This question crossed my mind many times from early childhood, “What is the purpose of this Life?” I had no answer; I looked around at others and found that most of the people are going after material richness. There were a few who opted for spiritual richness but I didn’t come across any.
The question bothered me more when I was in my mid thirties. I had experimented with alcohol and drugs. Though the high I got from drugs was ecstatic, it would not stay for more than a few hours and after that the low I experienced was a big nightmare. The drug addiction phase was the worst. I left home, came on streets, and became a petty criminal to fulfil my requirement of drugs and one day, I landed in jail. I was in jail for 3 years and 20 days. My father expired 20 days prior to my release. I couldn’t attend his funeral.
So, when I came out of jail, I knew that if I take drugs again, I will be back in jail. I started alcohol again and sometimes drugs as well. I had a spiritual experience when I was 37. I don’t know how but from that moment onwards, I felt the need to practice meditation which my father taught me at the age of fourteen. My thinking also changed after this experience. I wanted to stop all negative things which I had been practicing.
Hence, started my struggle to stop alcohol and smoking; I switched from smoking to chewing tobacco and it continued. But the alcohol was the real test. In the coming nine years, I struggled to stop and start alcohol maybe 50 to 60 times. And during this time, I realized that my will power and intelligence are useless to stay away from alcohol.
I tried the four major religions in India, namely Hindu, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism. I went to astrologers, tantrics, psychiatrists, de-addiction centres, etc. In short, to all the people and places, who claimed they could help. I realized that none of them have the power to get me rid of alcohol.
Through God’s grace, I reached a fellowship of people, who showed me a new spiritual way of life, which would help me in connecting to a God of my own understanding. And this fellowship clicked. It has a spiritual program which helped me in my personal conscious contact with a God of my understanding.
During this spiritual life of last nine years, I realized that the purpose of human life is to attain Spiritual Perfection. The material things are only accessories to practice this path. But because of the ignorance I thought that material richness is prime and spiritual richness is secondary. I found that matter can’t be perfected. Matter is dead and it’s the spirit which makes it move.
Today, I am at Peace because I know that I am just a puppet to play a particular role in this creation. I am not WHOLE, I am a part of the WHOLE.
Spiritual progress will help a Man to enjoy sex life till late in his life. But material progress sucks the same energy for having more of money, power and fame. To have a good peaceful life it’s important that a person spends some time during the day for spiritual growth. Once it becomes a regular habit then it’ll start giving a positive high to that person and life will become a beautiful journey to be enjoyed, life won’t feel like a burden.
Sharing with others what I have is the best way of showing my love to the world.
