A Search for Purpose

By The Prince Sharma

I wrote this book for people

who want to know the purpose of life,
who want to know the purpose in life, and
who want to live a life of exhilaration and abundance.

The objective of this book is to collect the traces of truth we find in science, psychology, history, and spirituality and to answer the following three great questions of life:

Who are we?
What is reality?
What are we doing here?

The answers will help us understand the purpose of life and give us clarity on our purpose in life. It is necessary to know the truth, or a part of it, instead of following blind ambitions or live aimlessly. On our journey to find the purpose, we will learn the nature of the universe, mind, and life and then dive in to some concepts of metaphysics, which resonates with science.

After a decade of research, experiment, introspection, and cognition, I have reasons to believe that we are born with a purpose in life, a legend to manifest. Life has a special meaning for each one of us. Once we realize our purpose, we can not only live a fulfilled and abundant life, but also reach our greatness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Mar 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781482888959

The Prince Sharma

Prince Sharma is Life Coach and a charismatic Motivational Speaker. Being an enthusiastic learner, he is a passionate Teacher. He is an Executive Chairman of a Learning & Development consulting company. He holds a master’s degree in Psychology and is an expert in human behavior. Visit him at: www.theprincesharma.com

Book preview

A Search for

Purpose

The Prince Sharma

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Copyright © 2017 by The Prince Sharma.

ISBN:      Softcover           978-1-4828-8894-2

                 eBook               978-1-4828-8895-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

Introduction

About the Author

Do you want to be Bob:

Life of Purpose:

Chapter 1 Hidden messages in the Universe

1.1 Origin of the Universe

Content of the Universe

Singularity, Duality, Enlightenment

Multiverse, Observer and Consciousness

1.2 Theory of Relativity and significance of human experience

1.3 Quantum Theory

Wave-Particle Duality Theory and the observer

Masaru Emoto’s water crystals experiments

Quantum field/Field of potentiality

Parallel Universe / Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI)

Quantum Entanglement

1.4 M-Theory

Holographic Universe

Dimensions

Chapter’s Synthesis

Chapter 2 Secrets of Human Mind

2.1 The Biology of Mind

DNA & RNA

The Nervous System

Neurons

Neurotransmitters

Central Nervous System

The Brain

Some major parts of the brain

Spinal Cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Senses

The Limbic System

The Endocrine System

Key in the Chemicals

2.2 The Psychology of Mind

The Origin of the Mind

Neural Pathways

Neuroplasticity

Thoughts

Emotions and Feelings

Neuro-association

Structure and Functions of the Mind

Pain and Pleasure

Rituals and Habits

References

Beliefs

Convictions

Faith/hope

Morals and Principles

Values

Attitude

Psychological Rules

The Person we call ‘self’

Personality

Self-Concept

Self-Image

Self-Ideal

Self-Esteem

Self-Worth

Personal Standards

Personal Identity

Persona

Psychometric tests

Ego

Critical Faculty

Consciousness and Mind

Parts of Mind

Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche

Id

Ego

Superego

Memory and Learning

Memory

Memory Techniques

Learning

Learning principles

2.3 Other Mental Concepts

Sleep

Brainwaves

Entrainment

Brainwave Entrainment

Meta-Cognition

Emotional Intelligence

Mirror Neurons

Psychoanalysis

Hypnosis

Nocebo and Placebo Effect

Intuition

Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP)

NLP Logical Levels

NLP Communication Model

Internal Representational System (IRS)

Mental State

Behavioral Patterns

Physiological State

Anchoring

Framing

Reframing

Meta-Programs

Language Patterns

Metaphors

2.4 What do we want?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

Six Human Needs

Chapter’s Synthesis

Chapter 3 Mysteries of Life

3.1 Abiogenesis

3.2 Chemical Theory of Evolution

3.3 Biological Theory of Evolution on Earth

3.4 Humans Evolution

3.5 Transhumanism (h+)

3.6 Memetics

3.7 Life on other planets

3.8 Life vs Wild

Chapter’s Synthesis

Chapter 4 Metaphysical Model of Reality

4.1 Collective Human Consciousness

4.2 Cosmic Consciousness

4.3 Planes of Existence

4.4 The Vedic Concept of Creation

Brahman: The primordial God being

Karma

4.5 The Law of Vibration

4.6 The Game of Life

4.7 Who are you really?

Chapter’s Synthesis

Chapter 5 The Purpose: Piecing it all together

Let’s sum it up

Nature of God

Nature of Reality

Nature of Life

Nature of Self

The Purpose of Life

The Purpose in Life

Legend

Find Your Legend

Live Life Legendary

Dedication

I want to dedicate my first book to my mother for her unconditional love and care.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my oldest friend ‘Jaymin’ who has been inspiring me to write a book for ten years. Most of the ideas in this book are rooted in hours of philosophical conversations I had with him.

I want to express my earnest gratitude to the first woman I ever loved. She made me a better person and without her motivation, I would have never become the man I am today. Thanks ‘Pavana’.

Finally, I want to acknowledge all of my students, trainees, clients and audience for giving me an honor to share my knowledge with you and in the process, giving me clarity of thoughts. It was a pleasure to be your Teacher.

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it

— Gautama Buddha

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is a personal calling? It is God’s blessing, it is the path that God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don’t all have the courage to confront our own dream.

— Paulo Coelho

अहंब्रह्मास्मिति: Aham Brahmasmi - I am of Brahman; I am the Infinite Reality

— Veda

Introduction

Hi there! I am Prince Sharma. I am a Success Coach, Behavioral Training Facilitator, Motivational Speaker and an Entrepreneur. I will be your guide in this journey of self-exploration and search for our purpose in life.

I have conducted several career guidance programs and counselling sessions and it’s a common contemporary belief that we should do things that we are passionate about. Following our passion gets us joy, peace and fulfilment in our life but most of us struggle to identify our ideal passion and in search of our passion, we end up asking a much deeper question: What is the purpose of life itself? We ask the same question in the depths of depression, loneliness, sadness, frustration, hopelessness and darkness.

We are purpose driven beings and we need to have some goals in order to feel alive. If you are the type who meditates you would know that the most difficult thing to do is to sit at one place quietly with your eyes closed and think of nothing. It is very difficult for most of us to just sit and do nothing. Astronauts who spend months in space stations away from the society have danger of dying out of boredom. They have to continuously engage themselves in some or the other activity just to be mentally alive.

Whatever we do is motivated by a goal. People who meditate and do nothing and stay still also have some motive to do so. There is always a purpose or a goal at any given point in time that makes us do stuff. These goals could be your own or imposed on you by your environment. Most of us work for money, get married, bear children and then die. That’s all for most of us. The motivator behind all that we do are to gain pleasure and avoid pain. We just want to be happy. That is our purpose in life and to achieve happiness we run after material wealth, relationships and carnal pleasures. But the point is that our purpose in life is not same as the purpose of life. Most of you already have many purposes and goals in life but it’s not same as knowing the purpose of life itself. I am not writing this book to tell you what your purpose in life should be but to clarify what the purpose of life.

If you are reading this book then you might either be one of those people who is in search of their ideal passion in life or who is trying to climb up the depths of darkness into the light of hope and peace. You could also be some rare individual in search of wisdom and enlightenment.

No matter who you are; I welcome you to this enchanting journey, where we will search for the answer of that question throughout the Universe. We will travel to extreme corners of the physical, mental and spiritual realms. We will scour through the scientific and spiritual literature in search for our answer.

About the Author

Before we dive in to the book, I want to mention why I am writing this book and what makes me qualified to tell you the philosophy of life. I have been in this journey of soul searching for as long as I could remember. I have spent most of my life in studying science, spirituality and psychology. I have noticed that the way I see the world is not same as most other people. It’s more abstract and philosophical. I don’t see the world as it appears but with a lens of curiosity and inquisitiveness. It’s difficult to explain in words but the closest I could get is by saying that it seems that my mind is constantly dedicated to decipher the purpose of life. Whatever I study, learn or experience, my mind has been persistently busy searching the answer to life and it’s mysteries until recently when I realized the most conclusive answer so far. That is why I have decided to share it with you via this book.

I would also share my background to create a premise for our conversation in this book. Like everyone else, I had my share of difficulties and I will share only a part of it to you but understand, I don’t want anyone’s sympathy and this is no marketing strategy. I love my life and I would change nothing about it. The reason I want to share my past with you is to illustrate some points in the fifth chapter and how adversities could guide you to your purpose in life. I had three keys moments in life that helped me to find my purpose in life. It will help you relate to me better and tell you where I came from and what made me the man I am today.

My parents belonged to the bottom class and we spend decades below the poverty line. My father was the sole bread earner for us. He is not educated but he did all he thought he could. My mother always wanted us to be fairly educated so she forced my father to send me and my two younger brothers to private school.

My father regularly made us realize how much trouble he was facing in our upbringing, in our schooling, in feeding us, in buying clothes for us, in buying books for us, in paying for anything for us. I realized that whatever my parents were doing for us was our privilege and not their obligation. I wanted to lighten the burden from my father’s shoulders so I withdrew all my desires and probed my brothers to do the same. I was not good in studies and we could not afford tuitions. My mother did all she could to help me with my schoolwork even though she could not read or understand our books properly. I got punished a lot by my teachers for school fees and academic performance, of course. I was scared of them. I was bullied a lot and I didn’t have any friends in school. I dreaded going to school every day. I could not bunk school as my teachers will inform my parents immediately. I wanted to leave the school but that means spending time at home which I equally dreaded.

Our poverty caused many arguments between my parents - actually more than just arguments, you know how it goes, right? - I will spare you the details. We lived in multiple rented houses for first 16 years of my life - so we moved a lot. I could not make any long term friendships, just acquaintances. I never really shared any connection or affection with my parents either.

I hated to stay at home and never stayed in the school a minute longer than I have to. So most of my early childhood days were in isolated and quite places in my ever-changing neighborhood where I aimless roved. I became passive and I did what I was told and spend most of my time introspecting. I became introvert and stopped communicating with people and even with my brothers as I thought no one could understand me and they were just too young to understand me anyway. I guess that’s why I developed schizotypal personality. I was a skinny little guy, with no friends, no interest in studies, poor in games and sports and without any real family support, stuck in a life I didn’t like. With all the thing happening in my life, I spent most of the time thinking about life, god, nature, money, people, happiness and purpose of it all.

I constantly pondered about life and its questions. By this time, I needed nothing in my life. I was not interested in fun, money, people, friends or success as we know it. I thought if I could run away and be a monk, maybe I would learn the answers to all my questions through meditation. I tried to get all the knowledge I could collect from different sources about spirituality and various religion. I planned my journey hundreds of times in my head: letter to my family, places I could go to, people I would meet. I imagined things I would carry in my school bag: a bowl, a water bottle, one lunch box, pair of clothes, a bed-sheet etc. But I obviously couldn’t muster up enough courage to do that. I was a coward – I admit. However, my early childhood sowed the seed of philosophy in my mind and I developed love for knowledge: my first key.

There was a time when my father could not handle his small business and I became a street hawker to support my family. My brothers and I would carry a bag full of various plastic house-hold supplies like cloth hanger, cloth pins, glasses, mugs, decorations etc. to market places, streets and slums of Mumbai. People used to battle for a favorable spot in every bazaar and used to shirk us away from one spot to another and another. We were just kids and could not compete with them. Customers haggled for cheap price. Some were arrogant while others were raiders. I started selling my quota on less congested streets. But the biggest problem was that it was near my school and many of my schoolmates used to see me selling on streets. At first, I tried hiding but later on I just gave up. It was a fact of my life and I accepted it. We started selling our stuff door to door in every shantytown around us on foot. Thugs in some areas used to rob us of our money and flogged me and my brothers at times. I felt so weak, so powerless and so abused.

It continued for almost three years. I had many painful experiences in these three years but the most significant thing it did was to shift my decision from renouncing worldly pleasures to achieving them. With every such experience my determination to be rich and successful was strengthen. You might know how it feels when people treat you like shit and you fight for your dignity by proving them wrong. I wanted to be successful and prove everyone, who treated me like shit just because I was born weak and poor doesn’t give them any right to demean me. It also gave me a sense of morality and ethics. Instead of seeking revenge I realized how a human is ought to be treated. Vengeance for me was to achieve my full potential and be someone of value in my life. This was my second key: self-actualization.

I decided to study and become a scientist. I thought by becoming a scientist I could find the answer to my questions and make money as well. Being an introvert, it would be the right profession for me and I wouldn’t have to associate with people much. My parents never planned for my higher education and had no means to financially help me with anything. I learnt about Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and it was my best bet to become a scientist as it was inexpensive and best in India but I had to give an entrance test. The chance to get selected was one in a hundred and only a year to prepare for it. I had one shot so I gave it all I could. I studied 16 hours a day for a year but I could not beat the competitors who were practicing for this exam for five years. I was not good enough, however, I did get a chance to other engineering colleges but I had no money to pursue it. I tried to get money from relatives, banks and local politicians but failed yet again. I started resenting everything about life: the education system, selfish people, government, social norms, fake friendships, money, media, sports… everything. But soon I realized that it’s all part of life and if I want it to be successful then it’s all up to me and unexpected things will keep on happening. I have control on my performance and not on the results. This gave me the third key to my purpose in life: changing the education system.

The rest of my story is a topic for another book so I won’t drag my introduction any longer and bore you; I will fast forward it to today.

I am 28 years old at the time of writing this book. I am an Entrepreneur, a life coach, a motivational speaker and a Behavioral Trainer. I have a successful business and my goal is to create the best learning and development solutions possible. I am a perennial learner and I love to keep on learning new skills and knowledge. I have realized that it’s impossible to learn everything in one life time using conventional teaching method and my purpose in life is to enhance the education system and augment human brain to learn things effectively and efficiently.

This book contains a summary of all that I have learned in past ten years and hopefully it will interest you. Once more I would like to reiterate why it is important to know the purpose of life. I will give you an example of the life that most of us want to have. The life like Bob’s.

Do you want to be Bob:

Let’s look at the life of a fictitious character called Bob. Like any common person Bob was born a healthy baby, had caring parents and had normal childhood. He learned to talk and behave from his surroundings. When he was a child his only focus was to enjoy life and have fun but he also had to do what is expected from a child from the society, like going to school and being disciplined. He went to school like everyone else and played with his friends like a normal teenager. Most of his life decisions were taken by his parents, teachers and elders. Like any other teenagers, he had many bizarre dreams and fantasies like being an actor or a scientist.

As he grew older he learned to distinguish between reality and fiction. He realized that most of the dreams and fantasies he had as a teenager were absurd and not practical. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had to start thinking about his career and source of income. He look for guidance from his friends, school and parents to select the most appropriate career option for him. He was an average student but good in biology so he decided to become a doctor. Luckily his parents had saved some money for his college education and for the rest, he got an education loan. In few years he managed to finish his studies and became a doctor at the age of twenty seven.

A year after, he got married to Sarah, the girl he fell in love with in the medical college. Now he had a good paying job and a lovely wife who was also a doctor. He still had to pay his student loan which took him another year to payoff. In few more years they bought their own first house on a mortgage. Soon they gave birth to a baby girl they named Dana. Soon after Bob got a better job in another city so they moved there. They sold their old house and purchased a new bigger house. By then they got another baby. It was a boy who they named David.

Bob gave proper education to his children, worked regularly for steady income, paid off his mortgage, engaged in some recreational activities and saved enough for future. This, he did for twenty years and then he retired at the age of fifty. He had few friends he cherished in his life. He made his daughter into a doctor and his son into a lawyer. He got his children married and had four grandchildren. He spent his retirement years travelling around the world with his friends and family.

He died at the age of seventy five and his wife followed four years after that. They left a sizable estate for their children and grandchildren. They were missed by all who knew them and their memories remained in the photo album and family stories. In less than a century he was forgotten and never to be remembered again.

Now what do you think about Bob’s life? He had a perfect childhood; he had a good job; he got married to the woman he loved; he had children; he learned; he laughed; he loved; he was loved; he lived; he died; he was remembered and then he was forgotten. In this example we are assuming that nothing bad ever happened to Bob. I have not mentioned any tragedies of a common life. If we remove all the problems and sufferings from an average life of a person we get a life more or less similar to Bob’s.

Most of us actually desire for life just like Bob’s. Most of the people want to have a perfect job, a perfect family, security and happy moments in life just like Bob but we all know that it rarely happens. Most of us face some or the other problem at various stages of life. Some may face problem with career and finance while other have issues with family and friends. We spend most of our life tackling these issues in hope that finally we will become a Bob.

But let’s see if it’s really great to be Bob. Let’s have a closer look at his life. We will once again remove all the problems of life from the equation. He was born because of someone else, his beliefs, character and choices were shaped by the society, he fell in love with someone through the law of proximal attraction. His choice of career was influenced by society. He followed the social and evolutionary convention of getting married have kids and settle down. He moved to another city because of better job offered to him where he spent his rest of life. He educated his children in the field which is most conventional. He set and achieved multiple short term goals without thinking about the final goal. He never had a final goal in his mind. He worked his entire life to provide for his family and have some leisure. All the choices he had in life were actually given to him and he really had no choice of his own.

Once he decided that he will be a doctor,