Attaining the Goal - The Supreme Destination of Human Life
In the material world, everyone is striving to attain a specific goal, whether it be wealth, heavenly elevation, or liberation from suffering. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Vedic scriptures clearly define a hierarchy of destinations. While different paths yield different results, the supreme, ultimate goal of human life—prayojana-siddhi—is to attain pure love of Godhead. By understanding how to properly utilize our intelligence, enthusiastically execute devotional service, and take shelter of the authorized process, we can quickly achieve this highest perfection.
Divergent Paths and Destinations
A common misconception in modern spirituality is that all paths lead to the same ultimate destination. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that fruitive workers, mental speculators, and pure devotees all attain distinctly different goals based on their specific practices and desires.
- The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the same goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own mode of worship of the demigods or of the Supreme or whatever.
- If a fruitive worker thinks that Lord Krsna is an ordinary mortal, he does not attain the goal of his fruitive work - elevation to the heavenly planets.
- Those who are interested in the impersonal Brahman effulgence, which is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can attain that goal by speculative knowledge.
- This same goal (merge into the Supreme Brahman) is attained by atheists who deny the existence of God. If such atheists are killed by an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they also merge into the Brahman existence of the Supreme Lord.
The Supreme Perfection: Love of Godhead
While people may mistakenly consider mundane success or impersonal liberation to be the highest achievement, the true perfection of life is transcendental. Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the ultimate goal is pure, unalloyed love of Godhead.
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "Thus one's relationship with the Lord, activities in devotional service, and the attainment of the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, are the subject matters of Srimad-Bhagavatam."
- After executing prescribed duties (in relationship to God), when one attains the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, he achieves prayojana-siddhi, or the fulfillment of his human mission.
- The sixth Sandarbha is called Priti-sandarbha, a thesis on love of Godhead. Here it is stated that through love of Godhead, one becomes perfectly liberated and attains the highest goal of life.
- It is stated that through love of Godhead, one becomes perfectly liberated and attains the highest goal of life.
Rejecting Material Endeavor for Devotional Service
To attain the supreme goal, one must redirect their energy. Śrīla Prabhupāda advises that instead of working tirelessly (prayāsa) for temporary material gains, a thoughtful person should enthusiastically adopt the authorized process of bhakti-yoga.
- We keep ourselves always healthy and strong in mind and intelligence so that we can distinguish the goal of life from a life full of problems. A thoughtful man must act in this way, learning to distinguish right from wrong, and thus attain the goal of life.
- The next impediment Srila Rupa Gosvami mentions is prayasa, endeavoring very hard for material things. A devotee should not be very enthusiastic about attaining any material goal.
- Instead of employing enthusiasm for attaining material goals, one should be enthusiastic about achieving the perfectional stage of devotional service.
- In every revealed scripture there is condemnation of fruitive activities. It is advised everywhere to give up engagement in fruitive activities, for no one can attain the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, by executing them.
The Method of Attainment in Kali-yuga
The process for reaching this ultimate destination must be practical for the current age. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that by associating with pure devotees, receiving the mercy of Lord Balarāma, and simply chanting the holy names, anyone can quickly attain the highest perfection.
- If one really wants to attain the goal of human life, he should associate with devotees of the Krsna consciousness movement because it is the only movement that teaches one how to develop love of God.
- Such people worship the Age of Kali because in this age one can advance in spiritual knowledge and attain life's goal simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
- One cannot attain the goal of life without the mercy of Balarama. Sri Narottama dasa Thakura therefore says, when one receives the mercy of Balarama, Nityananda, one can attain the lotus feet of Radha and Krsna very easily.
- Those who are eager to awaken their spiritual consciousness and who thus have unflinching, undeviated intelligence certainly attain the desired goal of life very soon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully dismantles the modern misconception that all spiritual and material paths ultimately lead to the same destination. As the Vedic literatures rigorously confirm, those who endeavor for heavenly sense gratification or impersonal liberation achieve only temporary or partial success. The true, absolute goal of human life (prayojana-siddhi) is exclusively the attainment of pure, unalloyed love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. To reach this exalted state, a thoughtful person must use their intelligence to distinguish between eternal necessities and temporary problems, rejecting the exhausting endeavor (prayāsa) for mundane achievements. By enthusiastically accepting the authorized process of bhakti-yoga—specifically by associating with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, receiving the causeless mercy of Lord Nityānanda, and constantly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra—any sincere soul can bypass all lower destinations and swiftly attain the supreme, eternal goal of life.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Attaining the Goal. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.