Why Should There be a Fixed Goal or One Goal?
One who has one goal has only one problem -how to get there. But people have many goals, so they have many problems. I mean, this is a matter for common sense, that if I want to go at the same time to Durban and to Capetown, I can't. If also I want to go to Harare I have three problems, now - where to go? How to get there? So the one way, one infallible way, of reducing our problems is to reduce our aspirations to just the one single aspiration of evolution to the highest. When you are not able to do that you have to struggle, because you give equal importance to all goals, or sometimes foolishly, you give more importance to lesser goals and less importance to the highest goal.
Remember that the goal for us is fixed in Sahaj Marg. We cannot have our
own independent goals. This is a word of caution to those who think they
can follow materialistic goals here, and say, "No, no, sir. For the time
being, let me aspire this. As for mukti , by your grace, you are
sure to give me, because you love us so much. Let me be a millionaire first."
He will end up a millionaire but not a mukta . The goal has to
be accepted as something which cannot be changed. The path can change;
path must change sometimes. I go on one highway, there is a blockage, there
is a riot somewhere in the next town, and I was directed by police and I
take the next road available - may be a little deviant, maybe a few kilometres
more, but the wise man accepts it.
We say a ship is rudderless when it goes round, hither and thither, not knowing where it is going, buffeted by the winds and the waves - we say it is a rudderless ship; because it lacks direction, it lacks purpose, it lacks a destination. So if at all you want to use your faculties, physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual, whatever they be, for self improvement and for growth, you have got first to have a goal; after all, I cannot get into a train without knowing where I want to go. Can I get into any train and say, 'Let me go where it goes?'
I am reminded of a famous joke where a man went to a ticket counter and
said, "Give me a return ticket." He was asked, "Where to?" He answered,
"It is none of your business, I am coming back here." This is the sort of
return-tickets we come with, when we came into this existence. We are sure
to come back here, because we do not have a destination. You know children
do these things; get into a tram, go to the end and come back; get into
a bus, go to the end and come back. For them it is fun - tamasha.
Not for adults. So, if I want to go somewhere, I must know where
I want to go, how I can get there, how soon I can get there,
how expensive it is going to be, and who is going to accompany
me. Five points - without the destination, the other four become
irrelevant. With the destination and the way, something is achieved; with
the destination and the way and the man who is going to take me there, almost
the full purpose is achieved; the rest is only, what we call in company
language, "perks". But we want the perks first, and lose the job! So my
suggestion to all of you is, try to bring some sense of purpose, some sense
of orientation, some destination firmly into your minds.
|
