10. Moksha - the ultimate goal?

Q10. Is Moksha the ultimate goal of life?

A10. All religious and spiritual philosophies will say - yes. They use different terms, like Salvation, Liberation, God Realization, Self Realization, Samadhi, etc. "I am the Wise, the Blessed, the Happy, the Liberated!"

I wonder if this is a selfish objective? If I get Moksha, what about the others? Gandhiji once said (referring to God) "I can not come to you alone, I have to take others with me." What would be more satisfying - having realized God and be in the state of ultimate bliss, or be born on the earth in the service of others, so that they get a chance to live a decent life, and even get to a point of thinking about Moksha?

To this mortal mind, the latter seems to be more real and appealing.

May be, Moksha is only a natural outcome of a more desirable objective. It is only a "fruit" of some actions, hence should be renounced (i.e. not worry about it)? Moksha for Moksha's sake is self-defeating and even illusory?

Birthday Message to Friends and Family

Today, I would like to repeat the same message that I had conveyed 5 years ago on my 50th Birthday......
Amit
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Dear Friends and Family:

I was delighted to see you all at my 50th Birthday Party.

I am not writing this to thank you for showing up. I am sure you all did it with great pleasure. It has meant a lot to me/us that you did show up - not just for that day - but have been showing up for however long we have known each other. I am sure, that has been done with great pleasure too, and with unconditional affection and devotion as friends. I am truly grateful to have such a gift - of gifted friends and family - and am elated to share that gift with all of you.

I do want to reiterate what I felt at that time - that we are all blessed - with good friends, family, teachers, mentors....and a lot more. It has all been enriched by the land we were born in and the culture we have inherited. So, I am sure, we together will continue to enjoy and enrich that heritage, may it be music, dance, arts, literature, sports, philosophy, spirituality or umpteen other things that the environment around us has to offer. In fact, being born as a human and have the capacity to admire God's beauty seems like a gift enough.

Speaking of "God", I do not know anything about HIM, other than that it signifies everything that is "Good" around us. That is why HIS name is interwoven in most aspects of our culture, and has resulted in some magnificent creations through centuries. So, I am not shy about invoking HIS name.

I have thought hard as to what it means to be 50. Very frankly, I cannot come up with anything different from being 30 or 40. I have felt no change. So, for the rest of the younger gang, 50 is an insignificant milestone in a continuing journey - other than a good excuse for a party (may be, Medha just started a rumour that I am 50, in order to get us all together), and pausing for a moment to reflect upon your life and sharing the sentiments in a note like this with all those you care about.

I hope it was fun - not just the party - but the preparation. I also learned that you were all a significant and enthusiastic party to the crime. I wonder if I should be happy that I did not have to do any work - or should envy you all for missing out on the process. It was great to see the house filled with laughter. May that continue for all of us - and all others around us - for years and years to come.

I should not forget an important point - I have appointed myself as the Manager of Medha's patented plan for parties. Should you want to take advantage of that patent, you are kindly requested to contact this Manager's Office.

With great affection,
Amit