Source : The Hindu
Krishna captures the wide range of human aspirations synoptically in the seventh chapter when He tells Arjuna about how people generally strive to achieve and attain what they think is close to their hearts. All these people have faith in God and seek His help to fulfil their aims. Some seek relief from distress, some seek wealth and worldly possessions and some wish to master empirical knowledge and so on.
But it is very rare that one seeks God for His sake and shelves aside all other desires, says Krishna. A jivatma would do well to fix his goal in life, pointed out Swami Mitrananda in a lecture.
No matter how one has spent his life, if at some point he realises that his goal is to seek God, and henceforth lives his life fixed on this goal, it would make him strong for the rest of his life. Even death, which is often dreaded and feared, becomes acceptable as a matter of fact occurrence; for the most intense thoughts sustained while living will surge at the time of death.
Worldly goals immerse us in a temporary delight and joy. At times, one even feels sad missing out on any of these.
But eventually, one realises that even after successful accomplishment, one is still restless and continues to want something which is difficult to identify. Sincere search for one’s real yearning, will lead one to seek God.
When God becomes the priority in one’s life and entire being, the whole perspective changes; one is filled with a sense of relief because worldly goals are no longer desirable. There is no need to seek anything from God except living life to attain God. Only the experience of meeting the divine is uppermost.
One now begins to feel restless and sad, not for missing worldly enjoyments, but because of missing God. This is the hallmark of a mumukshu.
ऋभु वशिष्ठ (Ribhu Vashishtha) 