In the Vision of God,
Volume 1, by Swami Ramdas, pp 118-119
THE SUPREME PURPOSE OF LIFE
The train arrived but it was overcrowded. There was no room in the third-class
carriages. Wherever they sought entrance into the carriage, they were repulsed
by the passengers. Observing their struggle two policemen came to the rescue.
They rushed forward and, opening the door of a carriage, provided sitting
accommodation for the trio. The policemen were full of love and kindness. Why
this? - because God is in all.
The train started. It might have just passed out of the station when a stout
Irani (Persian), who was occupying an upper berth, jumped down and requested
Ramdas to climb up and have his berth, upon which a thick quilt had been spread
so that one could lie on it comfortably. Ramdas declined his kind offer and said
that he preferred to remain where he was.
"May I be permitted to sit by your side for a few minutes?" he asked Ramdas.
"By all means," answered Ramdas, and made room for him. He wedged himself
between Ramdas and Ramcharandas.
"Do advise me," he urged, "as to how I can remove the illusions of the mind and
free it from the turmoil to which it is always subjected, and realize God. I am
simply caught up in the attachment to wife, house, money and property."
"You have diagnosed," Ramdas replied, "the disease aright and also have a clear
understanding of the remedy for it. Know in the first place that the God you
seek is within yourself. He is the life and soul of the universe and to attain
Him is the supreme purpose of life. Evil and sorrow are due to your belief that
you are separate from this universal Truth. The ego has set up this wall of
separation. Have a strong and intense longing to realize Him, that is, to know
that your life is one with the life of the universe. Then surrender up the ego
by constant identification with Him through prayer, meditation and performance
of all action without desiring their fruit. As you progress on this path, which
is the path of devotion, knowledge and self-surrender, your attachment to the
unrealities of life will slacken, and the illusions of the mind will be
dispelled. Now your heart will be filled with divine love, and your vision
purified and equalized, and your actions will become the spontaneous outflow of
your immortal being, yielding you the experience of true joy and peace. This is
the culmination of human endeavor and fulfillment of the purpose of life."
In the Vision of God, Vol I - The Continuing Saga of an Extraordinary Pilgrimage
