BE CLEAR ABOUT THE GOAL

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

31. BE CLEAR ABOUT THE GOAL
Worshipful homage unto the Supreme Reality, the eternal, the unchanging, the
ever-enduring sat, Existence, that which alone is the Reality!
The path that leads to the realisation of this Reality is the path that gives certainty to life,
significance and meaning to existence; it endows one with strength, and then ultimately becomes

the liberator from all error. It provides for the human individual soul a purpose, and purposefulness
is the secret of strength; it is strength.
Certainty is strength. Certainty is a power that overcomes all that stands in the way.
Uncertainty is weakness that lays one open to all the contrary pulls and pushes that abound
everywhere in the phenomenon called life. Uncertainty is like a traveller moving through a jungle
unarmed and unprotected or a soldier on a battlefield without his arms.
Certainty endows one with a sense of purpose and a sense of overcoming. It is the strength
of a seeker who knows what is to be attained. Because, when the goal is clear, when the path is
visible and known, and the direction is definite, then life becomes a powerful movement forward
towards the goal. Therefore, it is necessary that we know what we are striving for, that we know
what we are seeking and that we have a definite plan and purpose.
There should be no delusion. There should be no confusion. There should be clarity of
thought. The Upanishads give us an analogy that Vedantins oft meditate upon and that jijnasus oft
contemplate: pranavo dhanuh saro hi atma brahma tallakshyam uchyate apramattena
veddhavyam saravat tanmayo bhavet (Om is the bow. The individual self is the arrow. Brahman is
the target. The target is to be hit by great vigilance. Then alone shall one merge into Brahman, even
as an arrow enters into a target).
The key word here is apramatta (careful, watchful, vigilant). A person who has no
delusions—who has no confusion, who is very clear and definite about what he has made up his
mind to reach—has no lack of clarity; he has no uncertainty; there is not the least doubt in his mind.
He is sure. He has chosen after great thought; so, there is no hesitation. There is a total integration of
all his being towards that self-chosen goal. Every bhakta, every jijnasu, every yogi, every Vedantin,
every sadhaka has to be apramatta. He has to attain that state where there is no doubt left.
The verse says that you yourself are the arrow. You have to speed straight, unerringly
towards the target that you have set for yourself, moving in that one, unified, single direction
towards the Goal Supreme, towards that divine destiny that you have known to be the one and only
thing that imparts meaning to life, that makes life worthwhile, that gives significance to life. Having
no more doubt about the destination to be reached, you make yourself like unto an arrow that speeds
straight towards the target.
And what is it that impels you? What is it that impels an arrow forward? It is the bow, and
what is that bow that impels you, that gives force? It is none other than that one mystical symbol, the
pranava, Om. Om signifies or betokens an alert state of inner spiritual wakefulness, an ever-awake
spirituality. Whether the body is in its wakeful condition, dream or deep sleep, you are ever awake
spiritually. For you there is no sleep; you are alert, ever awake.
And it is this ever-awake condition of spiritual awareness that will guarantee the straight,
onward flight of the arrow, meaning yourself, towards your target which is Brahman,
God-experience, Self-realisation, illumination, bliss beyond all sorrow. That is the target, the
objective, and you have to reach that, enter into and become one with that supreme target.

That is possible only if there is no uncertainty, no vacillation, no confusion, no hesitation: “I
have known what it is that I aspire after, long for, wish for in this my life. Having pondered it well,
weighed the pros and cons, deeply reflected, and having seen what this world is, known its
hollowness, its absolute pettiness, its purely evanescent nature where everything is transitory and
subject to decay and dissolution, I have turned away, I have now known what there is to be attained.
“Having known that in this pettiness and nothingness there is no great significance, except
that in and through this wilderness I can attain that state of everlasting light and blessedness, I
gather together all my energies, all my potential, my entire life, and readily, willingly, gladly, with
great enthusiasm, zest and zeal I dedicate myself for this great attainment.
“This is what I am. That is what my life constitutes— the flight of this sharp arrow, speeding
from the bow towards the target. That is what my life is; that is how I conceive it. I clearly see my
life to be this speeding arrow going unerringly in the direction of the Supreme Goal, which is
nothing less than Brahmanhood, God-experience.”
Thus clearly knowing oneself and knowing what one’s life is, one should speed on towards
that great Goal. That is the essence of the moment by moment, day-to-day life of the true seeker, the
classic yogi. He is ever intent upon this achievement. And everything has meaning for such a being
only with reference to this great quest and attainment. If it is not relevant to that great attainment,
then that thing ceases to have any place in the true seeker’s life.
This is the life triumphant. This is an effective life. This is a life where uncertainty is
minimal and purposefulness is maximum. Such a life alone is a life that makes one thrive and gives
joy, satisfaction and great inspiration!
This needs to be considered in relation to one’s life. Does my life have a definite
purposefulness, a clear-cut goal? Have I set my direction? Have I adopted a set of principles that
will help me move in this direction? And finally, have I an ideal which inherently contains within
itself all these three?