What is the meaning and purpose of life?”

Seeking the meaning and purpose of human life is a behaviour issue at the individual level.

Meaning of life and purpose of life, I think, are two related terms.

When we seek the meaning of life, it results in its purpose.

Establishing conscientious happiness in life, is my view on the topic: “what is the meaning and purpose of life?”

The word conscientious, according to the dictionary, means governed by our consciousness.

In other words, true happiness can only be realized when it is controlled by or done according to one’s inner sense of what is right and what is wrong.

Conscientious happiness has its foundation on realistic and rationale exploration to establish a real purpose in life.

Nanak established the purpose of life thru his universal and straightforward message of “kirt karo, vand chhako, naam japo.” Translation: work, share what one earns, and take the name of God.

Moreover, his practical guide to lead a purposeful life involves work and spirituality, that must not be going at separate times and separate places. But together all the time and in the same environment.

In our search for purpose in life, Taoism focuses on “living a simple and balanced life in harmony with nature.”

These simple and basic messages from Nanak and Tao have stimulated my thinking on the topic of “what is the meaning and purpose of life?”

Infusing nobility or divinity in our thoughts create virtuous karmas that help our approach to have a purpose in life.

The building blocks of conscientious happiness are: to be honest, humble, and sincere, be considerate and helpful to others, be merciful, forget and forgive, love fellow beings and care for the environments, including animals, plants, and nature. And everything else which is pious, pure, and morally firm.

But the big question is how we install and cultivate these simple and known universal messages in our day to day lives.

Does our social, religious, political, and economic environment influence the installation and development of these ideals? Do they help us, or become roadblocks to seeking our goal of purpose in life. Or some are helpful; others are hindering our resolve.

Does our mindset attitude also play a role in this search and development? Do we need to review our mindset behaviour?

How the internet and the current explosion of knowledge influence in achieving our conscientious purpose of life. Does social media have a role too?

Well, these are the questions thru which we seek our meaning and purpose of life in harmony with our conscientious happiness.

-Promod Puri