What is your ultimate goal in life?

DAAJI introduces the third universal principle of goal-setting by connecting with our life’s ultimate purpose.

In his much celebrated book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey presents habit #2, “Begin with the end in mind.” This habit is the ability to envision what you want, or want to be, even though you cannot presently see it. In yoga, this ability to imagine and visualize a goal is known as kalpana. It is based on the principle that what you create in your mind is what will manifest in your life. Per contra, if you do not consciously envision what you want, then you will be shaped by the influence of others and the environment around you.

Covey’s book has had a huge impact on how individuals and companies proactively set their goals and work toward fulfilling them. The scope of their goal setting is limited to achievements and values in the worldly domain.

When Babuji presented the Ten Maxims to the world in the 1940s, goal-setting was not well understood in management theory. In fact, it was not until 1960 that some of the nascent theories related to goal-setting were published. In the ancient world it was a different story. For example, Swami Vivekananda was famous for saying, “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached,” and his inspiration for this statement is thought to have come from verse 1.3.14 of the Katha Upanishad (5th-1st century BCE). Plato also described the goal-directed nature of the soul in The Republic, and Aristotle’s view was, “First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”

In the last four decades, research in the fields of management and psychology has validated this correlation between goal-setting and performance. When we have a clear goal we are energized, with purpose and direction. This creates the motivation we need to keep going when we face the inevitable obstacles and challenges. People with goals are more likely to go farther than people without them.

Babuji’s idea of setting a goal went a step further. It encompassed other dimensions of existence, not just this world. He talked about the highest goal of human life in the following principle:

Principle 3: 

Fix your Goal, which is complete oneness with God. 
Rest not till the ideal is achieved.

So what happens when we adopt this ultimate goal of life for ourselves, and what does it take to reach that state?

The importance of fixing the goal

When we start meditating, we are generally interested in feeling peaceful, removing the burden of emotional turmoil, and learning to manage thoughts. Initially, we focus on our own well-being and wishes. Through practice, we develop an attraction toward the heart and mind—the subtle body—and we start to long for inner happiness. Later on, we long for the happiness of everyone, and when we are attracted by the soul we go beyond pleasure, happiness, and bliss, into the state of nothingness associated with the Center. That pure state is difficult to describe, as there is no weight and no quality to it.

This journey toward subtler and subtler states requires purposeful awareness and consciousness of where we are headed, but knowledge alone is not enough. Just as lighting a candle or turning on the light is for the purpose of doing things, like reading, cooking, or eating dinner, similarly, we enlighten ourselves with knowledge so we can do things. Knowledge has no significance without being used.

When we keep our goals in view, our efforts are intensified enough to ensure success. When we fix our thought on a particular goal, the thought itself becomes an intention, powered by our interest and longing, and that helps to pave the way to it.

We can use the metaphor of a boat here. Life without a goal is a like a boat without a rudder or a helm. Without applying the helm in the direction of the destination, the boat is unlikely to reach there. For our own inner development, what is that helm? It is our strong interest, longing, and determination, along with the courage and confidence to navigate the eddies and currents that are obstacles along the way. This helm-steering involves doing something, action, and here the “doing” involves the Heartfulness practices and lifestyle principles.

The third ingredient is enthusiasm—the vitality and passion that develops in a seeker to continue on the journey toward their goal. This is also known as love and devotion, or bhakti. Without the inspiration and soothing effect of love and devotion, the journey would be dry, unforgiving and lifeless. Love propels us forward and upward. It ignites the fire of transcendence.

So setting our sights on the ultimate goal involves the three great streams of yoga: Karma Yoga (action), Jnana Yoga (knowledge), and Bhakti Yoga (love and devotion).

This raises another big question:

What is the ultimate goal of human life?

Sages, scientists, religious leaders, philosophers and thought leaders have tried to answer this question throughout human history, along with a few related questions:

Who am I?
Why am I here?
What is the purpose of my existence?
Where did I come from, and where will I go afterward?

The answers to these age-old questions are not only linked to what happens during this lifetime, but are also linked to what happens before, after, and beyond this life. Some traditions promote the idea of heaven and hell, while others teach that we are reincarnated until all our karmic debts are paid, and then we are liberated. Other people believe that there is nothing before or after this life.

Babuji asked a simple question, “What is that one thing, having which we will have everything?”

It is not wealth, or power, or fame, or knowledge, or love, or happiness, but the source of all those things. And what is the source of everything? It is the source of creation itself; the Center or the Absolute. If we have that, we have everything.

This begs another question: What is complete oneness with the Center? We can substitute “Center” with various terms—Reality, God, the Absolute, the Ultimate, and the Source—to describe the changeless state that existed before creation. All creation is a manifestation of that oneness. There is creation and dissolution, evolution and involution, expansion and contraction, but the Center remains as it is, changeless.

If everything in creation is energy and vibration, then nothing within that sphere is really created or destroyed. There are only different levels of vibration. And everything emanates from the Center, which is beyond vibration, and in perfect balance.

The fundamental substratum of existence is consciousness. Consciousness is the field of being. We are all at different levels of vibration of consciousness. We can, therefore, trace our way back to the Center, first via the mastery of consciousness, then via the mastery of the potentiality that lies at the base of consciousness, and eventually we may reach the absolute state of oneness with the Center. These three stages or regions of existence of the human being were classified by Babuji in terms of our spiritual anatomy as the Heart Region, the Mind Region and the Central Region, in his book Efficacy of Raja Yoga.

And Babuji also created a method by which we are able to refine and expand our consciousness through the journey of the thirteen chakras of these three regions, in order to realize that ultimate goal, oneness with the Center. He outlined this journey in another book, Towards Infinity. All this may sound like science fiction, but it can be experienced by anyone who is willing to try it.

So fixing the goal is the first step in completing this journey.

What happens when we fix that goal?

When we fix our attention on this goal of oneness with the Center, with interest and longing, the thought creates a stir in the Infinite and the Divine starts moving toward us. Think of a lover and her beloved. The beloved first hears the call of the lover. Once the relationship is established, the lover and the beloved move toward oneness, until the mergence is permanent and lasting. This demonstrates the importance of bhakti on the journey. Then, the swimming in the infinite ocean starts, and this brings us to the realm of Reality. Here we are free of all the attachments of the world, but we still have to go farther to reach the final destination.

What is the key to success?

First, fix the goal. Next, create an intense longing for the goal. Then, make an intention, which creates the initial momentum, and which in turn promotes effort. Our interest goes on increasing as we gain a deeper understanding of the goal and we begin to get a taste of its magnitude. Eventually it develops into a deep longing.

Our pursuit of the goal involves the heart and the mind. Longing is created in the heart while determination is generated in the mind. In other words, the heart creates the pull while the mind creates the push. Interest and confidence help us navigate obstacles, and willpower is strengthened by applying it through the practices. Confidence grows with practice. In short, the secret of success has three elements: Consistent practice, clear intention, and intense longing—again, karma, jnana, and bhakti.

When we adopt these three things, the tendencies of the mind are diverted toward the goal with focus. All our mental faculties work together as one powerful stream, instead of being fragmented into multiple channels. This develops with consistent practice.

In summary

Each of these 10 principles stands on its own as well as being part of a whole, just like the pearls in a necklace. There is no hierarchy here; each one is equally important. Yet this third principle contains the entire philosophy of Heartfulness in its essence. It is only through consistent practice that we may experience and understand the purpose of fixing the goal.

Many people ask about the difference between principles 2 and 3. In fact they are intricately connected. We establish a connection with the Center when we pray. When we pray just before meditation, we are offering a deep cry from the bottom of our hearts, and that has the power to summon the Center toward us. Fixing the goal is a conscious process of keeping that connection alive and allowing it to be enlivened more and more. It is a longing, like falling in love multiplied a million times.

When the goal is foremost in our mind, desires drop off, attachments lose their intensity, and expectations vanish. Everything else is absorbed within this central longing. We continue to value our worldly lives, and they are greatly enriched by the love and potential that develop in us as we journey onward. In fact, the worldly riches are embellished by making these 10 principles a part of our life.

But our focus shifts: The central purpose of our existence takes center stage, and the mind is directed toward it with full vigor. There is extreme impatience and restlessness until the goal is achieved. That is what it takes.

There are three apparent paradoxes that are worth exploring here:

The first involves the guidance given by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. While Babuji tells us to fix our goal and rest not until it is achieved, Lord Krishna tells us that while we are entitled to fix our goal, we have no right to the goal itself—the results of our actions are in the hands of God. This concept leads us to another principle—that of acceptance. We do our part, and cooperate to the best of our ability, but the timing and milestones are not in our hands. There can be no transaction between God and us, and we can only proceed onward by accepting this fact with a yielding heart overflowing with humility. The whole of life is governed by the same principle.

The second paradox is quite abstract: The goal is a receding, never-ending goal. How can we fix a goal that is not finite? We approach it asymptotically. To offer a hint, this paradox is one reason why the master is so important in our journey. He represents the goal that cannot really be defined.

No one can really grasp or understand the goal that has Infinity at its base. The only way to experience it is through the feeling of incrementally refined consciousness.

The third and related paradox is this: We may have fixed the ultimate goal of human life, but what about today’s goal? We live in the world, where whatever comes our way in the moment is our immediate goal; for example, we may want to get rid of stress and have peace. Then, as we enjoy more and more peace, it will lead to the loosening of attachments, greater compassion, empathy, and generosity of heart. Each stage leads to the next, and the next, and so on. Finally, we understand the difference between pure consciousness and perceived awareness. Having arrived at a pure state of consciousness, we are ready to embark upon the base that supports consciousness. At this level, purity reigns supreme.

Purity enhances self-awareness. It demands nothing. In turn, it keeps our senses in check. As a result, we arrive at single-pointedness and total clarity, because the senses don’t interfere any more. Such a focused mind allows contemplation that results in harmony. It is in this field of harmony that we cultivate true happiness.

Throughout this incremental journey, our goals may not be visible. It is like climbing a mountain through a forest; we cannot always see how far we have come and where we are going. It is only when we reach a lookout that we can look back to where we have come from and get a glimpse of where we are headed.

So one way to manage this process of goal-setting is to appreciate what has been given in every meditation, absorb it, digest it, and expand it further until we become one with it. In that sense, our goal doesn’t exist in the future at all, it is here and now. And that requires cultivating extreme receptivity in our hearts.

I wish you every success in your journey to the goal.

The related video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqK-oPuabYU&list=PL1QpxVYcCuCYtRiUo4AoWOZALqkwZUNhT&index=3