Eknath Easwaran: The Goal of Life

This week we'd like to share the first part of an audio talk given by Eknath Easwaran in February of 1992. As we were looking for an audio excerpt for this week, the title of this talk, "The Goal of Life" immediately caught our eye – what an intriguing topic! In this talk Easwaran dispels some of the misunderstandings about spiritual living and urges us to make our lives a work of art, in which every trace of selfishness, anger, and fear has disappeared.

Easwaran gave weekly public talks at a local church in Northern California. This picture shows one such talk near the time of the audio excerpt shared in this post.

We won't say much more – after all what can you add with a title like that? – but we do want to put the talk in context. In the fall of 1991, Easwaran had a serious health crisis, leading him quite close to death's door. This talk, given shortly after his recovery, opens with him remarking on the joy of returning to his teaching schedule. You'll notice that his speaking pace is quite slow, and though that may be difficult to listen to at first, we noticed that as we listened, our minds slowed down, and we relaxed as we focused on the talk.

This week we're sharing the first half of the talk, which is just over 15 minutes. We'd love to hear from you about your thoughts on the talk and listening experience. In the comments below, feel free to answer these questions or share any other thoughts you might have:

• Was there a phrase or portion of the talk that stood out to you?
• Was there anything specific about your listening experience that you'd like to share? 

Happy listening!