What is the Purpose of Your Life?

Have you ever imagined how it might feel to be on a spaceship, sailing through the vast universe, gazing at distant stars and planets? 

It would surely be a breathtaking experience—something beyond words. But here’s the catch: you are already on a spaceship. Yes, you read that right. This planet Earth, the very ground beneath your feet, is a massive spaceship floating silently in the endless expanse of the universe. Alongside are other planets, and your Sun—moving together, bound by gravity, drifting in cosmic harmony.

You are not the owner of this spaceship. You are a passenger. A temporary traveller. One day, the rent for your stay will be due—and that rent is your body, which will dissolve back into the Earth after your journey here ends.

Now, if you're here on this floating sphere, there must be a reason behind your existence, right? Yet most of us never ask that question. Why? Because we’ve been told stories by books, by teachers, by religions. We are told that after death, we’ll either be reborn or we’ll enjoy an eternal afterlife in heaven. But think for a moment: if you don’t even understand why you were born in the first place, how can you truly believe you know what happens after death? These promises of rebirth or heaven can be comforting, but are they answers, or are they distractions?

These are escape routes—ways we avoid confronting the real question: Why am I here? We’re told that death isn’t the end, just a pause, a long sleep, after which we will awaken into another life. But is that all there is? Have we just accepted these ideas without really examining them?

Think about how much effort you put into planning your life. You plan your career, your finances, your children’s education, your vacations, your retirement. Every step is calculated. You do SWOT analyses, contingency planning, budgeting—everything. Even the most disorganized people still make some sort of plan. But ask yourself this: have you made any plans for the moment after your last breath?

Imagine someone asking you to walk into a pitch-black cave without a torch. You would hesitate, even panic. You wouldn’t know what lies inside. But here’s the truth: no matter how successful or safe your life may be, one day you’ll have to walk into a cave far darker than anything you’ve imagined. That cave is called death.

Why do I call it a dark tunnel? Because after death, your eyes, ears, skin—everything you use to perceive the world—will no longer be with you. You will not be able to think, feel, or comprehend, because the consciousness that gives you awareness will also be gone. This consciousness gives you the sense of “me” and “you,” of this and that. Without it, there is no separation, no duality, and no understanding of your own existence.

I once read a sacred Hindu scripture called the Kathopanishad. The Upanishads, part of ancient Hindu philosophy, are profound texts that explore the nature of existence and the self. This particular one tells the story of a young seeker named Nachiketa, who questions the meaning of life and death. I was excited—finally, I thought, a book that would reveal the secret of life’s purpose and the mystery of death.

I read it eagerly, page after page, only to reach a moment where it said: The truth of life and death cannot be explained—but it can be understood.

I felt frustrated, even cheated. After all that, the answer was left up to me? What was the point of reading it then? But something within told me there was more. A subtle, deeper truth that I had missed.

So I read the book again, slowly and with more awareness. And this time, I found what I was looking for. The book doesn’t hand over the answer; instead, it shows the path. It tells us that the most crucial element of human life is duality—the experience of separation created by our consciousness. This duality is what makes us aware that you are different from me, that this is different from that.

We are born into this world to explore and ultimately transcend this duality. This is not something anyone else can do for you. No book, no teacher, no priest can give you this realization. But as long as you are alive, as long as your consciousness is active, you have the power to discover it for yourself.

Once life ends, that power is lost. The observer—the conscious part of you that reflects and understands—ceases to exist. Without the observer, there is no awareness. And if you do not realize the truth while the observer is still present, you miss the very reason for which you were given this precious life.

Words and language, remember, are tools we created from shared human experiences. But some truths go beyond experience. They can only be realized, not described. That realization happens when the mind becomes still, when the noise of the outside world fades, and you begin to look inward.

In this silence, through deep meditation, something extraordinary happens. Your identity, your ego, your sense of “I”—all begin to dissolve. What remains is the pure observer. And that observer is you, not the physical, name-bearing you, but the eternal, unchanging you that exists beyond body and mind.

You realize that what you once thought was “nothing” is not nothing at all. It is everything. Beyond the illusion of emptiness lies your real identity. And you were born not just to live and die, but to discover this identity—to wake up to the truth that you are eternal.

When this realization dawns, you are no longer afraid of death. The cave is no longer dark. Because the observer, once awakened, doesn’t need eyes to see, ears to hear, or a body to feel. It perceives beyond perception. It exists beyond life and death.

And this, my friend, is the real purpose of your journey on this spaceship called Earth.

If you pass through life without uncovering this truth, you may have lived a full life on the outside, but you will have missed its deepest purpose. You came here not just to exist, but to realize.

And that realization is waiting for you, within you.

By Pradeep Mahaur – Pradeep Mahaur Magazine

Insights on Hindu Wisdom and Global Affairs from an Indic perspective.

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