View source for The goal of life is Visnu, or the Supreme Lord, or God. That one has to understand what is the Supreme Lord, what is Absolute Truth, - What is my relationship with Him and what is my duty towards Him

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{{terms|"The goal of life is Viṣṇu, or the Supreme Lord, or God. That one has to understand what is the Supreme Lord, what is Absolute Truth, "What is my relationship with Him and what is my duty towards Him"}}
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{{compiler|Soham}}
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{{first|2023-02-07T12:52:52Z}}
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[[Category:God Is The Ultimate Goal of Life]]
[[Category:God Is Lord Visnu]]
[[Category:God Is The Supreme Lord]]
[[Category:One Has To]]
[[Category:Understanding Visnu]]
[[Category:Understanding God]]
[[Category:What Is God]]
[[Category:What is the Absolute Truth]]
[[Category:Relationship with God]]
[[Category:Relationship with Visnu]]
[[Category:Duties for God]]
[[Category:Toward God]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SOHAM]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>General Lectures</h3>
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Everyone should be confident that whatever he is doing, he's doing for the perfection of life. That should be the aim of . . . in the modern education system . . . not only education system; in every field of life, practically we do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They do not know what is the goal of life. The goal of life is Viṣṇu, or the Supreme Lord, or God. That one has to understand what is the Supreme Lord, what is Absolute Truth, "What is my relationship with Him and what is my duty towards Him?" These things are to be known, and one has to adjust his life in that way. So Sūta Gosvāmī says, never mind in whatever order one may be situated, the perfection is saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13).
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[[Vanisource:690507 - Lecture at Harvard University Divinity School Cambridge - Boston|690507 - Lecture at Harvard University Divinity School Cambridge - Boston]]
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The duties are different according to different divisions of social order and spiritual order. That is Vedic civilization. There are four kinds of social orders and four kinds of spiritual orders. The social orders are the brahmins, the kṣatriyas, the vaiśyas and the śūdras, or the intellectual class of men . . . Brahmiṇ means intellectual class of men—one who devotes his life only in studying Vedas and acquiring knowledge and distributing that. Every time, in every age, there is a class of men who are intellectual class. So this intellectual class of men is called brahmin.

And the next class, the administrative class. Those who takes part in politics for administration of the state, government, they are called kṣatriyas. The actual meaning of kṣatriya is "one who protects a man from being hurt by others." That is called kṣatriya. That means, that is the business of the administrators, government. So brahmin, kṣatriya, then vaiśyas.

Vaiśyas means productive class, who are interested in producing things for consumption by the people. Mercantile class, industrialists, they are called vaiśyas. And the last class, fourth class, they are called śūdras. Śūdras means that they are neither intellectual, nor they're administrator, nor industrial or mercantile, but they can serve others. That's all.

So it is said that kalau śūdra sambhava. In the modern age, people are being taught in the university to become śūdra—neither brahmins nor kṣatriyas nor vaiśyas, generally. Because after education, they will have to seek after some service. He becomes a great technologist, but unless he gets a good job, his whole education is spoiled. You see? So therefore, in the Vedic śāstra it is said, in this age people are almost all śūdras. Kalau śūdra sambhava.

So the president of that meeting, Sūta Gosvāmī, said that it doesn't matter whether one man is brahmin or a kṣatriya or a vaiśya or a śūdra. This is social order. And then spiritual order: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. Brahmacārī means student, unmarried student, without any sex life. That is brahmacārī. And then gṛhastha, householder. Those who are living with wife and children, they are called householder, gṛhastha. Then vānaprastha, the retired persons. And then sannyāsa. After retirement, one dedicates his whole life for preaching work, preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is sannyāsa order.

So this is . . . these four divisions are in the spiritual order, and the other divisions are in the social order. Human society without these eight divisions—means social divisions and spiritual divisions—it is not called civilized. They must have. Therefore Sūta Gosvāmī said the social orders are there, and the spiritual orders are there, and each and every order, there are prescribed duties. The brahmins, they are engaged in such and such things, the brahmacārīs are engaged in such and such thing, the kṣatriyas are engaged . . . there are different prescribed duties.

Now Sūta Gosvāmī says that varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ. There are divisions of duties and divisions of social and spiritual order. That's all right. But how one can understand that by executing his duty, he's going to the path of perfection? Everyone should be confident that whatever he is doing, he's doing for the perfection of life. That should be the aim of . . . in the modern education system . . . not only education system; in every field of life, practically we do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.31|SB 7.5.31]]).

They do not know what is the goal of life. The goal of life is Viṣṇu, or the Supreme Lord, or God. That one has to understand what is the Supreme Lord, what is Absolute Truth, "What is my relationship with Him and what is my duty towards Him?" These things are to be known, and one has to adjust his life in that way. So Sūta Gosvāmī says, never mind in whatever order one may be situated, the perfection is saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.13|SB 1.2.13]]).

Ataḥ varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ dvija-śreṣṭhā svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya. One should try to test, "How my duties are being perfectly done?" That one has to see.

So that perfection is recommended, hari-toṣaṇam: whether by your duty, by your action, the Supreme Lord is satisfied. Just like we want to satisfy . . . in the schools, colleges, we want to satisfy our professor, teachers, principal. Or as good citizen we want to satisfy our government or . . .

Similarly, you have to satisfy somebody. That is the perfection. The highest perfection is to satisfy hari-toṣaṇam. Hari means the Supreme Lord, and toṣaṇam means satisfaction. Whether by your work and duties, discharging your duty, the Supreme Lord is satisfied—that is your perfection. But this is very rare thing.
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