101 Thought Provoking Questions On Life

By sanjeev sareen

This volume of Question and Answers is for all those who have ever faced sorrow, pains, disappointment in life. This is for those who seek to understand the whole drama of life and are seeking answers to so many important questions on life. This book is for those who are carrying within their heart a desire to seek God.

This book is expected to bring inspiration and act as a ray of divine light on their path. This is a book about knowing self, having a fulfilled life, and addressing the eternal quest.

For quick reference and ease in studying, the works are written in a Question-and-Answer format, which follows some logical progression so that those reading will receive a greater appreciation of the topic and issues involved.

This book explores how to improve our knowledge, inner realization, and have intuitive guidance. The book imparts knowledge, shows the way on how to apply the knowledge, be happy and live a meaningful life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: sanjeev sareen
• Release date: Jan 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201163297

sanjeev sareen

Sanjeev Sareen, is an Engineer, superannuated in 2018, after serving in five large Manufacturing Industries in India. He is into Spirituality and Practicing under a Realized master since 1995. His Book “Spirituality through Science” tries to reflect on the issues with the Traditional Practices in the name of Spirituality. He tries to convince the readers through various examples, to consider spirituality as the highest science and practice it accordingly. His whole emphasis is to inspire the readers for seeking God more and more through Practice and lifestyle management. His other Hindi Poetry e- book- ईशवर- कौन, कहाँ और क्यों. ( God- Who, Where and Why), has already hit Amazon's #1 Bestseller. In this book, He has tried to reflect Holistically on various life situations in a very simple way that the readers can relate with them easily. This book is available in paperback version also on Amazon Platform. His interests in the past had been sports (He was a National basketball player) and Human Psychology. His passion all the time had been Transforming Self and helping others. He is very analytical. His approach towards various life situations had been largely Spiritualistic. This has helped him evolve. He looks at life situations differently which helps him to relate with others in similar situations and help them further.

Book preview

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Paramhansa Yogananda Ji.

The source of Spiritual Inspiration to me.

PREFACE

Serious research was done at various platforms like Quora, Medium, TED talks, YouTube, and various book stores, etc. Looking at the various Questions currently raised there and the topics people are searching all over, it is heartening to note that there is a great yearning in the people across Globe. They are looking for answers to many questions related to Self, Life, God, Spirituality, Soul, Consciousness, Karma, etc.

To serve them in my own small way, based on my own knowledge and also ancient wisdom as contained in the scriptures, etc, the idea to write this book came up. In this volume, all these subjects have been covered sufficiently in detail, in Question- Answer form. The Questions are as picked up from these platforms. I intend to cover the remaining subjects like Reincarnations, Gurus, Samadhi, Ashrams, Health and lifestyle related Questions in next volume.

It is hoped that this book serves to satisfy the Eternal quest of people, and inspire them to work further on the learning gained thus, for a happier life.

INTRODUCTION

For the average person in this world who considers his life boring or uninspiring is because they made no attempt to gain knowledge and information that inspires them. Most people surrender to and live through their life in mediocracy.

Understanding is our greatest need on the spiritual path and on the path of life. Understanding is the searchlight that illuminates our way and brings success. Understanding should be our guiding force in every situation, no matter what our trials. Remember God never causes harm or suffering to anyone. It is we who by understanding or misunderstanding help or hinder ourselves.

Each one of us carries within us generations of human beings whose descendants we are. That is why, when we are able to triumph over our own weaknesses through knowledge and working on them, we take this inner family along with us on the path of light and freedom. Not only do we help all our ancestors, but we also help our descendants, for we pass on to them the inner treasures we have acquired. This is another aspect of the inner life it is good to know about.

Working on self is all the more important since, in doing so, we improve entire generations:  pass on the fruits of our efforts to them.

No one lives or acts solely for themselves; each person lives and acts for a great number of other creatures, for whom they have a great responsibility.

When we reconnect with this concept, it ultimately changes us from the inside out. When we change our minds, our choices change. And when our choices change, our life changes.

This book is expected to bring inspiration and act as a ray of divine light on our path. This is a book about knowing self, having a fulfilled life, and addressing our eternal quest.

The wisdom in this volume is not the studied learning of a scholar but the truth as perceived through learning from a Guru over 25 years, reading of many realized masters-Paramhansa Yoganand Ji in particular, studying life at large and mainly own Meditation practice.

This book is designed to provide readers with a brief summary and overview of important individual topics and issues, for quick reference and ease in studying. The works are written in a question-and-answer format. They follow some logical progression so that those reading will receive a greater appreciation of the topic and issues involved.

It is said by one realized master that life without understanding is Spiritual and Material suicide. Here Is an opportunity to learn and then make use of the learning for self-growth. The way out is also given here. Knowledge is of value only if it is applied in life. So, finally, it will be the work on self that will count.

Life

What Is Life?

There are no simple answers that would explain what life is. It is the question that drives us. Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? etc. There are a lot of questions to ask, but one thing is for sure, if we never stop learning, then life will never stop being amazing.

Life is many things and understood in different ways depending on how much knowledge and information we have, and our ability to understand it all. So, there's a lot that we need to understand since life is a large subject. There are many big questions to ask.

Life is the experience of being alive. The course of human events and activities that happens in one’s lifetime. An account of the series of events making up a person's life.

Life is a translation of what we think life is. To know ourselves and to understand ourselves is to give our lives meaning and value. Lives that are unexamined are lives without purpose.

To find the meaning of life is a process of learning, and there are many things to learn which include, why are we here? what is life all about? and what is the purpose of existence? etc. There are no simple answers though but the whole purpose of our existence is to discover the same.

The best way to discover the meaning of life is to give meaning to life and not wait for life to give us meaning. The Purpose of Life is a Life of Purpose.

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Why We Do Not Seem To Be Happy All The Times?

From the moment of our birth, there is a yearning for happiness. There is an endless race towards it. It is considered one of the greatest positive attributes. If we analyze our actions, we shall see that all of them are in some way or another, happiness oriented.

Everyone wants to feel good and happy. When circumstances and events are to our liking, we are happy, and when they are not, we feel miserable. But one thing is clear that we ourselves are responsible for being happy or unhappy, no one else, even God who has on the contrary created so many things to make us happy, it is we who have made many arrangements to become unhappy.

When we are happy, even unpleasant events usually do not disturb us. But when we are unhappy, we feel as if everything is against us. We try to compensate for it by eating chocolates and sweets, drinking, smoking, watching TV, going out, etc. All these do give us pleasure, yet we are unhappy. So, our focus should be looking for happiness than seeking pleasures.

But the problem is, this happiness never stays, we need permanent happiness.

Actually, the Dependency on temporary things for temporary happiness is never a good choice. Let’s look at some of the reasons for that and the way out to achieve permanent happiness.

›  The First Reason for our unhappiness is that we do not seem to be satisfied with our current situation. Instead of focussing on what we already have, we are more focused on what we do not have. We are always Running after what is missing and ignoring what we already have. Is this a good idea?

We need to learn to be contented and happy with what we have. We should not wish for anything more than what is already coming to us at the cost of our happiness. By all means, do make all efforts but not at the cost of happiness. Believe it, God knows better, what we need.

›  The Second Reason for our unhappiness is, we are looking for happiness in the wrong place. We believe something else- external of us, will make us happy. With this approach knowingly or unknowingly we keep our happiness hostage to many external things- our relations, jobs, sense pleasures, social status, comforts, money, etc. Remember, Unhappiness has no relation with external things.

›  Third Reason is, we look for happiness through our mental faculty which is always restless, either taking us to the past or to the imaginary future. It never lets us settle down in the present whereas happiness incidentally lies in that state only. We cannot experience happiness from past or future events while ignoring many vital things

happening all around us, there could be many things worth taking note of and enjoying in the present.

Nobody seems to be happy in the present. A child thinks adults are happy, adults think children are happy, the married person wants to come out of marriage, and the bachelor want to get married. In college, we think we will be happy when we get the job, in job we think we will be happy when retired and the retired person probably thinks it’s all over, will see next life.

›  The Fourth Reason is we depend upon happiness on the temporary nature of things which lead to temporary happiness only. Whenever that temporary happiness goes away, we are unhappy again and we start looking for another temporary thing to give us happiness and this yearning never stops.

The heart always looks for more and more. But the Temporary things. be it our own body, is bound to give us temporary happiness only. Even our own thought is temporary. Anything that can be created and destroyed cannot give permanent happiness. Seeking temporary happiness in sense pleasures etc., there is bound to be an emotional roller coaster- happy, unhappy, happy, unhappy and it goes on. But we do reach a point in life when we say we are done with all these ups and downs of life, we now need permanent happiness.

Remember Permanent Happiness cannot be purchased. It has never happened to anyone. We get bored after a certain time with the thing which gave us happiness for some time. Check out, do you think the richest people are the happiest people. But still, the thought impulse to buy something comes– not necessarily out of our need but basically to get that kick- the pleasure, we go out to buy that thing to make us happy, followed by other such impulses at some other levels. And this hunger never seems to be satisfied. Yes, it is hunger.

But what is this hunger for, what is this void, emptiness? It is important to learn about that hunger, emptiness, void which we feel inside, which never seem to be getting filled with the means we adopt.

Are we missing something which we have not realized yet? Yes, it is our Self- the true self, not the false temporary identifications we form day in day out. We do not try to realise what is that final point, which we are basically seeking.

We know, in some way that hunger is a blessing because one day it will make us sit up, take a note of it, and go