Enlightenment

Life is just one problem after another. When I was young, people expected me to acquire knowledge; now that I am old, they expect me to impart knowledge. Ah! No! Not on the basis of teaching the young about the ways of the world. The way things have gone, it is the young that teach the old the ways to today's world, from the language up. (Seen that auntie making a cartoon of herself with her 'Yo' in that Dettol ad? Bad student of her son...)
It is that other thing that people think the old may know...you know, the purpose of life and all such deep things. Or, maybe, it is just that they are thrown in the company of the old and don't know what to talk to these senile idiots and pick on this topic. However it goes, you end up getting asked all sorts of crap and you have to make out like some sort of guru...
The problem, though, is that since childhood you learned nothing. Your brain seems seated safely behind some totally impermeable membrane and allows no knowledge to sully its pristine beauty. Makes it rather tough to spout knowledge when there is none to spout. Like the optimist who opens the municipal tap in India and expects water to come out...
It is not for want of trying, I assure you. All my life I have been thinking and thinking of this thing - what is the purpose of life? What is the best way to live life so as to achieve that purpose?
"Hey! Coming on a trek to the Himalayas? Will be great fun?" "Nope! I need to figure out what the purpose of life is...and whether going on treks will help me achieve that purpose?" "Eff it, yaar! Enjoy yourself. As long as you do not hurt anyone, it is a good life."
Hmm! How do I know I am not hurting anyone? Maybe because I am trekking someone in Somalia may be deprived of a meal...Chaos Theory, you know.
"Hey! What are you doing wasting your time? Take a course in programming..." "I need to figure out what the purpose..." "No time to talk with you. I need to rush to the leadership seminar..."
Ah! This is the man who is going to set the corporate world afire...Should I opt for...but is that worth it?
"Are you meditating? Good. The spiritual life is the only real life. Everything else is Maya."
Ah! Perhaps he is right. But this spiritual thingy...even if you are sure that this is the thing to do, you cannot assess whether you are progressing. You have to take it all on faith. If only I had enough faith...
I studied and studied and studied...and before I could come to a conclusion on what I wanted to do with my life, there was hardly any life for me to do anything with.
And you want me to give you messages on how to lead your life? What do you think I am, a messenger boy? Find it for yourself. For only you can find it for yourself.