Amit Sharma
‘Life’ is the Name of the Game. As this is said at numerous times at various platforms, we never get two lives and we have only one life which we should live to the fullest. Lot of lectures, programmes and even movies are being made to highlight it these days like the one released in the recent times with the caption “Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara” which depicts the idea of living our lives in the best possible manner and to the max possible but unfortunately, today we are so much engrossed in material and worldly things that we have completely forgotten the purpose of our very existence and lost the very essence of our existence in this world.
To elaborate it, I want to share few things related to our life-cycles. We begin our life as a child or a kid by entering into the education mode and spend lot of years in learning, both in terms of formal school/college/technical things and also in terms of social, moral and spiritual things. As we grow-up, we get engrossed into the process of building a decent career for ourselves, whether by getting a job or entering a profession or entrepreneurial venture. The next lap comes within no time towards settling down in life by entering into a family mode with a life-partner and kids. Afterwards, the middle stage of life arrives and we get deeply involved into daily chores of life relating to fulfilling our commitments towards our jobs/professions/businesses and above all, families, which become the primary driving forces to do so. Alongside, it is also a fact that amongst many of us, these days, health issues start creeping-in, largely owing to stressful and stereotype lifestyles at the middle stages of life. So, it is at this time, we start realising and finding out the gains and losses in our lives and no sooner do we realise that we have already reached at an advanced stage of our life-cycles wherein reversal in terms of age, youthfulness, exploration, health and even a reformative lifestyle are not possible, now.
Based out of the above premise, I want to ask a basic question “Are we doing a Justice to our Lives?” Just think over, what are we actually looking for in Life and where are we heading towards in Life and what are our Highest and Least Expectations from the Life. This has to be done with deepest introspection and inner-core level thinking and it is not to be done, just as a mere formality. If we conduct this self-assessment related exercise sincerely and properly, we will surely be able to find out the real person within ourselves and thereafter, we shall be able to identify our inherent ‘real-self’ within us which usually gets lost in the oblivion due to our routine lifestyles which come to us due to our ‘as it is’ acceptance theory of life, which keeps residing within us, as a matter of routine.
Every person is a multi-dimensional personality and everyone has some manifestations which remain hidden throughout the lifespan, due to one reason or the other but we must understand, if we don’t make an honest attempt to live them out in this ‘precious life’ at our disposal, then when will it happen? Also, I have seen many people, regretting at later stages of life, about what they had ‘missed out’ in life but saying that they shall try to live the same through their coming generations. But this sounds totally absurd & philosophical to me, as this kind of thinking does a spoilsport, both ends. Firstly, you have completely missed out in realising personal dreams at the right time and secondly, you are acting selfishly by forcing your child into fulfilment of your personal unfulfilled dreams, forgetting that your child is a completely separate entity from you and the child can have her/his own personal ambitions and goals in life and the little one should not become a mean of living out your dreams, just because you are that kid’s biological parent and can exercise your authority over that innocent kid.
So, without explaining further, I want to come straight to the point that it is never too late to realize the purpose of one’s existence in life, as it is also very well explained in our Hindu mythology that one gets into an ‘avtaara’ of a human body after going through many kinds of births in the past, like in the form of various living creatures like plants, animals, insects, etc and one must ensure to make the best possible out of this avtaara of a human being before leaving this body, as this human avtaara is only an outcome of the good deeds performance in previous avtaaras and shall enhance our chances of getting again into the role of a human avtaara in future. Ok, even if one is an Atheist and don’t believe much in these kinds of mythologies, still, one thing is sure that we must do complete justice to our lives and leave no stone unturned to realise our wishes and manifestations before we reach the point of ‘no reversals’ or ‘no return’ in lives.
Most important is that we must live a balanced life and try to achieve, contribute and give maximum push towards keeping ownself and everybody around us happy and contended in life. The top mantra for same is to Leave All Kinds of Expectations from All Nears and Dears including Life Partner, Kids, Parents, Peers, etc. The next Mantra for living such kind of life includes adhering to the very general things which include simple eating habits, proper sleeping habits, decent socialising habits, balance between home and work, good travelling and attaining maximum exposure through it, maintaining public etiquettes and making social contributions and many alike things which form the very basis of life. It is understandable that our lives change from time to time and so do the responsibilities in our lives but it should never become a lame excuse for living out below-par lives. We can draw lot of examples from the people living in the western world who try to maintain a balance between work and life and remain focused to achieve their personal ambitions and lead their lives in the best possible manner without an iota of expectations from anyone in their lives, unlike us.
It’s not that we cannot do justice to our lives or we don’t know how to live our lives to the fullest but it calls for adequate mental strength, grit and resolve, proper home-work, self-introspection and above all, lifestyle changes, which is, otherwise also need of the hour. In-turn, what is happening with us that we are forced to go for lifestyle changes and taking time out for ourselves, not out of our sweet-will or self-determination but when we are forced to do so, either due to health emergencies or due to some major incidents taking place in our lives. Unfortunately, as a consequence of such passive lifestyles, the rate of depression has also increased manifold during the last few decades, especially in Indians because of which not only our mental health but even general health statuses, are getting affected badly. So, it is high time for all of us to think and re-think about becoming self-guides and commit justice to whichever stages of life, we are in, at present.
Also, in my summation, I want to emphatically mention that our Existence in the world is always With and For a Purpose. Let’s try to self-explore and interpolate that very reason of our very Existence or Entry into this World, also finding out why, when, where, etc for it and once done, then we must try to analyse how far we have gone towards achieving it. Certain things do happen at a micro level and few also at the macro or cosmic level which are beyond our control but one thing is sure that our lives are meant to be lived in a qualitative and objective manner and this is a major reason which differentiates we the humans, from other living beings like animals and plants. I am sure, after going through this thought-stimulating article of mine, we shall immediately start working to revive this most important ‘missing link’ or a ‘mission in absentia’ towards our Existence in this World by Living Out our Lives to the Fullest, as this will not only help us to rejuvenate ourselves but shall also do a world of good to our Presence in this Beautiful Planet ‘Earth’ !
(The writer is a Senior JKAS Officer and presently working as Special Secretary to Government. He can be reached at amit1kas@gmail.com)
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