The SOUL Purpose: our Journey of Self-Discovery and True Freedom

Life often feels like a winding road, with both breathtaking vistas and unexpected roadblocks. We set out with a purpose, a destination in mind, only to find our journey swayed by the pendulum of our emotions and the constant tug of the mind. But what if these challenges aren’t meant to derail us, but to guide us toward a deeper truth? What if the struggle itself is the path to discovering our pristine, real nature?

A wise father lived with his son in a village. The father wanted his son to go visit the city to learn something worthwhile. The son was eager to experience the vibrant life of the neighbouring city. The father sent him on a mission to learn about its beauty. However, his days were consumed not by sightseeing, but by a mysterious fire that erupted in his lodging every morning. He desperately sought the culprit who was setting the fire every day.

Imagine his shock and dismay when he discovered that the culprit was none other than his own father! In his anguish, he asked, “Why did you send me here only to make life so difficult for me?”. The father smiled, explaining that the peaceful village life offered no opportunity for growth. He revealed that challenges, like the daily fire, are what bring out the best in us and awaken us to our true nature.

Our lives on Earth mirror this tale. We’re here on a “short visit” to gather experiences that help us uncover our true self. Our pristine nature is characterised by unconditional love, lasting happiness, peace, boundless compassion, and creativity. The discovery and expression of unconditional love and unshakable faith is our SOUL purpose—the whole and sole purpose of our life. Everything we do, from our careers to our families, is part of this grand purpose.

To fulfil this purpose, we must actively train our minds. The acronym SOUL provides a clear framework for this training, standing for Steadfast Obedient Untainted Loving. Developing a mind that embodies these four qualities is essential for our journey of self-discovery.

Steadfastness

The mind has the tendency to waver when faced with challenges. Emotions such as fear, despair, anger, and resentment can sweep us away, and our self-belief can quiver when threatened by people or circumstances. Steadfastness is the key quality we need to develop to prevent our focus and resolve from deviating from our ultimate goal. A steadfast mind is unshakable, resolute, and persistent.

Obedience

Our expressions—thoughts, feelings, speech, and actions—often become fragmented, leading to a lack of integrity and depleted vitality. An obedient mind possesses the core quality of integrity, aligning these expressions in the direction of our goal. When our thoughts, feelings, and actions are in sync, our energy is focused, making life simple and powerful.

Untainted

As we grow, our minds are conditioned by people and social media, gathering negative impressions from the storm of events in daily life. These impressions can distort our perspective. The mind needs to be purified by eradicating these negative tendencies and impressions. Daily introspection is a powerful tool for this purification, allowing the mind to serve as a clean mirror to reflect our true self.

Loving

The ego, the feeling of being separate from others, forms in early childhood and leads to insecurity, hate, and malice. The goal of a loving mind is to sublimate this ego, leading to the experience of unconditional love and the realisation of our essential oneness. This loving mind naturally exudes compassion and forgiveness, qualities that are nurtured not in a classroom, but through the events and situations of our daily lives.

True Freedom—Transcending the Mind

Many people navigate life mechanically, as though in a state of sleepwalking. Though they may claim to have vast experience, if they continue to resist and struggle against life’s vagaries, it suggests they have simply been re-living the same day repeatedly for years. They choose to be victims of habitual patterns, reacting to recurring situations based on their past conditioning. Bogged down by perceived limitations, they miss the vital lessons that life offers.

These essential lessons are not found in classrooms or laboratories; our daily circumstances are the classroom, and our challenges are the laboratory. The path forward is not to develop mental skills to tackle external problems, but to transcend the mind itself by understanding our inner world. The very mind that assesses everything else must become the object of our assessment.

We must introspect on our tendencies, blocks, limiting beliefs, and the skewed perspectives that color our world. When we illuminate these blind spots with the light of our awareness, we transcend them. This allows our true essence—the real Self—to unfold, bringing lasting bliss, contentment, and novelty into our lives. We then open ourselves to the experience and expression of a higher consciousness.

The attainment of our SOUL purpose prepares us for living at the pinnacle of consciousness, which is the ultimate goal of human life. This state of total freedom is not found externally, but within, and it is a state that only humans can attain.

On this Independence Day, let us contemplate this opportunity, introspect, and rise beyond the mind to embrace true freedom.