Aim of Life - an essential subject

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“Who am I? Why am I here? Where do I go when I die?” These are philosophical questions everyone of us should ask. The human form of life is unique because we have the ability to pose these questions and realize the aim of life. If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity, we are no better than animals. Unable to raise these questions, animals simply deal with how to find food, how to sleep, how to mate, and how to defend. These four activities which encompass material life do not bring ultimate satisfaction to humans because we are meant to realize our spiritual nature. To fulfill our aim of life, we need to connect to the Absolute Truth - or Krishna, the Supreme Being, and use the time we have to develop our dormant relationship of love with Him.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Aim of Life category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 14 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		The affection for community and the place of birth, and the hankering for wealth, which are all like phantasmagoria or illusory dreams, encumber a human being, and he is thus impeded in his progress toward self-realization, the real aim of life. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.7.6)



vanipedia.org 		Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are like torchbearers for the blind people of this age. In other words, if men in this age of Kali want to see the real light of life, they must take to these two books only, and their aim of life will be fulfilled. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.43)



vanipedia.org 		Even fifty years ago, I saw that in the villages of Bengal and the suburbs of Calcutta, people engaged in hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily when all their activities ended, or at least in the evening before going to bed. Everyone would hear the Bhāgavatam. Bhāgavata classes were held in every village, and thus people had the advantage of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which describes everything about the aim of life—liberation or salvation. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.14.2)



vanipedia.org 		By Viṣṇu worship one can derive benefit in this life as well as in life after death. Forgetting these principles, foolish people who are after more wealth, more wives and more children worship various demigods. The aim of life is to end the miseries of life and not to increase them. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.27)



vanipedia.org 		The principle of life should be to decrease the degree of material intoxication which leads one to be more and more illusioned about the aim of life. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.26)



vanipedia.org 		If one gets more than is needed, the surplus should be fully engaged in the Lord's service. That will make the conditioned soul, the world and Kṛṣṇa happy, and this is the aim of life. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.14.12)



vanipedia.org 		Material activities are the conditioned soul's only engagement. Not knowing the aim of life, the materialist perpetually wanders in material existence, struggling to get the necessities of life. Not understanding the aim of life, even though he acquires sufficient necessities, he manufactures artificial necessities and thus becomes more and more entangled. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.14.8)



vanipedia.org 		No one can overcome the Supreme Personality of Godhead's illusory energy (māyā), which is so strong that it bewilders everyone, making one lose the sense to understand the aim of life. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.5.30)



vanipedia.org 		The real aim of life is liberation, but unfortunately the opportunity for liberation is being denied to people in general, and therefore their human lives are being spoiled. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.19.19)



vanipedia.org 		Those who are materialistic, however, who are very proud of material wealth and have no spiritual knowledge, like the prākṛta-sahajiyās, regard their own happiness as the aim of life. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 20.52)



vanipedia.org 		When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.4)



vanipedia.org 		When the aim of life, i.e., realization of the Absolute Truth, is missed by too much attachment for indriya-prīti, or sense gratification, as already discussed hereinbefore, the institution of the varṇāśrama is utilized by selfish men to pose an artificial predominance over the weaker section. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.13)



vanipedia.org 		Those who drink through aural reception, fully filled with the nectarean message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved of the devotees, purify the polluted aim of life known as material enjoyment and thus go back to Godhead. (Bhagavad-gītā 2.2.37)



vanipedia.org 		In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that those who are mahātmās, or those whose minds have been so broadened as to be engaged in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, are under the influence of the internal potency, and the effect is that such broadminded living beings are constantly engaged in the service of the Lord without deviation. That should be the aim of life. And that is the verdict of all the Vedic literatures. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.28-29)


Aim of Life - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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