Recently I met a Mauritian friend of mine whom I had not seen for over 25 years. We greeted each other. His first words to me were: ? I?ve lost my way.? I met him at the funeral of my friend Maurice Lim. Many Mauritian friends and others had come from far away places to pay their last respects to Maurice. Immediately I thought my friend coming from a long way had lost his bearing on the road and was late in arriving at the cremation ground. I asked him what exactly he meant. He said: ?I?ve lost my way in life? in a low, depressing tone. I listened to his stories of pain, loss and family separation. I asked him to keep in touch; we exchanged telephone numbers. So far he has not got in touch; when I called on several occasions there were always a dead sound.

This particular event got me thinking about losing one?s direction; having no purpose in life. My friend?s story of lost direction is a fairly common one like many first generation Mauritians. He came to Britain to achieve his dreams and expectations by working hard, save his money, brought his wife and children here and then things went wrong. He lost his way in life. He felt hurt and ashamed, guilty and kept himself to himself, having lost face in the race to achieve economic independence and a higher educational qualification. Such situations have been well documented by both Drs A. R. Mannick and Sam Lingayah in their works on Mauritian Immigrants. Recently in Counselling Needs of UK Mauritians I examined the reasons for these losses and the need for support and counselling. Therefore I often thought about that friend and wondered if he has found his way back; if he has regained his direction and purpose.

The purpose of life

Losing one?s direction and purpose in life is very serious. It is bad enough losing one?s way when travelling from one point to another without a street map. Nowadays there are a lot of gadgets to help one navigate one?s way from place to place. But the purpose of life is something more important; something of deeper significance. Many right-thinking men and women realise there is purpose to one?s life; and that is not simply to be spent in eating, drinking and merry-making. It is not in achieving name, fame, wealth and position in this materialistic world; it is in becoming more self-aware, in self-discovery, a commitment to a new way of being; a different experience completely. It is a spiritual pilgrimage.

Many thinkers have asked the question: ? What is the purpose of life? What is the goal of life?? An Indian guru asked: ?After getting such a rare gift as a human life, if you cannot make use of it to attain the divine, indeed if you are not able to remember the purpose of life what is the use of getting such a gift??

In his book The Purpose of Life, Stephen Knapp, declares that ?the topmost use of human life is to engage in the advancement of self-realization?. This is also explained in Srimad Bhagavatam (11.9.29) which says that after many lifetimes one finally achieves a human birth. He goes on to say that although a human lifetime is temporary and can be short? it affords one the opportunity to reach the highest perfection in spiritual life. One lifetime is all it takes to make the necessary spiritual advancement to enter the higher realm? engaging in the practices that allow us to regain our spiritual consciousness is the ultimate goal of human life.

Obstacles to achievement

So, what is keeping us from engaging in the practices to achieve our goal? The same question was asked of Jesus by the rich young businessman: What must I do to achieve eternal life? The solution was very simple yet he found it very hard to practise. If he was really willing to put his butt on the line, in the words of Iyanla Vanzant, to achieve his life purpose; that is to go and distribute his wealth to those who had none and come back to follow Him. He went away with a sad face, thinking that the practice was not for him. He worked hard at his business making money; had no time to pray or meditate or think of the plight of the poor and those in need. Serving the community with his wealth was not part of his plan. He thought he could buy his way to spiritual realization. Bribery does not work in this department. That was his obstacle to achieving his purpose. A different kind of practices were required of him. We all have this opportunity in this one life-time in this human body. Stephen knapp has aptly stated that one human birth is all it takes to afford one the opportunity to reach the highest perfection in spiritual life.

The rich business tycoon was advised to practise this special act so that his motive could be clearer; his mind could be prepared to follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Perhaps he did not even have to physically leave all his business activities to go after Jesus; he simply had to develop some other values such as righteousness, love, charity, peace and non-violence in his dealings with his family, work environment and the community he lived in while at the same time thinking that the whole world merits and deserves the same love, attention and respect from him.

This tycoon was prescribed a specific practice relevant to meet his specific needs. Others could have been enjoined to undertake silent sitting, group worship, repeating the name of God, undertaking some special acts of service to the community or indeed a combination of these activities. We see in the story of Mary and Martha that Jesus said Mary was equally occupied by sitting quietly and listening to the teaching of Jesus while Martha was busy getting ready some food in the kitchen to serve the guests. She was not too happy doing this on her own; she wanted her sister to be told to help. Actually both of them were doing the right thing if it was being done with the right attitude. Selfless service is the key to achieve one?s spiritual development. In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna talks of work (service) without expecting the fruits of one?s actions.

However, it is said that this businessman, after some serious thought to the shocking request made by Jesus, did in fact get rid of his physical wealth in the service of the needy and return to see Jesus. His need to seek self-realization got the better of him. He had realized that to part from his earthly riches was the only way to his spiritual growth. He could not purchase this with all his economic advantage. In this context, Carol Adrienne in The Purpose of Your Life, quoted Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi with this observation: ?Strange as it may seem, life becomes serene and enjoyable precisely when selfish pleasure and personal success are no longer the guiding goals.? Wealth will get you nowhere but strapped down by the sheer weight of greed and fear. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God! He was saved; he regained his direction and purpose for which he had been given the gift of a human birth. What a transformation! ...

?Life is a pilgrimage to God.? Are you prepared to go willingly on to this journey? Finding your true self will begin with your commitment to a new way of being. Are you ready for that?

Dr David Lingiah