Who are we and what is our goal?

Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj, Vrindavan - An intimate conversation with Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj. Sadhaks ask questions about their life and sadhana, and Maharaj Ji resolves them.

Complete Discourse

Vibhover Mishra Ji from Narval - Jai Shri Ram, hey Jai Shri Radhe, Shri Radhe, Maharaj Ji, Maharaj Ji. He had many questions. His question was: Guru Ji, what is death? What is life? What is birth? What is sleep? What is God? What is beauty? What is suffering? What is meditation? What is happiness? You are asking questions about everything. Who are you? I am the charioteer of this body. Nothing. Who is the charioteer? I am nothing. Because what introduction can I give myself? I am nothing because a question cannot even arise from nothing. Friend, from nothing does any question come? From nothing can any question arise? You have become the questioner. From nothing, nothing questions. There is no cleverness, no cunning. If you walk correctly, then we will provide every answer to you. You are still a child. As long as the jiva has not taken refuge in God and does not perform naam jap of God's name, it does not understand itself. There is such a dense and dusty whirlwind of maya that it can steal away the understanding of the wise and keep them bewildered.

aisi maya ki dhundhli bhari andhi hai ki jo gyanin kar chit apahrai bariyai vimoh bas kari
Such is the bewildering whirlwind of maya that it steals the minds of the wise and clouds them with delusion.

You are still a child. Even if there are wise and great souls, maya can throw dust into their eyes and steal away their austerities and lead them astray. Such is the mysterious maya of God. Let us first accept that we are fragments of God. Do you accept this? Then you should say nothing else. You will say: I belong to God. Change your language. Do you accept this or not? First accept that you are a fragment of God. Do you accept this? Because the body is like a chariot. The intellect is what drives it. And the charioteer who sits in this chariot-like body is a fragment of God. You are not the charioteer. The charioteer is the intellect. The mind is the reins. The senses are the horses. The body is the chariot. You are the one sitting in it.

Who is the one sitting? God is the supreme refuge, the jiva is imperishable, conscious, pure, and naturally full of bliss.

ishwar ansh jeev avinashi chetan amal sahaj sukh rashi
The jiva is an imperishable fragment of God, conscious, pure, and naturally an ocean of bliss.

Every answer will come within this. Do you understand? Who are you now? Now if we ask you who are you, what will you say? A fragment of God. A fragment of God. Now what is your purpose? What is your life? Your life is to know God or to recognize yourself. For 22 years, in this room, I have not found even a second for myself. You did not find yourself. That is a better answer than anything else. This is what it is to know life, and not knowing this is death. When you do not know yourself and become attached to the body, then through the body, through good and bad actions, it leads to birth and death again.

punarp jannam punarp maranam punarpi janani jathre shayanam
Birth again, death again, again dwelling in the mother's womb.

This mistake takes us. What is the goal of human life? To worship God and know God, to attain God, or to know your own identity. You have obtained this human body—do not waste it on worldly pleasures.

nartan kar phal vishay na bhai bhajie Ram sab kam bihai
Do not waste the fruit of human birth on worldly pleasures, friend; worship Shri Ram, abandoning all other concerns.

Not doing bhajan and indulging in pleasures—this is death.

jin hari bhagti hriday nahi ani jivit sab saman te prani
Those in whose heart the devotion to Hari has not come—they are the same as the living dead.

A living corpse is one whose life does not contain contemplation of God, who does not do bhajan. He is a living corpse. Goswami Ji is saying: What is the goal of human life? Attaining God, knowing one's true nature. What is death? Forgetting yourself, becoming entangled in attachment to the body. All your questions will be answered by you yourself. Just take refuge in God and begin to do naam jap. You are a conscious fragment of God. You contain all powers.

Awaken your powers by remembering them. These are: naam jap, meditation, helping others, and restraining yourself from sinful actions. If you can restrain yourself, then life becomes radiant. If sinful actions continue, then darkness does not lift. Knowledge remains clouded in darkness. Do you understand? All your questions will be answered. If there is no bhajan, nothing will endure. Let someone answer: in what way does it endure? It endures in this way, not in that way. One who does bhajan—such a one is. One who turns away from God through bhajan becomes egoistic. In such a one, nothing endures. You do naam jap, remain in the grace of God, serve your mother and father, serve society. God resides in all of these. This is the goal of life—that we attain God in every possible way. And if we do not attain Him, then in the next world we will suffer sorrow.

partr dukh pavai sir dhun dhun pachtae kalah karmah ishwar mithya dosh lagae
In the next world we will suffer, beating our heads and regretting, blaming time and our deeds, falsely blaming God.

jo na tar bhavsagar as samaj nar paye
Whoever does not cross this ocean of existence—such is the fate a person meets.

One who reviles the saints has a dull mind. One who harms the self is a murderer of the self. They will attain a degraded state. One who obtains a human body and commits sins and does not attain God—you do naam jap. All questions will be answered to you.

This text has been taken from the auto-generated captions of a video—it may contain errors in words. Please listen to the video for authentic words.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)