​What kind of goals does a spiritually evolved person have?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, what kind of goals does a spiritual person have, if a person is spiritually evolved? There are multiple levels. At a practical level in this world, we see life as a reciprocation. So, I talked about the finite consciousness and the infinite consciousness.
The infinite consciousness, as I said, can be called as God, can be called as Krishna, by different names. So, we see that what we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
That’s how we see reciprocation. What we are is God’s gift to us. I have this talent, I have this interest, I have this ability, and now what do I do with that? So, I use it in a mood of service, in a mood of contribution.
It’s not that we reject goals in this world, but rather the goals in this world become infused with a higher purpose. If I have a particular ability and I have a particular ambition, it’s not that I reject that ambition, but rather I spiritualize that ambition. I have a higher purpose for pursuing that ambition.
So, for example, somebody has a good singing ability and they sing. Now, usually people sing because they simply want the world to know how good of a singer I am. Now, sometimes the world will recognize, sometimes the world will not recognize.
And that sometimes we will get very elated when there is fame and sometimes we will be dejected, devastated when we are not recognized. But if I understand these are a gift from a higher source and I am meant to use them in a mood of service, then that connection with higher consciousness which we will achieve by using our gifts in a mood of service, that will give us inner satisfaction. So, if I sing, just the singing will, I will become absorbed in that.
And when I become absorbed in that, that will give satisfaction. Recognition will also come. Eventually, if I am a good singer, if I sing, recognition will come.
But I will not be dependent on that recognition because I am getting higher satisfaction from it. So, it is not that we give up goals in this world. Rather, the goals in this world also become infused with a higher purpose.
So, the goal is, that means here I am differentiating between goal and purpose. Goal is where I want to go. Purpose means why I want to go there.
So, spirituality is not about changing our goals. If you want to have a particular kind of career, a particular kind of vocation, spirituality does not tell us we have to change that. Rather, it changes our purpose for pursuing that.
And ultimately, the ultimate purpose of spirituality is that our life in this world is temporary. Our bodies are temporary. But beyond this temporary body, we as spiritual beings are eternal.
And we belong to an eternal stratum of reality. So, by living spiritually in this life, eventually we attain that spiritual stratum of reality. And that spiritual stratum of reality is where we can find lasting happiness.
The happiness that we search for in life, in this world, we will get it to some extent in this world. But all our aspirations for happiness will be fulfilled at the spiritual stratum of reality. That is the ultimate goal of life.
But that goal does not require rejection of the world. It requires rather engagement in the world in a spiritual way. So, there are, we could say there are some materialists.
There are three broad approaches, I could say, that there are materialists. They romanticize the world. Romanticize the world means, oh, if I could just do this, if I could just get this, then everything will be so wonderful.
I’ll be happy. That is romanticizing the world. Yes, we may become happier by getting some things.
But there is no lasting happiness here. The same thing that gives me happiness, after some time it becomes boring. So, one extreme is to romanticize the world.
If you have a pendulum, it goes to one extreme, it romanticizes the world. Then there are some spiritualists who go to the other extreme and they demonize the world. Everything here is temporary.
Just get rid of it. Get out of all this. This all stuff is just to be given.
Now, the Bhakti Yoga spirituality avoids both these extremes. We don’t romanticize the world. We don’t demonize the world.
We utilize the world. Utilize the world means whatever resources are there in this world, whether they be my abilities or the things I have externally, they are actually meant to be utilized for a higher purpose. And when we function with a higher purpose, then quite often whatever abilities we have, we’d be able to use them better and contribute more.
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