The monk who spoke in English

Got the opportunity to sit through a Gita pravachan last week. It was not like one of those typical paaths, where you have a holier-than-thou, fat-bellied Guruji talking in heavily-accented Sanskrit. This guy was part of a new-age Mission, where they don't believe in preaching (at least that's how I felt- there may be other view points). He spoke in impeccable English and gave examples from Taare Zameen Par!

One thing that he said was that all humans have 2 goals- a Goal In Life (becoming a doctor, lawyer, MBA, entrepreneur etc) and a Goal Of Life (Our reason for being born- which is to find Peace and Happiness). Often, we confuse the two or completely forget the latter. Our goal IN life can often be a stepping stone towards the goal OF life- but unless we achieve Inner Peace, any other goal is fruitless.

Something else that stuck with me- was that there are 4 important organs in all living beings- Brain (intellect), Heart (emotions), Stomach (survival needs) and Procreating organs (reproductive needs)- {Physical pleasure is considered as a "base emotion" and not included in this list.}

So basically the point that he was making was that Animals move on 4 legs and thus all these 4 organs are placed horizontally (meaning that they are all given equal importance). {That's why they are animals!} Whereas in the human form, the head is the highest (and thus most important), then your heart, then stomach and then the sex organs. So to attain balance in life, a human must always move towards intellectual growth, then emotional peace, then satiate his hunger/thirst and then procreate (which I believe, according to our holy books- is one of the most divine acts).

Pretty philosophical huh?