Find Purpose or get through Life. What do you choose?

I remember reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull as a story book way back in the 80s as it was not intimidating in its size. I rediscovered it recently for its deep spiritual meaning. The book was as famous Jaws the movie or bell bottoms in fashion in 70s and 80s.

Jonathan is an imaginary seagull who mulls the proverbial question — do we fly for mastery or do we fly just to eat and survive? Jonathan was different from his flock as he wanted to attain perfection in flying and wanted to go beyond just eating to live. His community thought he was a danger to their ethos and banished him. Jonathan wanders to find another community of advanced sea gulls who fly for the sake of flying. They take him to another dimension, like the heaven of seagulls and told tell him that he is one in a million who has learnt the lesson of life.

It is not to get through life that we live but to seek perfection in some way. We choose the next world through what we live in this life time (similar to the theory of Karma). If we learn nothing, then the next world is the same as this one. Seek our own perfection and that is the reason of living.

Jonathan meets another bird who has reached a dimension where by mere thought, he is able to be in another place (time travel). The remarkable bird is not the one who does things differently but the one who sees himself differently. The way to fly (or live) better was always there, it only awaited discovery.

There are similar stories in Persian folklore (HudHud) and other traditions. It is interesting that the story resonates a lot with how Hindu philosophy sees the evolution of man and the journey of the Atman (soul) through that evolution. The soul’s only purpose in every life is to reach its creator (Brahman). It is a part of that creator and wants to be with the whole. A human being evolves through many lifetimes like Jonathan did to finally asks the question ‘what is the purpose of my life, why am I here’ and then start a journey to discover new dimensions until the soul finally reaches the creator. The path has been taken by many in the past. The above story can also be seen where a human gets beyond survival and living (the gull community equivalent), starts to find the answers to purpose and finally through meditation leading to emancipation.

Ask yourself — what are you here for in this Universe? Do you want to be back in the cycles of birth and death? Your answers will determine the path you take and Jonathan is a story to inspire that path.

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