Human life is a rare opportunity presented to the soul.  The other species, such as plants, fish, birds, reptiles, insects and mammals, have only sufficient knowledge to survive.  They cannot ask philosophic questions related to God, the soul and the goal of life.  They do not have sufficient knowledge to ponder over these topics.

Even if they could, they would not be able to do anything about it.  They do not possess the ability to go against their basic instincts.  For example, a lion is carnivorous by nature.  It cannot willfully decide to go on a vegetarian diet for spiritual progress.  On the other hand, humans possess both the power of knowledge and the ability to control their mind and intellect.  Hence, human beings can willfully decide their goal in life and strive to attain it.  

Most of us have never thought about our goal, and they wander through life without a clear and resolute purpose.  This is like the traveller who asked a bystander whether he was on the right path.  The bystander asked him where he wished to go.  The traveller replied that he did not know.  The bystander said that if he had no goal in mind, then it did not matter which path he went by.

Similarly, many people stumble aimlessly through life, from childhood to youth to old age, confused about their goal.  To be successful in life, it is important to think deeply about one’s goal.  

What is it that we are all looking for?  The Vedic scriptures say that we are all seeking happiness in everything we do.  We may have different decisions regarding where happiness lies.  Someone feels that if only he could get a bigger car, he would be happy.  Another person thinks that if she could get a nice house she would be happy.  Someone else believes that by becoming rich he would be happy, while yet another feels that if only she could become a movie star, she would be happy.  However, everyone’s goal is happiness, and twenty-four hours a day, all that we do is for its sake.

We all know that we want happiness, but to deepen our understanding about happiness, let us ponder over a question.  Did anybody teach us to seek happiness, just as we had to learn everything else?  We were taught, “My child!  You should always speak the truth.”  “Son, you should never speak lies.”  “My daughter, you should never steal from anyone.”  We had to learn how to read, write, and speak.  In the same way, did we have to be taught, “My child!  You must always seek happiness.  It should not come about that you start loving misery.”  This instruction was never given to us.  Without ever being taught to do so, we naturally began seeking bliss.

In fact, the moment we were born, the first thing we did was to express our desire for happiness.  We did not say it in words, since we could not speak.  We did it by crying out with all our might.  That is the first thing a child does when it comes into this world.  Why does the child cry on birth?  In the process of birth, it experiences pain, and it cries to reveal its nature.  “I have not come into this world for pain.  I have come for bliss.  Give me happiness!”  Since then, until this day, all we have done is for the sake of happiness.  Hence, we can safely conclude that the goal of all living beings is happiness.