Find your Ikigai, Meaning of Life.

If you have ever wanted to know the meaning of life, then you're not the only one. Every great thinker in every society throughout time has pondered this question. Some used philosophy or theology to come up with a single answer and then explained it using complex arguments to justify their reasoning. The rishis took a different approach. Instead of devising an answer to teach the meaning of life, they built a system to explain the meaning of life. This system was Jyotish and its foundation was based upon the idea that everybody is born into this world based upon their karma from previous lives. Their birth in this life is thus a means to expel that karma and attain moksha or enlightenment.

According to tradition the Ramayana is said to hold the meaning of life for everybody who has ever been born, is alive right now, and will ever be born. Thus, by finding the cause of someone's karma, and the way in which it will be expelled in this life, will reveal the meaning of that person's life. This is where the Ramayana becomes a magical tool of mysticism.

The goal of life is to gain enlightenment by either removing all of our karma or gaining enough wisdom or grace through divinity that we can transcend our karma. Thus, the meaning of life is to understand the process of gaining enlightenment. This is why everybody's 'meaning' is different because different people have different levels of wisdom as well as karma. Despite this, the purpose of everybody's life is still to find enlightenment and escape the cycle of reincarnation.

The fundamental cause of birth is due to karma (action and reaction). Every action leads to a karmic reaction. The cause of karmic actions is ignorance of our higher divine nature. Thus, to understand the Ramayana, and its message on the meaning of life is to prevent the development of karma.

Valmiki's views on the self are based upon the four hands of Vishnu, where each hand represents a different aspect of our self. These aspects are:

 1. Emotions - How we feel about what has happened or will happen in our lives.

2. Ego - Our desires and what we wish to happen in our lives.

3.Wisdom - The collection of all that we have learned in our lifetime.

4.Soul - The eternal aspect of ourselves that is connected to Lord Vishnu. This also shows what will happen to us in our life because all the events that take place in our life are based upon our karma which is attached to our soul (inturn attached to Vishnu).

The condition of our lives is a combination of these four factors. Curiously, Valmiki does not place the body or mind as an aspect of the 'self', unlike many Greek philosophers. His view was that our emotions dictate how we feel about an issue, whilst our mind acts as an agent for our ego as it interprets those feelings with thoughts. The soul observes this process and either collect or releases karma as a result. Thus, our entire existence can be boiled down to these four factors; emotions, ego, wisdom, and the soul. These factors operate through our body, mind, and soul.

So, to find the meaning of one's life is to find the ways in which these four aspects of ourselves interact with each other. In a Ramayana context, it is to understand the ways in which Ravana, Sugriva, Hanuman, and Rama interact with each other. As each character represents a part of our inner world, they represent the foundation of our being. The events that take place in our lives are mirrored by the events that take place in the lives of these characters. So, if from a karmic point of view, the events that take place in our lives are reactions to prior thoughts and actions. Then these reactions are based from a foundation of our emotions, ego, wisdom, and soul, or our own Ravana, Sugriva, Hanuman, and Rama. In this way, the study of these four characters reveals our foundation of self, which in turn reveals the purpose of our birth and the karma that we have been born to balance.

Each event in the Ramayana is therefore a reflection of your own karma and highlights an element in the meaning of your life. For example, the interaction between Sugriva (ego) and Rama (soul) in the plot of the Ramayana shows the interaction between your ego and soul.

The Mahabharata makes a similar claim, with the additional comment that everything that needs to be known in life can be found in the Mahabharata, and that anything that is not found in that book is not important.  This is slightly different to the view of the Buddhists and Jains who maintain that although the goal of life is to seek enlightenment, there is no external savior who can give the wisdom needed to transcend karma. They maintain that each individual needs to do this by themselves, whereas Hindu theology allows for divine intervention.

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