The Meaning of Life

Faced with the vanity of material ambitions and the inevitable decline of old age, life can often seem absurd. Yet, by rediscovering the fundamental meaning of our existence and cultivating detachment, we can transform every stage of life into the path toward inner peace.

The blog Yoga Originel

Summary: Faced with the vanity of material ambitions and the inevitable decline of old age, life can often seem absurd. Yet, by rediscovering the fundamental meaning of our existence and cultivating detachment, we can transform every stage of life into the path toward inner peace.

Text

In India, traditionally, existence is divided into three periods: childhood and youth, occupied by studies; then adulthood, occupied by starting a family, having children, and working; finally, old age, to focus on spirituality. It is somewhat natural; it is, or was, much the same in France. Who hasn't seen those elderly women regularly attending church?

When we are young, we have the illusion of immortality and believe we can do things that matter in our lives, and we harness ourselves to that goal. Old age seems so far away that we don't worry about it, but "when the winter winds blow," it is a different story altogether.

The Stages of Life and the Vanity of Illusions

When young, we think our efforts will lead us somewhere... we will manage to find a job, buy a car, start a family, before that family scatters, then start another, a blended family, then yet another. But in the end, where will we arrive? At old age.

When the children have left home, we buy a trampoline and install it in the garden to make our grandchildren want to visit us. Yet, how many trampolines do I see in suburban gardens, abandoned and unused by any child? I feel sorrow seeing these dilapidated trampolines; I then measure the vanity of illusions and the fact that the elderly no longer interest anyone.

When we are retired, what use are our studies and our careers? Does a former lawyer, for example, remove his plaque from the wall of his house or does he add the mention: retired? How long did his career last? What does he do, then, with all the books in his library and all the accumulated knowledge?

The Reality of Detachment

Spending one's childhood working to pass the baccalauréat, pursuing higher education, working forty years or more as a respected expert, and once retired, realizing all of that is no longer of any use... all that for nothing! Furthermore, those still working criticize our retirement, treating us with contempt as boomers, freeloaders, or egoists enjoying infinite vacations.

It is precisely at that moment that one is in the right posture to live with detachment, humility, and wisdom. This is why, in India, this period of life is dedicated to deep spirituality. We have nothing left to achieve, nor to hope for, except Grace. We have all the freedom to live our spirituality.

The Union of Vigor and Wisdom

In truth, even at twenty, we have nothing to achieve, nothing to hope for from the world of Men... I mean, nothing essential. For my part, I became interested in spirituality at eighteen and, now older, I have realized the vanity of hopes and the efforts of youth... "if youth only knew, and if age only could!" We should unite the momentum of youth, its strength, and its energy with a bit of the wisdom of old age. In the past, the young listened to the old, and a bit of their wisdom tempered their fire.

Finding the Fundamental Meaning of Existence

The only thing we are sure to reach in life is death. So, what do we do in the meantime? Life has a meaning beyond personal goals. Nowhere today are young people taught what the meaning of life is. How can life be lived without knowing its direction? We can do all sorts of things in life, but the first thing to do is to know the meaning of life. The meaning of life is not the absurd journey I have described to you.

How many people with comfortable lives suffer from a lack of meaning? Much suffering is due to this ignorance. By knowing it, we can do everything we have to do with a certain detachment; then, we can enjoy the happiness of living independently of our social status.

When we are young, we have the illusion that what the world of Men offers us has meaning, so we dedicate ourselves to "success." But success in what? It’s absurd! Without the knowledge of the fundamental meaning, life has no meaning, and when we realize this, we have a long way to fall.

Faith in Grace

What is important in life is not so much what we do, but the state of mind we have while doing it. When I returned from the ashram where I lived in 1978, because of a visa issue, I found myself alone in Paris, without family, friends, a job, money, or housing.

Jesus said: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? [...] Seek first the Kingdom, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:25-34).

I am not a Christian, in the practicing sense, yet what Jesus said can be a help, an illumination for all, even for atheists, provided they rid themselves of prejudices about religion. Jesus was neither a Christian nor a priest, nor even the son of God, but he was at the very least a sage, similar to a Buddha. Do not deprive yourself of his words full of wisdom. Wisdom is always welcome in life.

madhyama.marga@gmail.com