Is our purpose in life merely to please our parents by doing whatever they ask? When we don’t meet their expectations, they often say, “You have made us unhappy,” or “Because of you, we are suffering.” They emphasize ideas like, “You must keep your parents happy, you will never find happiness if you make them unhappy,” and regard parents as equivalent to gods. Even for someone who is not pursuing a spiritual life, is it necessary to always prioritize pleasing parents? When they don’t understand your path, your goal and say things like these, what should one do?

If the purpose of life was to please parents, elders or anyone else then the Gita would be meaningless. The purpose of life is not to please anyone or live for one’s own or other’s happiness. The purpose of life is to progress, to discover oneself and the higher possibilities, to seek and find Truth and Peace, to live for higher and greater ideals than merely earn, have a family, look after parents and have children as a security for one’s own old age. 

Of course one should take care of everyone around us, especially those who depend upon us but to satisfy them cannot be the purpose. There is a difference between caring for someone and making that person the centre of one’s life.

Affectionately,

Alok Da