Page 18 - TheJoyOfOneness_Demo

our lives is to find everlasting happiness. This is a common
expectation for everyone, irrespective of our backgrounds,
nationality, sex, etc. We might notice that this is common
to all living beings, not just human beings. Animals, for
example, resist when they are subjected to unpleasant and
harmful effects simply because of an inherent desire not to
suffer. Even in plants, a subtle observation would reveal
that they show signs of avoiding suffering whenever they
are subjected to such situations.

Goal of Life

Our pursuit of life is a constant journey to experience this
happiness by taking several steps in our day-to-day lives.
In this pursuit, we try several things and through our
experiences, gain a certain understanding of what is
happiness and what is not. It is a process in which we
constantly validate our assumptions of what delivers
happiness to us. We also face several challenges en route
to this journey. On some days, we feel unhappy and, on
some other days feel pressured. We face competition from
others and fear losing our chances of obtaining what we
want. Therefore, this journey of discovering happiness is
an endless roller coaster ride for most of us. Nevertheless,
we continue this journey to find the ultimate truth as we
are inherently wired to pursue this. For a person, who
experiences the ultimate truth of life the confusion about
what gives happiness disappears entirely. Such a person
constantly revels in happiness and is set to have obtained
mokṣa (ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and
deaths and the associated distress and unhappiness that
one experiences).

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