What effect does it have when we explore the question of our own purpose in life? When we wonder why we do what we do, what really matters to us, what is really important and how I can be useful and contribute something to life. These questions take us to the DNA of our spirit — to the core of the soul. When the answers become a reality then we feel highly motivated, and our doing becomes a reflection of our being.
A lot of people are very unfocused. They have a million ideas of what would make their lives better; purchases, jobs, holidays. Their ideas are scattered in a thousand directions. They do not really know where they are going. However, when the main focus is my purpose in life, when I am clear about where I am going, then I can move forward and achieve whatever I want to achieve.
So, how can I discover my purpose?
If I have the sincere wish to find this sense of purpose and start to look for what it might be, then life, or the universe, will respond and begin to give me clues. This is not creative work or having another set of many ideas. It is detective work, which only each one can do by themselves.
The purpose of each one is already within, and it has to be detected and discovered. It is always something of use, or of service, to the family or society or for a specific group of people or even the world. Every single soul has a unique, spiritual DNA and something extraordinarily special to offer the world, but when we are too busy then we are unable to hear our own inner wisdom. Meditation is very good for listening to that wisdom because in that state of quietness, we are able to hear.
Everything that exists has its own purpose. The sun, the moon, the wind, the sea, flowers — they all add something to life and the ecosystem. Inanimate objects too are all useful in some way. Your life up until now is a kind of map that already shows you what is inside you. So, look inside, listen to the self, be open to signals and signs. Look for things that really motivate you. Things that motivate us excite us, whereas other things that motivate and move others have no effect on us.
The universe responds when we are authentic and want the answer to this sincere question of purpose. Look out for a billboard that may suddenly give you a clue, or a poem someone sends you, or even a T-shirt that someone is wearing! When we really want to understand what our purpose is, magic happens.
A sense of purpose gives direction and helps us to focus, especially when we are in some kind of storm or upheaval. Someone who has found their purpose, own their motivation. They know who they are and why they are doing what they do. They have a deep-seated sense of contentment, which is not lost even when facing adversity, or when they are criticised or if things do not go to plan. Because they no longer live on the surface; they have gone below the surface and understand the mechanisms of life and the reins are in their hands.
A meditator is constantly aware of the focus of the mind throughout the day. There is the understanding that life is not between me and others but between me and the mechanism of spirituality. Spirituality is, among many other things, the development of a clean heart, and when the heart is clean, all you have ever really wanted will appear — and your life will be filled with deep contentment.
Yogesh Sharda is the National Coordinator of the Brahma Kumaris’ services in Turkey.