not.
Then, we will be free from ignorance and from Karma, and ultimately, free from not just all the triple suffering on earth, but free from the cycle of death and rebirth. This is the ultimate Freedom that man must attain. If we do not attain Mukti or Freedom, then our life will continue in a new body, as a new chapter in the book of life.
-Air Atman In Ravi