Finding the greatest purpose and meaning!
By: Navin (November 3rd, 2008)The news that I read today was the second of its kind coming out of the U.S as a result of the Global economic crisis. Another one of the non resident Indian brutally killing his family, this time it is Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu. Originally from Andhra Pradesh, Lakshminivasa had lost his job a few days ago and was in a state of depression. He brutally killed his 37 year old wife, 14 year old daughter and 12 year old son. He had inflicted grievous injuries to the head and neck areas of his victims, sadly they were also his loved ones.
Why would any man do this to his loved ones? Can any situation be so hopeless that we can even contemplate such a brutal act? For me only one man can do such an act, the one who has lost the purpose and meaning of his life. But we have to do justice to the man, who found himself in such a situation by understanding his side of the story. Probably till the police finds him, we can only assume things. But just to give him a fair chance, I am assuming that he might have gone through a tough time when he was young. He would have seen years of struggle before he reached the pinnacle of his career. Those years of study under the street lamps, parents struggling to make ends meet, coming through a financial crisis and securing his degree in software until finally he landed a job with software major.
Things would have probably begun to change from there. Soon he would have seen his dreams getting fulfilled. He might have become the most eligible bachelor in his family and the day was not far when he would get married. The next major overseas project for the company required him to get his U.S visa ready and before he realized it he was well settled in the U.S. with his family. Children were doing well in school, a good house and a car. He could not have asked for more.
He might have been earning big bucks for himself and for his company. His goals and ambitions would have been so high that he would have been spending hours or days at a stretch at the office to meet the deadlines. Everything else could wait, his family, his personal dreams, family holidays, everything, because his promotion and next leap in his salary package was just round the corner. But then suddenly, out of nowhere, the bad news came, his clients, a U.S banking or Investment Company had filed for bankruptcy protection. The company had lost all the invested money, leaving them with no option but to layoff all their employees with immediate effect, including Lakshminivasa.
He might have been in a state of shock for a few days, wondering how he will payoff those mortgages, car loans and credit cards. He managed some days but things were beginning to look ominous. His car was repossessed as confirmed by the media. He had lost everything in a storm leaving no hope and no purpose in life. He would have had many questions on his mind like why did this happen to me? How will I face my family and the world? How will I survive without a steady flow of income? Is this what I strived for all my life?
This was a story which I made up to make you understand the man’s plight. Probably it is not enough to justify his actions but a similar story which would probably equal or supersede this man’s problems is found in the book of Job in the Bible. A man named Job lived in the land of Uz, he had seven sons and three daughters, much land and livestock and men to help him work. But more than that, he did not trust on any of these but on God. One fateful day, he lost everything, his oxen and donkeys, servants, a fire killed all the sheep, thieves stole his camels and a wind made the house to collapse on his sons and daughters. But he still worshipped the God saying
“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away, blessed be the name of the LORD.”
This happened when his wife was telling him ‘Let it go. Curse God and die’. All his friends blamed him for his condition as he had developed sores over his body.
But because of his trust and faith on God, the book says that God restored twice the number of sheep, donkeys, camels and oxen. He also gave him seven sons and three daughters. Job lived long in the land and was well rewarded for his faithfulness.
Why did I tell the story? The world around us has changed and for most of us accepting that God is above everything, even the heavens and the earth (not to mention our overvalued talents, abilities, achievements, wealth, education and whoever you might be, even the President of the U.S). It is difficult as most of the achievers in today’s world when asked to describe spirituality they would say that they look inwards and within themselves to find God and some say that in their work they find God. So when they find themselves in such situations the only feeling they get is frustration and hopelessness because all that they depended on (read ‘themselves’ or ‘their work’) becomes meaningless and powerless because they will not be able to save him out of this situation.
Only a man like Job can respond to such catastrophes the way he did because he did not trust on himself but knew that everything he had or owned came from God, who is the creator of this universe, the maker of heaven and earth. So in your hay days find who that God is so that in the darkest hours of your life you know who to trust on. A clue to this search is already given in the story of Job. Only that God, who created you, knows the greatest purpose and meaning of your life.
O fallen being, take that veil off your eyes and take a good hard look on who you really are!
Tags: homicide, Lakshminivasa, Purpose of Life