The seed of purpose resides deep within each one of us. Some seeds lie dormant for years waiting while others sprout in their first growing season.
In my humble opinion, a purpose driven life can be defined as a well- intentioned and focus driven life that is connected to a higher purpose and lived daily with intrinsic motivation and unmatched enthusiasm, the outcome of which is beneficial for one and all.
The higher purpose comes from hearing the higher power. It is not easy and comes with silence. Silence quietens the mind and enables us to listen with our hearts and act upon our calling. It requires faith, patience and courage. It comes from a deep understanding of the fact that our own survival and prosperity depends on that of everyone and everything around us and how we are interconnected.
My great grandfather, Acharya Ramdev, was a follower of Arya Samaj. He felt very strongly about women education and empowerment, from the age of 15, when he found his mother and sister, doing house work, while his father went to work. His sensitivity and concern for his mother and sister was so profound that he dedicated his life to women empowerment and founded a gurukul for girls in 1923, in Dehradun, so that women could become educated and independent.

His dedication and single-minded approach towards his purpose was widely known, in the education circles, of those times. Mahatma Gandhi, in his book, “My Experiments with Truth”, had elucidated as much about his single pointed approach towards his purpose and passion.

His daughter and my grandmother, an alumni of Kanya Gurukul and her deep love and pride for her father and the institution, inspired her to head the institution for 50 long years expanding the gurukul yet running the institution like one big family, with unmatched dedication and devotion. She was conferred with Doon Ratna award for her contribution towards education.

My mother, Smt. Savita Anand, an alumni of Kanya Gurukul, after my grandmother’s demise, lived and breathed for Gurukul. Once again I was fortunate enough to witness, in person, how her values, deep love and profound regards for her mother and the institution, inspired her to dedicate and work with a single pointed focus towards sustaining the institution and what it stood for. She was also conferred with Mahashaya Lilavati puraskar by Santa Cruz, Arya Samaj, for her dedication and service.

All of them believed in women empowerment and in the millions of women that graduated from there with a network, for life. All of them had one trait in common, that they listened to their hearts, using their minds only to navigate their way through, while leading very simple lives and taking the higher road. They exhibited that it is not just the work but the intention and enthusiasm with which the work is done, that makes all the difference.

Observing them at close quarters, leading a purpose driven life, I came up with six pointers that are the hallmark of purpose. Purpose can be unfolded amidst silence once we get a sense of the higher power. It needs to be uncovered from within, through introspection and doing away with distractions, so that it is grounded in truth and reality of who we are at the core and not upon our need of external validations, mere whims, fancies or castles in the sky. Purpose needs to have a single pointed approach and a fierce focus that is nurtured daily with enthusiasm, patience and faith. Purpose helps us to get enthusiasm from within and not from any external factors. Purpose does not have a plan B and there are no options to fall back upon. The hallmark of purpose is that it needs to have a well-defined outcome that is beneficial for one and all, at all times. The intention behind the purpose needs to be dwelled upon and has to be well-defined and appropriate.
Sometimes, as our life evolves, purpose evolves. When it’s time for evolving, our actions and thoughts become out of synch with who we are at the core and as the end of the cycle gets nearer, either cynicism sets in or sometimes accidents happen, and a time to let go and of renewal sets in. Along with it, a new cycle to reconnect and re-establish the purpose starts all over again.

The inability to be anyone other than who you are at the core is what helps one unfold one’s purpose, while attuning oneself to the higher power, that carries the highest good for everyone. The seed at the core needs to be nurtured, in order to grow strong roots, before it finally becomes a full laden tree, that serves the world around, claiming its uniqueness with a sense of power of creating one’s own destiny.