Life Manual

We all have been given this gift of life
But we don't know how to live
We forget to read the Life Manual
Today, this to you, I give

This Life Manual that I share
Is what I have experienced
It's not theory, it's practical
It's the way I have lived

Who are we? Why are we here?
This we were never taught
We live through life and soon it's over
But these questions, we forgot

Are we the body that lives and grows
And then finally dies?
Or are we something else, which at death
Into the universe flies?

What about the mind, do we have one?
Has anyone found the mind?
We can touch our nose and scan our heart
But the mind we cannot find!

Life is a journey from birth to death
There is no guarantee
We pay nothing for this precious gift
It is given to us for free

But there is a purpose for us on earth
Not to just live and die
Before this journey comes to an end
To find out, 'Who am I?'

We are not the body, we are not the mind
Nor the ego that we are told
The truth is different, we must realize
We are the Divine Soul

Instead of realizing this truth, we wander
In this world of many a thing
We crave for pleasures, but don't realize
Happiness is a state of being

Things don't make us happy
Nor people, or places give us bliss
Happiness is an inner thing
In life, this truth we miss

Everybody has problems; this is a fact
A problem free life is an illusion
Problems don't come to stay forever
Get rid of this delusion

We think time is ticking, but time is still
It is life that actually moves on
Moment by moment, we live our life
Till death, from the time we are born

What do we do when we start our day?
We just jump into it
We never learnt what life truly is
For this, we must silently sit

It's only when we spend time in peace
That we will experience joy
Then we will feel what true bliss is
It's amazing, oh boy!

But we don't stop to understand life
We are just running in this race
We increase our pace and get caught in the maze
Trying to be an ace!

Somebody told us, 'Success is Happiness'
So the wealth of this world we chase
In the end, our life is in a mess
Though we have gold, diamonds, and lace

But nothing belongs to us, don't we know?
We will leave everything behind
We come with nothing, we go with nothing
This truth – when will we ?nd?

Those who try to understand life
They live with contentment
They don't let their greed overtake their need
They find fulfilment

There is a way to everlasting joy
And to experience Divine peace
For this, we must smell the flowers
And enjoy the rabbits and the geese

We are so busy in this material world
Spirituality, we do not know
Very few realize we are the Soul
Before the time comes to go

Life is a product given to us
But we don't unwrap this gift
The paper and ribbons are still around
Till that time when we don’t exist

We just exist, we don't really live
We don't discover what life is
Sinking in this world of material pleasure
Peace and bliss we miss

And so, I thought I'll write this book
Not just scratch my pen
But share with you what life truly is
Before my life comes to an end

We still have time, we can discover
How we must live our life
How we can find joy and peace
Escaping misery and strife

We have a choice, we have a free will
Everything doesn't depend on luck
The Universal Law of Karma does work
What we sow is what we will pluck

To think our thoughts, we have the mind
But it makes us wander, in fact
To eliminate the stress and worry it causes
We must use our intellect

The intellect is a tool given to us
To discriminate black from white
To make important decisions of life
And to choose what is right

We live with passion and attachment
While nothing belongs to us
The way to joy is detachment
Just letting go, without a fuss

Why should we fear? Why should we worry?
Why be stressed and anxious, my dear?
Find the way to be happy
Right through the year

For this we must pause, not rush through life
This gift of life we must understand
Enjoy the mountains and the sunsets
Beautiful beaches and white sand

We still have time to realize the truth
Find out, 'Who are we?'
We are not the mind; we are not the ego
That constantly says ‘It's ME’

One day, the body will die
But the one who was alive within
Will carry all actions unsettled
And be born with a brand-new skin

How does death happen, do you know?
It's when the Soul inside departs
When the life power in us decides to leave
Then this chapter ends, another starts

Whatever we think and we call, ‘Ours’
People, possessions… everything
At death nothing will belong to us
We can't even carry a ring

What is death, have you ever thought?
Or do you just blink your eyes?
It's time to stop, to contemplate, to think,
Whenever somebody dies

We too will go one day, for sure
We will not be forever on earth
Every living being that lives
Must die, if it takes birth

But we don't realize all this
We are ruled by the monkey mind
Until we stop its constant chatter
The truth we will not find

For the mind is full of rotten thoughts
We suffer because of this junk
If we want to discover the true meaning of life
We must make the monkey a monk

There's one more thing to learn in life
That agony is caused by the ego
For if we want to ?nd our God
We must let go of our ego

Our Ultimate Goal is to realize God
Not in a temple, monastery or church
God lives within our heart
When will we start our search?

We all remain stuck in our religion
About God, it teaches us ABC
We need to grow and evolve spiritually
Then the true God we will see

God doesn't live on a distant planet
Somewhere far away
It's God that makes our heart beat
Each moment of every day

Most of us are ignorant
And think ignorance is bliss
How to live this amazing life
Alas, we just miss!

We live, we die, we are born again
Such is the life show
Karma will decide when we will die
When it is time to go

If we plant apples, we won't get mangoes
It's a law, don't you agree?
Such is the law, we die and take rebirth
From this cycle, we must be free

There is a way to escape Karma
And to escape from rebirth
If only we realize we are the Divine Soul
We won't return to earth

Realization is a rare gift
Not everybody this treasure can find
Those who truly love God
Transcend body, ego and mind

They discover they are the Soul within
In fact, they are Divinity
They don't see humans as bone and skin
They see God in you and me

This is the ultimate goal of life
For us to realize the truth
We must discover who we truly are
Get to the bottom of the root

But we are so busy consuming life
The Life Manual we do not read
All we know, is to clothe this skin
And our greedy body we feed

Having fun, life gets over
But hello! That's not the end!
Death is not the end of the game
Death is only a bend

It's time to stop and to start anew
Living life each day
Holding the Life Manual in our hand
And finding the right way

Understanding life is an important thing
Who are we? Why are we here?
Realizing the truth and then being free
Living without a tear

We can be conscious and live in bliss
We can have joy and peace
If only we understand this product called 'Life'
But we must pay our fees

Then we will be free from problems and sorrows
We will only have joy and bliss
We will enjoy each moment of life
This treasure we will not miss

This Life Manual is a Divine gift
It shows us the way to live
To realize God in every Soul
As we give and we forgive

It's time to wipe out all that we've learned
Cleaning the slate of our mind
Living a new life with this Manual now
Joy, peace and bliss, we will find