Human life is full of love. What is the purpose of life? It is love and love alone. Love is God. Live in love. Divinity manifests only when you develop love. (SSS Vol.32 Part I, p. 81)
Students of today are blind to the goal of life. Some students do not even feel the pain of not knowing the purpose of life. Only one in a million or one in a crore strives to realise the essence of life. This striving is the stepping-stone for the realisation of the purpose of life. Many students and men feel that the acquisition of food, clothing, shelter, wealth, conveniences and comforts constitute the very purpose of life. Life remains a tragedy as long as man labours under this kind of delusion. The day he realises the purpose of life, he undergoes a total transformation, from Vedana (agony) to Nirvedana (freedom from pain). When one becomes conscious of light, acquires wisdom and realises the meaning of existence, one is transported from agony to ecstasy. Light here does not signify the light of the Sun, the Moon or the lamp but enlightenment brought about by the transformation of the heart. What about existence? Awareness of one’s own true reality is the proper meaning of existence. The awareness of one’s reality lies in the realisation that one is not the body, the mind or the senses. True realisation lies in understanding the fact that man is based on a transcendental principle that goes beyond the boundaries of matter. (SSB 1996)
Sorrow affects you because you feel you deserved joy and did not acquire it; but, there is one impartial distributor of joy and sorrow, who gives you what you need, rather than what you desire. You may need the tonic of tragedy to set you on the road to recovery. The Compassionate One, the Eternal All-knowing God, He knows best.
Welcome the tragedy and fight your way through, with the armour of the Memory Divine. As all rivers hurry towards the sea, let all your imaginings wend their way to God. The Play is His; the role is His Gift; the lines are written by Him; He decides the dress and decoration,. the gesture and the tone, the entrance and the exit. You have to act well the part and receive His approbation, when the curtain falls. Earn by your efficiency and enthusiasm the right to play higher and higher roles - that is the meaning and purpose of life. (SSS Vol. 10)
Do not, like some mental patients, be always worrying about some little ailment or another. Have courage, that is the best tonic; do not give up, before you have to. It is not long life that counts; if you live on and on, a time may come when you have to pray to the Lord to take you away, to release you. from travail. You may even start blaming Him for ignoring you and blessing other luckier people with death! By all means, worry about success or failure in achieving the real purpose of life. And then you will get as many years as are needed to fulfill that desire. Yearn, yearn, yearn hard; and success is yours. Remember, you are all certain to win; that is why you have been called and you have responded to the call to come to Me. (SSS Vol.2)
Eternity extends before man; space too is horizonless; but, life is short and very unsure. Therefore, man has to make the best use of the years allotted to him in this world, and try to become one with the Absolute, so that these entrances and exits may be ended. That is his Dharma, the duty he has to do for himself. Know that Dharma and live according to its dictates, that is the meaning and purpose of life. (SSS Vol. 10)
The sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) must have as his objective the state of mental preparation, for
the realisation of Godhead at any moment. That is to say, his heart must be cleansed of despair, free from hesitation and doubt, and open to the waves of bliss that surge in from all sides, in God s Universe. Love brings the waves in, ever expansive as they are! Follow the directives, with faith and sincerity. That will help you to realise the purpose of life. (SSS Vol.11)
Young people should consider the true purpose of life. They should get rid of all the impurities in their hearts. With pure hearts they should embark on service at all times and everywhere. ‘Hands in society, head in the forest.’ From today develop an unwavering mind and a steady vision. That is the way to divinise the world. (SSS Vol.30)
Every human being should deem self-realisation as the main purpose of life and dedicate all his activities to the service of his fellow-beings, with constant remembrance of God as the indweller in all. This is the way to redeem one s life. (SSS Vol.30)
The very purpose of life is to have the vision of God, experience Him and ultimately merge with Him. But today man is doing just the opposite. He has forgotten God and is wasting his life in the pursuit of worldly pleasures. Human life is highly sacred, noble and divine. It should
not be wasted in such unworthy pursuits. (SSS Vol.35, p. 45)