Purpose Of Life?

[Pwalla!]

What is the purpose of life?

Why are you alive? What makes you wake up in the morning? Why do you do the things you do? What is the purpose of your life?

If one cannot answer these questions then it’s very scary, what is one living for, for what reason, for whom? If we don’t know why we are alive, then it should scare all of us.

A story goes of a man, in his dream he met a woman at the end of a river, the woman was standing holding a bag and every second or so she would reach into the bag and throw a shiny thing in the river, the man asked the woman, 'who are you?' The woman replied 'I am your soul'; he continued to ask, 'why are you here?' She replied, ‘this is the river of time.' The man further asked, 'so what are you throwing into the river?' Hearing this, the woman answered him, ‘that’s every breath, every breath we take is being thrown into the river, its never going to come back, with every breath taken we are getting closer to death, the Guru has told us not to waste even a single breath.' So our life here is special, it’s something we cannot waste. Life is precious!

We all have goals in life, for example we study, we get a job, we get married, look after our kids and after any goal is reached we usually have no idea on what to do next, we have no aim, and without any aim people go searching all over for something, they don't know what, but their searching for it!? They become lost. Without an aim people don't know what they are trying to achieve, they carry out many tasks to try and make their lives purposeful and satisfied, but they won’t have any real purpose and eventually they die.

rYix gvweI soie kY idvsu gvwieAw Kwie ]

rain gavaaee soe kai dhivas gavaaeiaa khaae ||

The nights are wasted sleeping, and the days are wasted eating.

hIry jYsw jnmu hY kaufI bdly jwie ]1]

heerae jaisaa janam hai kouddee badhalae jaae ||1||

Human life is such a precious jewel, but it is being lost in exchange for a mere shell. ||1||

It’s like a child on the beach. Imagine a child being handed a diamond, he looks down and sees a shinny stone or a mere shell; he does not know the value of the diamond and throws it away. That’s how we are, we don’t know how precious our life is, what we're worth, what our life means. So we waste it for a nothing, and that’s scary.

This shabad is introduced to us by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the shabad tells us of our life and how it goes to waste. How it is run. It’s in four sections of the day and that one day is our whole life. The first night:

isrIrwgu mhlw 1 ]

sireeraag mehalaa 1 ||

Siree Raag, First Mehla:

pihlY phrY rYix kY vxjwirAw imqRw bwlk buiD Acyqu ]

pehilai peharai rain kai vanajaariaa mithraa baalak budhh achaeth ||

In the first watch of the night, O my merchant friend, your innocent mind has a child-like understanding.

KIru pIAY KylweIAY vxjwirAw imqRw mwq ipqw suq hyqu ] mwq ipqw suq nyhu Gnyrw mwieAw mohu sbweI ]

kheer peeai khaelaaeeai vanajaariaa mithraa maath pithaa suth haeth || maath pithaa suth naehu ghanaeraa maaeiaa mohu sabaaee ||

You drink milk, and you are fondled so gently, O my merchant friend. The mother and father love their child so much, but in Maya, all are caught in emotional attachment.

sMjogI AwieAw ikrqu kmwieAw krxI kwr krweI ]

sa(n)jogee aaeiaa kirath kamaaeiaa karanee kaar karaaee ||

By the good fortune of good deeds done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future.

rwm nwm ibnu mukiq n hoeI bUfI dUjY hyiq ]

raam naam bin mukath n hoee booddee dhoojai haeth ||

Without the Lord's Name, liberation is not obtained, and you are drowned in the love of duality.

khu nwnk pRwxI pihlY phrY CUtihgw hir cyiq ]1]

kahu naanak praanee pehilai peharai shhoottehigaa har chaeth ||1||

Says Nanak, in the first watch of the night, O mortal, you shall be saved by remembering the Lord. ||1||

Gurbaani simply explains: "DO SOMETHING!!" Why are you wasting this precious life?

This is the first quarter of our life. When we are in the mother’s womb, we know exactly why we are here and what we are going to do, but when we take birth we lose that connection with God and we start to think about our family, about milk and other worldly pleasures, our thoughts on god are lost as maya grabs hold of us. The love of a mother and her child is a distraction, is this love or attachment? Love is where a mother is ready to make a sacrifice not just to the child she gave birth to but every child they meet, and if one is not willing to do that then its more of attraction that a mother has with her child.

dUjY phrY rYix kY vxjwirAw imqRw Bir jobin mY miq ]

dhoojai peharai rain kai vanajaariaa mithraa bhar joban mai math ||

In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, you are intoxicated with the wine of youth and beauty.

Aihinis kwim ivAwipAw vxjwirAw imqRw AMDuly nwmu n iciq ]

ahinis kaam viaapiaa vanajaariaa mithraa a(n)dhhulae naam n chith ||

Day and night, you are engrossed in sexual desire, O my merchant friend, and your consciousness is blind to the Naam.

rwm nwmu Gt AMqir nwhI hoir jwxY rs ks mITy ]

raam naam ghatt a(n)thar naahee hor jaanai ras kas meet(h)ae ||

The Lord's Name is not within your heart, but all sorts of other tastes seem sweet to you.

igAwnu iDAwnu gux sMjmu nwhI jnim mrhugy JUTy ]

giaan dhhiaan gun sa(n)jam naahee janam marahugae jhoot(h)ae ||

You have no wisdom at all, no meditation, no virtue or self-discipline; in falsehood, you are caught in the cycle of birth and death.

qIrQ vrq suic sMjmu nwhI krmu Drmu nhI pUjw ]

theerathh varath such sa(n)jam naahee karam dhharam nehee poojaa ||

Pilgrimages, fasts, purification and self-discipline are of no use, nor are rituals, religious ceremonies or empty worship.

nwnk Bwie Bgiq insqwrw duibDw ivAwpY dUjw ]2]

naanak bhaae bhagath nisathaaraa dhubidhhaa viaapai dhoojaa ||2||

O Nanak, emancipation comes only by loving devotional worship; through duality, people are engrossed in duality. ||2||

This is the most dangerous quarter of the night, it is in this quarter when sleep starts to set in even more as we start to lose our qualities to the 5 thieves. We begin to have so many hopes, desires and fears, for the first time we start to feel an emptiness inside as if we have something missing, we have the desire to feel good straight way. Guru Sahib puts a lot of pressure on kaam (lust), and just to fill that something missing within us we start to get lustful intentions and feelings. We start to go around looking for the perfect person who will come and fill this gap, someone who will feel and think the way we do; we look for someone who is designed for us. In this world there is no such thing, no one can make you happy or fill in that gap besides the Guru. This is through experience that many gursikhs have had with their Guru. It makes you feel whole, complete.

We are a small drop from a large ocean, that living being inside our physical body is the soul, it is God. The emptiness that we feel is because of that separation from God, it is God that our mind desires. If we look around us we see the world looking for God in other people, people such as boyfriends and girlfriends, yet how many of these people have been successful in filling this emptiness, I don’t think there have been any. If we think about this little predicament that so many people face, we can’t help but think that something must be wrong; we must be doing something wrong!

Maharaj tells us that one day we will regret the fact that we wasted our own lives. We do so many useless things; we spend so much time doing insignificant activities which blacken our face. Many times we don’t even care to think about our own parents; instead we spend so much time ‘chilling’ with our friends. We sacrifice so much of our family, our Sikhi, our lives for our friends but in the end it gets us know where and that emptiness inside us continues to grow. If we take a moment to reflect on this, then it is hard not to admit the truth in this. We know that we carry out these foolish things and we have been told time and time again to stop. But still we refuse to listen.

Sikhi doesn’t happen through mere words, Sikhi is a practical way of life and we need to start living it now! This is the most powerful time to do bhagti, if we grab gursikhi now, if you can sacrifice this quarter now then mahraj will bless us more thean others, and he will keep us on the path as we have sacrificed our life and time for the guru. Guru Ji will do a lot of kirpa on such a bhagat.

qIjY phrY rYix kY vxjwirAw imqRw sir hMs aulQVy Awie ]

theejai peharai rain kai vanajaariaa mithraa sar ha(n)s oulathharrae aae ||

In the third watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the swans, the white hairs, come and land upon the pool of the head.

jobnu GtY jrUAw ijxY vxjwirAw imqRw Awv GtY idnu jwie ]

joban ghattai jarooaa jinai vanajaariaa mithraa aav ghattai dhin jaae ||

Youth wears itself out, and old age triumphs, O my merchant friend; as time passes, your days diminish.

AMiq kwil pCuqwsI AMDuly jw jim pkiV clwieAw ]

a(n)th kaal pashhuthaasee a(n)dhhulae jaa jam pakarr chalaaeiaa ||

At the last moment, you repent-you are so blind!-when the Messenger of Death seizes you and carries you away.

sBu ikCu Apunw kir kir rwiKAw iKn mih BieAw prwieAw ]

sabh kishh apunaa kar kar raakhiaa khin mehi bhaeiaa paraaeiaa ||

You kept all your things for yourself, but in an instant, they are all lost.

buiD ivsrjI geI isAwxp kir Avgx pCuqwie ]

budhh visarajee gee siaanap kar avagan pashhuthaae ||

Your intellect left you, your wisdom departed, and now you repent for the evil deeds you committed.

khu nwnk pRwxI qIjY phrY pRBu cyqhu ilv lwie ]3]

kahu naanak praanee theejai peharai prabh chaethahu liv laae ||3||

Says Nanak, O mortal, in the third watch of the night, let your consciousness be lovingly focused on God. ||3||

Although many of us do waste a lot of our time doing useless things, there are some gursikh youngsters out there who are using this time valuably. In fact, times have changed so much that it is these youngsters which are telling the older generation to ‘WAKE UP!!’

But sadly it looks as though the older generation has fallen into an even deeper sleep which they may never awake from. We all know that this is the truth, we’ve all heard it. It’s the same old excuses over and over again ‘…we have to raise our family’, ‘it’s not the time or our time has gone’, ‘it’s too late now.’ Some even say ‘maybe when I get older.’ How old do you want to become? The only reason they say they want to wait, is so that they can cover their bold heads with a pag later on in old age! Maharaj simply says that such ‘sleepy’ individuals will regret it. Slowly your intellect is leaving you, age is creeping upon you and death is approaching. So the third quarter it is getting late.

In the fourth quarter we see person who is on their death bed, they have no more power. This is the last quarter.

cauQY phrY rYix kY vxjwirAw imqRw ibriD BieAw qnu KIxu ]

chouthhai peharai rain kai vanajaariaa mithraa biradhh bhaeiaa than kheen ||

In the fourth watch of the night, O my merchant friend, your body grows old and weak.

AKI AMDu n dIseI vxjwirAw imqRw kMnI suxY n vYx ]

akhee a(n)dhh n dheesee vanajaariaa mithraa ka(n)nee sunai n vain ||

Your eyes go blind, and cannot see, O my merchant friend, and your ears do not hear any words.

AKI AMDu jIB rsu nwhI rhy prwkau qwxw ]

akhee a(n)dhh jeebh ras naahee rehae paraako thaanaa ||

Your eyes go blind, and your tongue is unable to taste; you live only with the help of others.

gux AMqir nwhI ikau suKu pwvY mnmuK Awvx jwxw ]

gun a(n)thar naahee kio sukh paavai manamukh aavan jaanaa ||

With no virtue within, how can you find peace? The self-willed manmukh comes and goes in reincarnation.

KVu pkI kuiV BjY ibnsY Awie clY ikAw mwxu ]

kharr pakee kurr bhajai binasai aae chalai kiaa maan ||

When the crop of life has matured, it bends, breaks and perishes; why take pride in that which comes and goes?

khu nwnk pRwxI cauQY phrY gurmuiK sbdu pCwxu ]4]

kahu naanak praanee chouthhai peharai guramukh sabadh pashhaan ||4||

Says Nanak, O mortal, in the fourth watch of the night, the Gurmukh recognizes the Word of the Shabad. ||4||

In the final quarter, a lot of us say we will do bhagti when we retire or when we have more free time, but when we are so old our time has gone. We have no more power in our body, we become dependant on other people, we can’t walk, our tongue cannot move and death is approaching, so time automatically has gone. The body says no I cannot do it anymore.

Lastly mahraj has given us the hukam, the key and the answer; this is what we need to do, to get out of this. If we follow the hukam below then we will be able to meet waheguroo.

EVku AwieAw iqn swihAw vxjwirAw imqRw jru jrvwxw kMin ]

ourrak aaeiaa thin saahiaa vanajaariaa mithraa jar jaravaanaa ka(n)n ||

Your breath comes to its end, O my merchant friend, and your shoulders are weighed down by the tyrant of old age.

iek rqI gux n smwixAw vxjwirAw imqRw Avgx KVsin bMin ]

eik rathee gun n samaaniaa vanajaariaa mithraa avagan kharrasan ba(n)n ||

Not one iota of virtue came into you, O my merchant friend; bound and gagged by evil, you are driven along.

gux sMjim jwvY cot n KwvY nw iqsu jMmxu mrxw ]

gun sa(n)jam jaavai chott n khaavai naa this ja(n)man maranaa ||

One who departs with virtue and self-discipline is not struck down, and is not consigned to the cycle of birth and death.

kwlu jwlu jmu joih n swkY Bwie Bgiq BY qrxw ]

kaal jaal jam johi n saakai bhaae bhagath bhai tharanaa ||

The Messenger of Death and his trap cannot touch him; through loving devotional worship, he crosses over the ocean of fear.

piq syqI jwvY shij smwvY sgly dUK imtwvY ]

path saethee jaavai sehaj samaavai sagalae dhookh mittaavai ||

He departs with honor, and merges in intuitive peace and poise; all his pains depart.

khu nwnk pRwxI gurmuiK CUtY swcy qy piq pwvY ]5]2]

kahu naanak praanee guramukh shhoottai saachae thae path paavai ||5||2||

Says Nanak, when the mortal becomes Gurmukh, he is saved and honored by the True Lord. ||5||2||

The above shabad simply states the facts. We have the greatest guru by our side, backing us up all the way, picking us up whenever we fall, guiding us in those hard times of pain and anguish, yet we ignore maharaj’s teachings and try to do things our way. Sacrifice your life, body, mind and wealth. In doing this one will get a lot of blessings from the guru, please do not waste any more time. Daas is a hypocrite as daas is also trapped in this worldly bond, but we need to realise this mistake, and become jeevan mukt (meet waheguroo while alive).

The purpose of our life

gur syvw qy Bgiq kmweI ]

gur saevaa thae bhagath kamaaee ||

Serving the Guru, devotional worship is practiced.

qb ieh mwns dyhI pweI ]

thab eih maanas dhaehee paaee ||

Then, this human body is obtained.

ies dyhI kau ismrih dyv ]

eis dhaehee ko simarehi dhaev ||

Even the gods long for this human body.

so dyhI Bju hir kI syv ]1]

so dhaehee bhaj har kee saev ||1||

So vibrate that human body, and think of serving the Lord. ||1||

It’s an order given to us by our guru, naam and bhagti is to be done, this is the only reason we are here, it is what our body is designed to do. Even the demi gods long for such an opportunity, they have done bhagti for years but yet they can’t get to God because they have not got this precious life. This is waheguroos hukam, they are the slaves of waheguroo, but yet they can hear his orders but cannot see him, yet they have done so much bhagti. Demi gods long for this body so they to can reach there beloved waheguroo and be one with waheguroo, which is the aim and purpose of our life here.

Bjhu guoibMd BUil mq jwhu ]

bhajahu guobi(n)dh bhool math jaahu ||

Vibrate, and meditate on the Lord of the Universe, and never forget Him.

mwns jnm kw eyhI lwhu ]1] rhwau ]

maanas janam kaa eaehee laahu ||1|| rehaao ||

This is the blessed opportunity of this human incarnation. ||1||Pause||

This summarises the whole shabad, this is the hukam to us given by the guru. This is the purpose of our life. Please read the Gurbani in full to get the full essence, maharaj tells us over and over that you will regret that fact that you have not done any bhagi. you will be blackened in front of Dharm rai in the lords court. What did you accomplish? This is the question Dharam Rai will ask and we will have no answer. Through guru sahib we get naam, and we can start our spriritual life, maharaj tells us to jaap naam NOW, you don’t know how much diamonds you have left in your sack. This is your time, and the opportunity is there, you win or lose. Maharaj cries out to us jaap naam, jaap naam you will not get this time again.

WE NEED TO TAKE AMRIT, READ GURBANI, JAAP NAAM AND KEEP REHIT. THE ONLY HUKAM IS ATHI PEHAR NAAM ABHIYAAS.

If one reads the shabad on this article, and carries on to waste time and not do bhagti, doesn’t wake up amritwela, do abhiyaas of naam and gurbani then one will be punished greatly, as dharma rai will say the guru himself came to you, but you ignored him. So please we have been introduced to this Shabad and we need to act fast or other wise our time will come very soon.

May mahraj do kirpa on all of us.

Waheguroo ji ka khalsa, waheguroo ji ki fateh

[Apne satgur ke balhaareh...]

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lOVE WHAT YOU WRITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :TH:

[One Man Army]

good post.

[JustME]

good post.

wow that was amazing.............thats realy made me think.............to think im wasting so much time caught up in this nonense when i need to by with my Guru

thank you for sharing such inspiration..................i would class my self in the 2nd stage trying to come out of the vice of these 5 evils....................may Waheguru bless all those coutless individuals also to cross the terifying sea of suns and corruption and find a place at Satguru's charan

wjkk wjkf

[Manmohan]

yup, yet another wicked post by pwalla!!!! Keep it up Singh :umm: