A midlife crisis is a term used in western countries to describe a time of confusion and uncertainty when faced with difficult decisions and questions in life. The path they take from here could determine or destroy their lives and, more importantly, achieve their purpose and fulfillment. But not everyone has a midlife crisis, and it’s not a very common concept in Eastern cultures either.
A situation like a midlife crisis can be good. It can instill a deep introspection in us about the direction of our life and take action to make the most of our remaining active and healthy years.
But for it to be meaningful, the level of questions we ask must be related to a higher purpose and not to worldly aspirations or ambitions. Nor should it be just about our own lives or those of our close family members. It should be something that leaves its mark and impact on the world.
What could a midlife crisis look like for a spiritual person? We shed light on the types of questions and answers that matter.
What is the true meaning of our life and have we found it yet?
Simply put, it is about finding a higher purpose in our life – becoming a better spiritual personality on an absolute scale of attributes. Yes that’s right; We are referring to an absolute scale here – a proven, fundamental value system that captures essential traits such as honesty, compassion, generosity, collectivity, and forgiveness, to name a few. Far too many things have become relative and subjective in our world today, so much so that we have lost sight of a clear set of basic principles on which to focus.
We have to improve our inner selves significantly and reach higher levels of maturity. And for this, discovering, understanding and feeling the inner self is the first step. Simply put, we go deep to discover the truest form of our existence – our soul, and then work on it throughout our lives to align ourselves as closely as possible with the basic personality traits. In this journey, we also make a huge difference to the people and the world around us. We inspire and influence the establishment of truth, benevolence and goodness in this world. The world begins to change in small steps, one person at a time. More and more people are gradually finding the same higher purpose and pursuing their self-improvement. You pass it on to more people and a chain reaction occurs.
At the end of our life we leave traces in society and the world.
If you are somewhere on the journey to find your inner self and do better then yes you have found the right direction and purpose. If you are reading this, you are already on that journey.
What can fill our life?
Many people have different answers to this. Many joys in life can make us feel that our life is fulfilling enough or that we don’t need and can’t do anything else. But the joy of experiencing the ultimate truth in our hearts and the deepest level of our consciousness is far superior to anything else. And that joy is deeper than any happiness we can get. Happiness comes from convenience, the lack of a problem-free life, and even the good relationships we have. But happiness doesn’t always have to be satisfying or fulfilling; it can make us want more. Spiritual joy (also known as “Satchitanand”, where “Sat” stands for truth, “chit” for attention, and “anand” for joy) is a unique experience of being in a heavenly place. It cannot and does not have to be bought, given to us by others, or acquired in any way. It has to be discovered and felt deep within ourselves. This spiritual state has been talked about in every ancient spiritual scripture, and that is what all the great saints wanted man to do. Education, in other words. Once we experience this, we are completely content, peaceful, and all of our negativity falls away. It will lead to an automatic solving of all problems in the world if every human being would seek and experience it.
Having this experience every day and being instruments to show it to so many people in this world is what defines a truly fulfilling life.
Where do we stand in this pursuit of this purpose and fulfillment?
Judging by the problems in this world, there is still a long way to go for most of the world’s population when it comes to achieving higher goals. But there is hope because there is a clear way forward. In addition to the tremendous technological advances our civilization has made, the knowledge and search for spirituality have also made significant breakthroughs. Through a practice like Sahaja we know crystal clear how to access and nourish our inner selves. We no longer have doubts or questions about the highest attainment on the level of spirituality; At least we know what it is and how to get it. What must happen now is a common march to this higher level. We have a lot of work and we know it takes time, patience, perseverance and hard work.
But we no longer live in the dark age where people did crazy things in hopes of getting their spiritual enlightenment. Worse, they didn’t know what it was or how it would feel. In a sense, they sacrificed their lives to pursue something indefinite by desperately resorting to extreme measures. That’s not who we are today or where we are. Thanks to the spiritual breakthroughs and the knowledge and practice of systems like Sahaja.
What can we do now to make the rest of our lives as meaningful as possible?
Prioritize spirituality over everything else. Instead of reading, thinking, or just knowing about it, begin realizing spirituality. Work hard to gradually improve our state of existence by accessing the higher state of consciousness in our meditation. Allow this great force, now accessible, to enliven our inner subtle energy system and improve our properties. And yes, we also improve our health in the process. To greatly simplify our lives so that our attention is free from unnecessary and less productive undertakings and pursuits. We want a clear, sharp focus and plenty of time for what could turn out to be the evolutionary milestone for our soul in this life.
When we understand the teachings of the great saints and spiritual masters, they will tell us that this is what our soul really wants and seeks. In fact, it has been looking for it forever. But our thoughts, our ego and our analytical mind combined with the distractions in this world mean that we come up short and the soul is disappointed every time. But not this time. We will be firmly on our way, especially since we have already found the opening to an ocean of spiritual knowledge and experience. The doors to Sahaja’s practice are completely open and we will make the most of it.
Getting started and establishing our meditation routine will be a great start. The rest of the guidance and the answers we need follow automatically; they are all within us and waiting to be discovered. It is time to wake up and overcome the clouds of distraction in our everyday lives.