The Goal of life:
Final Stage where we are nearest
To the Super-Active Centre or Zero,
The Primeval Cause of entire Manifestation
To Which everything ultimately returns
After the Maha Pralaya (Complete Extinction).

- Pujya Babuji Maharaj

The world today is in a state of turmoil and disorder. There is total degeneration and degradation of social, cultural, humane and above all spiritual values. While religious and racial prejudices vitiate international environment bringing to the fore the most inhuman atrocities against helpless populace, materialism in its worst form, selfishness in its ugliest state and egoism of highest solidity have come to dominate and characterise individual traits and conduct. The economically developed and dominant, and militarily powerful countries are trying to subjugate the developing and under developed Nations and their people by diplomatic manoeuvres, economic manipulations and coercive military strategies. Humans have become their own deadliest enemies. The whole atmosphere is surcharged with prejudice and rivalry. We need to properly comprehend what effect our evil designs and inhuman activities in the world produce upon the atmosphere of the Godly Region. When joined with the inner feelings of the heart, our activities create impressions in the cosmos and they in turn affect the human mind. They grow more and more powerful by the actions of the cosmic energy; and the hearts of the people when hit or influenced by them, take in their effect and begin to produce and unending chain of thoughts in the individual minds. When such thoughts pertain to the evil nature - Asuric Pravrittis, - the entire Universe and its processes get polluted and distorted. Though Nature, the Supreme Force, is ever engaged in clearing off all these things, it has become miserably heavy requiring creation of an atmosphere of Bhoga, which causes sufferings and afflictions over humanity. A Supreme Personality is, then, brought down to work and redeem the humanity. Special means are also adopted for the purpose in the form of wars, diseases and heavenly calamities under the aegis of the Nature and its powers to re-establish world order. Time the Tide wait for none and the tick-tack of Time is ruthlessly self-sustaining and prophetically unsparing.

In every part of the world, individuals have come about with enormous destructive and evil powers concentrated in their hands, which can cause untold miseries to the humanity and if fully unfolded, will upset and unbalance the process of cosmic and natural evolution. The human individual behavioral propensities have come to be symbolised by wonder, greed, envy, hatred, competition, enmity, selfishness and desires. Wounding others and hurting their feelings are the worst among these evils. Most of the people in the world today have become characteristic Ravanas, Duryodhanas and Mahishasuras. The descent of an Avatara like Lord Rama or Lord Krishna to eliminate a single or a group of Asuras is not the answer. Individual transformation is the only solution. As a matter of fact, world peace can never be possible unless we take into account the inner state of individual mind. World peace is directly related to individual peace, for which the individual mind is to be brought up to the required level of regulation. If the individual mind is brought to a state of rest and peace, everything in the world will, then, appear to him in the same colour. It is, therefore, essential to find out means for developing within every individual a state of peace, contentment and moderation. That is the only way of bringing peace into the world. The development of peace of mind within individual self is the first and the most important step now to restore the balance in the world. But that being exclusively the scope of spirituality, one must necessarily resort to spiritual means for the purpose. Indeed, the problem of the Universe is the problem of the individual. Those who speak of Sarva Mukti (Simultaneous Universal Emancipation) hardly try to achieve their own liberation for it is verily the Truth that the individual emancipation is the first step towards Universal harmony and peace. It is people who really form and make the world as such and their purification and betterment only would help the world to regain its poise and equilibrium.

The individual transformation and enlightenment is, therefore, central to the framework of human development - a state of peace and moderation under the modified Raja Yoga Sadhana as presented by the Great Master Rev. Babuji Maharaj. However, there are perhaps a few among the masses who have ever given serious consideration to this problem of life. While taking a narrow view of it, the only issue or problem before them is to secure a decent living well provided with the desired comforts and achieve the greatest possible prominence in the world. Yet, the problem of life still remains unsolved, as the cycle of births and deaths continues indefinitely. The problem before us is not to find out a solution of our present life but all lives we may henceforth have. In the wider sense, it covers the entire spectrum of existence in various forms - gross or subtle - at different times till the time of Maha Pralaya (Final Extinction). Mere theoretical knowledge will not solve the issue but practical experience in the spiritual field is necessary. The question ends when one acquires "Anubhava Sakthi" (Intuitive Capacity) of the finest type and can himself realise the True State of life hereafter. Almost all agree that the object of life is to achieve Eternal Bliss after death. For this, they insist on a life of virtue, sacrifice and devotion which will bring the Eternal Joy of Peace. But that is not the end of the problem; it goes much beyond. In order to trace out the root of the problem, we must look back to the point from where our Existence started. The existence of the soul can be traced out as far back as to the Time of Creation when the soul existed in its naked form as a separate entity - subtle and pure. From this primary state of existence in most subtle form, we marched on to grosser and grosser forms of life - forming coverings around the soul due to increasing tendencies of baser consciousness and also contributed by Manas (Psyche), Chit (Consciousness), Buddhi (Intellect) and Ahankar (Ego). Samskaras (Impressions) formed and vice and virtue made their appearances. Feelings of comforts and miseries, joys and sorrows commenced. Our liking of comforts and joys made us think that deliverance from miseries and sorrows is our main goal. Obviously, this is a narrow view of the problem.

The aims and objectives conceived in terms of worldly ends exclusively cannot be the Ultimate Goal and are meaningless. We need to remember that pains and miseries are only the symptoms of the disease, which lies elsewhere. Mere deliverance from unending pains and miseries cannot be the real answer, but understanding that bondage is their source - the disease in question - is relevant for the solution; it is Godly and spiritual. Freedom from bondage is liberation. As the endless cycle of rebirths ends only in liberation, pains and miseries find their consummation in it. Then only, the culmination of human life finds its total Divine Expression in the scheme of the Nature and world peace and harmony in this Material Manifestation be prevailing. Yet, liberation as a Goal, is not complete in itself and falls much short of highest possible limit of human approach. Rev. Babuji Maharaj has attained the final Point of Human Approach where every kind of Force, Power, Activity or even Stimulus disappears and a man enters a state of Complete Negation; Nothingness or Zero or God. This "Oneness with the Master" is the final goal of human life. It is this goal of "Oneness with God" which will ensure freedom from bondage and lead to the liberation of individual soul in the real sense. Liberation should not mean delinking oneself from the worldly activities. All of us are to express Divinity in its Simplicity and play our destined and meaningful part in the Material Manifestation. Then only, liberation of individual will have sense and meaning in the cosmic evolution and order and such people only can Reverse the perilously sliding downward trend, towards disharmony, imbalance, degeneration and eventual ruination. Liberation does not mean dissolution of body, life and thought (mind), but rendering them pure and pristine and making them moulds of Divine Light, spreading happiness everywhere. The immortal spirit is not to be isolated from human life but transfiguring and divinising every particle of the being making him perform his role in the Divine Lila is the Law of Nature and therefore, the Goal of Life. Anchored in the timeless and Eternal Foundation of our spiritual Existence, the liberated soul while possessing the identity of the individual body, life and mind, yet, he retains the individuality of spirit and Divinity; whatever he does, his constant orientation - as well as communion - with the Ultimate always remains unperturbed. Simplicity, Calmness and Plainness, then, become natural and part of the individuality. This is the essence of our living that gives a meaning and Cosmic relevance to human existence. It is such individual transformation that will re-establish Nature's Harmony and world peace. Our goal will, therefore, have to be the highest, otherwise progress upto the final limit may not be endeavoured by oneself. Besides, the constant focus on the higher goal will act as a stimulus to accelerate the pace of our Sadhana.

The first sentence of the Prayer in our System is "O Master! Thou art the real goal of human life". We are saying that human life culminates in God. Here the shift from the traditional and common thinking is clear. We are not talking of God who is far away from us but who is an integral part of human life. God has been alienated from our day-to-day life by all religions and any God oriented activity as a duty is considered as something additional to mundane functions. This is the cause underlying the present day morass of cultural, social and spiritual afflictions. We should know that the sphere of God is not something far away from us, but includes everything and all aspects and activities of our life are connected with Him alone. Not that the people have not understood God; it is very simple thing which has been forgotten. The Gita says that "In whatever form a man worships Him, he gets Him in that very Form". But the common difficulty is that people do not worship Him in any form; but instead they worship only the form, whereby the Reality at the root disappears altogether. This is really the greatest blunder. Against this background, the approach of Babuji Maharaj is that the consciousness of God is something we should be aware all the time. We ought to know that which keeps us going all the time. Then, who is that God? The peace we have in our heart, the calmness that is within. Any thing we do against the Divine virtue and Godly norms upsets the peace and poise within us. The Divinity in us starts telling us something is wrong. That is what we call conscience. That is the "Voice of God" but generally we ignore His warnings. The "Asuric Pravrittis" lure us to do evil and un-natural things lulling us with several pretexts and illusive rationalisations with the present day "Vyavahara" alibis and in the name of worldly behavioral patterns and responses. We have had enough doctors of spirituality to remedy the situation. They are really not the solution. We have to solve the problem by discipline and allowing the "Voice of God" in us to prevail and control each and every action of ours. Then only, we can progress in life and this is our goal. The problem is that we mostly get into the trap of our own mind, which tries to justify or even encourage our wrong doings. When our Buddhi, Ahankar and Thought are rendered pure and sublime and restored to their Original State, the Voice of Conscience always represents Truth and speaks Dharma. That is what our Sadhana aims at and meant for: to accelerate the pace of removing the grossness and the series of veils around this Chitta (Antahkarana) representing a conglomerate of Buddhi, Ahankar and Manas. That is what the Raja Yoga of Sri Ram Chandra would bestow on us with unerring certainty and that is one of the important facets of our goal.

The goal is not something else other than this God. Where do we find this God? We find Him in our own heart. You are not going to search Him anywhere; so the goal is not far off, it is within us only. Then why is it we say he is the goal of human life? As on date, we have found other things as goal of human life; to become rich, to become powerful, to become popular and the like. As against this, we should see that the goal within us has got a full command over our Existence. The yielding to that Divinity, that is within us, is the only way to reach the real goal. To be aware of the presence of the Divinity in us and to see that Divinity percolates into every action of ours is the way to express God. The Divinity should or should be allowed to have influence on everything we do right from getting up from the bed to retiring to sleep. We should share whatever we have thinking that the Divinity has given us for sharing and therefore, we share with others. This type of sharing is fundamental ethic; this we should develop. Whatever work we do, it should be treated as a trust reposed by the God in us, so it should be excellent and in accordance with the norms both in letter and spirit. Lord Krishna Said "Yoga is skill in action" and it is also said that "Yoga makes action or Karma easy". Whatever work that is given to us is to be done with a feeling that it is the Divinity which permits us to do the work as a "Trustee". No work stops for any person's sake and goes on without any interruption under Divine Order. Every religion has taught the fundamental thing that it is God who does everything, though we mistakenly tend to think as the doers. Every religion has said this as something to be understood but is not practised by us. It is God who bestows for our children and other dependents, not we. That is what Rev.. Babuji Maharaj wants us to understand. It is God who does in our form. As a trustee we do the work. When this happens, the goal is brought nearer. The goal of life - God being the goal of human life - becomes meaningful to us as something that is tangible and relevant in every walk of life. It is a concrete feeling responsive to the natural and spiritual development of human life as such. It transcends the existing limits and inadequacies of preaching in big words and becomes a social and Godly personalised pursuit as integral to human existence. We are not to seek the God as goal of life in Himalayas or in any form. That is not the God we want; that is not the personality we are seeking. The God that modern man wants is the One who is with him all the time, who keeps company with him and who gives inspiration to work for others as an obligation to the society. This influx of Divinity in our actions, in every work we do is what is the goal. We will be 'In God', 'with God' and 'For God' in the society in which we are destined to live as trustees of the God. This is the goal. What is the goal of human life? To enable others to see the Divinity in us - this is possible by our seeing the Divinity in them. This again is possible when we know the commonness of our origin. The attainment of this Godly state is the birth right of every one and the earlier we realise it, the better it is for quicker individual growth. What is needed is the iron will to achieve the goal and the Great Master is at our "beck and call' to take us to our final Destination.

When we know that all of us have come from one and the same origin, there is no question of separateness between ourselves. We know each of us is a heir to that Divinity, we are direct descendants, we are successors and we are representatives of that Divinity. Only thing is we have chosen to represent ourselves and not the Divine. We have only to express that Divinity, then the problem is solved. That is more natural, what we are doing is un-natural. That is the reason for the ascendancy of the materialism in its worst manifestation and total pollution of human and spiritual environment in the world today. We, as individual physical entities, are not going to exist forever. But Divinity will continue forever in one form or the other. No individual existence is permanent. But Permanent Existence is always there in all of us. If it expresses fully, there is only cordiality, harmony, peace, love and compassion. It is only individual ego and existence of 'I' which leads to conflicts and competition. That is also the beginning of Gurudom. But the fact is that there is only one above and that is Divinity. That is the spiritual truth; under the one umbrella of God, all of us are equal and there is nothing special about any one of us. This is not unknown to our ancestors and sages. Yet, contradictions and divisions continue. This reflects selfish, egoistic and materialistic baser tendencies of evil minds. That is the trouble of Gurudom. Equality for all and no special privilege for any body is not only democratic but spiritual as well. And we will never say we are above others so long as we know that it is Divinity that is there in all and that awareness will always make us feel humble. There is a significant meaning behind the great Hindu salutation "Namasthe", "I salute Him in you". This is against "Namaskar'. "I salute your Akar or Form". Namasthe is Truth and Namaskar is Ahankar. Do not recognise any form. Recognise the spirit. The spirit is the Divinity. The spirit is God and to see that God in every one is the goal of human life. "O Master! Thou art the real goal of human life". The real goal is to see Divinity in all and express Divinity in all its grandeur, love, fraternity and compassion. It is not seeing one Master in some far off place.

Rev. Babuji Maharaj expressed in the following words the meaning of life: -

"Life means liveliness; Damnation is for those who are dead at heart".

What is liveliness? It is to live with a heart. But what kind of life would it be? In a word "Give away your heart to another, what remains then is only life". If you ponder over the word "Life", we will come to the conclusion that life is only that which is connected with living. The expression makes it clear that there is certainly some type of living with which life is connected. At the same time, it is also clear that the living with which this life wants to be connected is Eternal and Immortal. If we merge our life in That "Life", it is then the real life, where there is neither Bliss nor Sorrow, neither pleasure nor pain. The Master will lead us to that life which alone is the goal of life. Whatever sense we apply to the word "Give away your heart to another" will be correct, if that is associated with love. The object is that the real Being which is shrouded over with worldliness or the heart which is inclined towards non-spiritual and material designs, should be turned out. That is the real beginning of life and the return of the world harmony and peace. The heart is the field of action of the mind. Mind is always as it is. It is the heart which is to be set right. Babuji Maharaj said that if one can sell his heart i.e. make a gift of it to the Divine Master or God, hardly anything remains to be done. While bringing a state of absorbency naturally in the Infinite Reality, it transforms the entire being of an individual. It is this spiritual transformation of the individual, which is the expression of the Divinity in the world of Manifestation. It is this Divinity - God, which is the real goal of human life.

The purpose of the Creation is known to be the Expression of Divine Happiness. Otherwise, we would not have been here at all. The only raison d'etre for our existence is to express this Happiness in all its flavours, hues and colours. But limited being our understanding, intense being our selfishness and gross being our ego, we tend to restrict this Happiness to our possessiveness, luxuries, pleasures and passions and indulge in acts that are outright detrimental to the happiness of others. That these things are transient in nature and involve one in a web of one's Samskaras is known to all religionists; yet we continue in this vicious circle in a state of sensuality and bondage. It is forgotten that in Para Hita and Para Sukha (selflessness; good and comfort of others) alone lie one's own happiness. Such state would unfailingly include individual happiness also. That is what would give real happiness. But when will such proclivities of Para Hita and Para Sukha become our basic traits? When our minds open up to view our Common Origin in Godly State, when our nature reflects Nishkama Karma (Desireless Action) as a Divine representative, when we begin to see the Permanent Existence in all that is same in all and when the influx of the Divinity influences our hearts and minds, then only, will we be able to comprehend and feel the Real Happiness. One of the oft-repeated complaints and grievances of the abhyasis is that though they want to enjoy peace within, yet it eludes them. Lack of this vital factor for a smooth and balanced existence mainly arises out of desires. Our wants are unlimited. When we feel deprived, there is frustration. A more important reason is the jealousy we develop on seeing some get all they possibly needed and being materially prosperous. How can then, this peace be obtained? This is not a commodity to be purchased in the market. According to our tradition, peace can be experienced through the development of contentment. Greediness and selfishness have made our minds and hearts their permanent abode and they do not allow contentment to permeate our living. One always gets intoxicated with power and property and indulges in all types of sins and actions like misconduct, dishonesty, treachery, theft and looting to maintain and retain material belongings. The breeding ground for these ills is mainly entrenched in Greed and this can be controlled only when one cultivates the spiritual quality of being satisfied with what is granted according to the position in one's life. Uncontrolled desires to possess all we see lies at the bottom of present day degradation of human values leading to world disharmony and dis-equilibrium. To make every man and women - the Grihasthas - reap this Santosha (contentment; happiness) in accordance with the precepts of the Nature - is the Cosmic Mission of the Great Master. That is why it becomes our natural goal as well.

While revealing what the real goal of life should be, Rev. Babuji Maharaj said that there is a need to have a clear idea of the highest possible limit of human approach. Under the discipleship of Rev. Samartha Guru Mahatma Sri Ram Chandraji Maharaj of Fetehgarh (U.P.) (reverentially addressed as Lalaji Maharaj), Babuji has been moulded into a Special Personality for undertaking the task of human transformation in the world and control of the spiritual destinies in the Universe. Rev. Babuji Maharaj has reached the farthest spiritual limit that is possible to any living being and has chartered the entire Route for the benefit of humanity. This limit is surprisingly much beyond the sphere from which all Avataras descended. Even more surprisingly, the Liberation, Bliss or Moksha - so highly talked of - as a final goal of life by many religionists - lies at the very door steps of our march. The final Point of approach is where every kind of Force, Power, Activity or even Stimulus disappears and a man enters a state of Complete Negation; Nothingness or Zero. Traditionally, no spiritual state was clearly discernable beyond Sahasra Dal Kamal or Brahma Randhra or Sahasrar, which is considered the final door - way for the passage of the soul into Eternity. In his spiritual research, innovation or discovery, Rev.. Babuji has identified higher regions of our Origin - The Godly Mind Region and the Ultimate in terms of the Centre and the Central Region. These revelations have changed the very complexion of our spiritual understanding of our Base and Divinity Itself. The Great Master explains the nature of Existence in that everything in the Universe is Consciousness from subtlest to grossest level. It is therefore possible for subtler level consciousness to descend into the grosser levels and purify the same so as to enable its ascent to higher levels. Thus, Yoga is a practical possibility and individual Sadhana would certainly ensure such transformation to subtlest level possible with the Master's support. The Master has categorised the consciousness into three broad divisions - conscious, sub-conscious and super conscious. The effect of the activities of the lower consciousness settles down upon the sub-conscious mind forming fate. The first and fore-most step in our sadhana is to set right and correct the lower consciousness by right thinking, action and conduct; thus, this practice may convert itself into a spiritual force to bring the sub-conscious mind into a state of splendour, poise and equilibrium - paving the way to our march to Super-conscious or what Rev. Master has termed as "Super-sub-consciousness" and ultimately to the goal which is even beyond Reality. This is what we should aim as a goal of our life, Sadhana and Destiny.

While discussing the spiritual spheres that we come across during our progress, Rev. Master succinctly expressed the final goal through a diagram denoting the Centre 'C' with concentric circles drawn around. Diagram at Page 30. As we start our journey from the outer-most circle, we have to cross each circle to attain or acquire the next stage. This is a very vast expanse beyond human sensory perception. The state of Liberation lies between circles 2 and 3 whereas various conditions we have to go through to secure such liberation lie within only about one and half circles. This gives us a lucid idea where the state of liberation does lie and what more still remains to be achieved after we have reached the state of liberation. After crossing the five circles of Maya, we enter the stage of Avyakta Gati (Undifferentiated State), when a man is totally freed from the effects of Maya. The region of Heart is now crossed. Satya (Truthful speech, thought and action), Ahimsa (not only non-injury to others but ability to face all types of Himsa - violence, injury etc.), Asteya (Abstention from stealing in all its variants), Aparigraha (disassociation for avarice) and Brahmacharya (not limited to absence of passion and lust or celibacy but ability to pursue the Path of Brahma, the Reality) become the characteristic traits of the Sadhaka. We gain discriminatory knowledge (viveka) which develops into detached (due-attachment) outlook (vairagya). The nature of soul (atma) being inter-dependency or dependency on the Divinity becomes clear and part of our feeling and understanding. We develop the innate quality of offering prayer as a matter of our Dharma for prayer sake, all the time feeling dependency on the Master. Then we move to the understanding of absolute surrender to the God (Saranyatva) and on to attaining a state of settledness in the memory of God feeling totally balanced and satisfied "within one's own self".

From this state of Avyakta Gati, we move on to the Mind Region depicted through eleven stages of egoism. The condition there is subtler and subtler which becomes almost inconceivable as we reach sixteenth circle. The process of total Negation starts and the humility that is developed at the earlier stages gets entrenched as a stability condition and we enter into the Realm of Fana (Mergence leading to Negation). The Sadhaka Looses 1. Lust for form; 2. Lust for Formless; 3. Conceit; 4. Restlessness; 5. Prime ignorance. Access to the Region of God - the Central Region is given. What remains now is a mere Identity which is in a gross form. As we enter the Central Region, we find seven Rings of something - which Rev. Master calls Seven Rings of Splendour or Light. As we cross these rings of Divine Focus, the form of dense Identity grows finer and subtler to the last possible limit. One now has secured the near most position to the Centre. It is the highest possible approach of the man. There, one is in close harmony with the very Real Condition. Complete merging with the Centre is not possible so as to maintain a nominal difference between God and soul. Such is the possibility of human approach and this "Complete oneness with God" can be attained by every soul provided one endeavours to reach it. When we, therefore, set any goal before us, it should naturally be the highest so that we do not stop at any of the intermediary stages which are all so highly splendid that one tends to stay there in a state of permanency. This Avadhoothood is a spiritual trap of which we should be aware of so that our eyes are always set on the highest goal. That is what our Goal of life should be. The best, the highest and more importantly the achievable. Our Master assures us that this highest goal can be attained within this very life itself with His support and one can intuitively experience this both within the framework of one's physical body and in the realms of one's mental and vital faculties through "Feeling and Understanding".

So long as we remain confined within the bounds of religion we remain entangled with one or the other view of God's conception by different religionists and philosophers. The highest spiritual attainment is possible only when we go beyond the limits of religion. In fact spirituality begins where religion ends. Religion is only a preliminary stage for preparing a man for his march on the Path of Freedom from Bondage. God is not to be found within the folds of a particular religion or sect. He is neither confined within certain forms or rituals nor is He to be traced within the Scriptures or Holy Books. Him we have to seek in the inner most core of our hearts. Really, God is very simple and plain. He is not in solid form. There is no solidity of any kind in Him. God is simple and extremely subtle. In fact, the very Simplicity and Purity of the Ultimate have become a veil to It. It is this Ultimate - God that is the real Goal of human life. The confusing methods and complicated means advised for the Realisation of the Simplest do not therefore, serve the purpose; rather on the other hand they keep one entangled in his self-created complexities all the life. As a matter of fact, realisation is neither a game of contest with the nerves and muscles nor a physical pursuit involving austerities, penance or mortification but is only transformation of the Inner Being to its real nature. That is what Sri Ram Chandra's Raja Yoga, therefore, takes into account, ignoring all misplaced superfluities connected with It. it is this transformation that Rev. Babuji Maharaj promises with His constant support to the entire humanity with a view to re-establish Divine Order and evolve a Civilisation where co-operation is the Spirit, Service is the Rule and Sacrifice is the Principle. Our Master's Divine Clarion Call "Awake, O Sleepers! It's the hour of the Dawn".

It is this Dawn of Reality that is our Goal. It is this Ultimate that is being offered by the Master. Rev. Babuji is extending His Hand of Destiny to all of us. O Brothers and sisters! Let us grasp this Hand of the Master firmly and find fruition of our life both materially and spiritually, in balanced existence.