On U.S. college campuses, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among young adults which is a stark reminder of a deepening crisis of meaning and mental health. Past-year suicide attempt rates among international students have been reported in the range of roughly 1.2% to 2.2%, compared with estimates of 0.1% to 1.6% among domestic students. Moreover, an estimated 5 to 10 percent of college students each year report experiencing suicidal ideation. Some studies also indicate that within South Asian communities, certain subgroups such as Asian Indian students may report higher levels of suicidal thoughts than other South Asian ethnic groups. These sobering figures underscore not only the urgency of improving mental health support, but also the deeper need to help students cultivate connection, resilience, and a sense of purpose during one of the most formative periods of their lives.
Having spent years listening to great teachers of Hindu philosophy and having navigated what I believe has been more than my fair share of adversity, I have tried to distill the following thoughts as guidance for my younger friends who may be feeling lost or low at this moment.
The Gift of Human Birth
According to Hindu philosophy, a human being arrives in this world after countless births as lower life forms, where existence was governed purely by instinct. The mere fact of being born human, an entity endowed with free will, is itself a rare gift. Through that free will, a person has the capacity to elevate themselves to the highest possible state of being, or, by their own choices, to consign themselves to unnecessary suffering.
The Vedas describe four Purusharthas or the four goals of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Lower animals, guided entirely by instinct, seek only Artha and Kama. Artha, in its broadest sense, encompasses security and survival. Kama refers to pleasure derived through the senses.
Sadly, many human beings live in much the same way, spending the bulk of their lives chasing safety and sensory gratification. And yet every human being holds within them a higher potential. Only a few consciously choose to pursue Dharma, the timeless principles that sustain and uphold life, creating harmony within the individual, within society, within the world, and throughout the cosmos. Fewer still aspire to the highest goal of human existence: Moksha which is the realization of the Divine Self.
Hindu Dharma does not reject enjoyment. It does not ask you to renounce Artha or Kama. It says: pursue them, but pursue them within the framework of Dharma, while keeping the ultimate aim of Moksha in view. Live a life rooted in Dharma so that each day, however modestly, you are moving toward Moksha.
If life were a game of bowling, hitting a strike would represent Moksha. The bumpers along the lane would represent Dharmic principles, the guardrails that keep you on course. The polishing and drying of the ball, along with whatever pre-shot ritual a bowler performs, represent Artha and Kama. All the elaborate preparation and showmanship may impress onlookers, but it counts for nothing if you throw a gutter ball. Skilled players, of course, have internalized awareness of the gutters and rarely need the bumpers. Their discipline has become second nature.
A purposeful life, therefore, is a life lived in Dharma.
D.H.A.R.M.A.
- D — Do your duty (svadharma) sincerely at whatever stage of life you find yourself.
- H — Honor truth and self-discipline.
- A — Act without attachment to outcomes.
- R — Respect all beings with compassion.
- M — Meditate and reflect regularly.
- A — Align with righteousness in thought, word, and deed.
Everyone’s path toward Dharma will be different, shaped by the actions of one’s past — whether of this lifetime or, as Hindu philosophy holds, of previous ones. The effects of those past actions manifest in this life as gifts and as limitations: the circumstances of your birth, the innate abilities you carry, the particular challenges you face. All of these together determine the unique contours of your Dharmic journey.
To live a Dharmic life is to use your unique gifts and limitations to make consistent contributions toward a worthy cause you genuinely believe in, while intentionally building a life you love.
In the beginning, the most meaningful cause may simply be yourself — and that is perfectly fine. You grow from there. You begin climbing the steps of evolution. For highly evolved spiritual beings, there are no discrete steps, only a gentle and continuous slope. For them, the boundary between self and other has dissolved entirely. Everyone, ultimately, is the Self.
How to Actually Live a Purposeful Life
1. Write Your Own Obituary
The most clarifying first step I know is to write your own obituary. What do you want to be remembered for? What would you want people to say when they speak at your funeral? “He was…” “She was…” Sit with those answers. They will give you a starting point — however rough — for your sense of purpose.
2. Understand That Purpose Evolves
Your sense of purpose will not remain static — nor should it. In youth, it tends to center on personal growth: exploring creativity, mastering a skill, building strong and healthy relationships. As you mature, that purpose naturally expands, becoming less about self-development and more about meaningful contribution and service.
Andrew Carnegie was, early in his life, one of the most ruthlessly profit-driven industrialists in America. Later, he underwent a profound philosophical transformation and ultimately gave away more than ninety percent of his fortune. Warren Buffett, too, built immense wealth through Berkshire Hathaway, yet has pledged to donate over ninety-nine percent of it.
Purpose can evolve. Allow yours to.
3. Know Yourself
What are your genuine strengths? Your blind spots? Your triggers and recurring patterns? Which qualities support the vision of life you have begun to form? What energizes you rather than depleting you? What are your impediments — and be honest here, because you can only address deficits once you have truly acknowledged them.
Arnold Schwarzenegger reinvented himself multiple times — leaving a small Austrian village to become a world-class bodybuilder, then patiently mastering English to pursue a Hollywood career despite repeated rejection and later entering public service as Governor of California. David Goggins transformed himself from being overweight and directionless into a Navy SEAL, ultramarathon runner, and motivational speaker. Neither man was born exceptional. Both were relentless in self-knowledge and self-correction.
Self-knowledge fuels growth. There is simply no substitute for it.
4. Identify What Energizes You
Ask yourself: what problems do I feel genuinely drawn to solve? The answer will reflect your core values. Values such as integrity, compassion, curiosity, freedom, excellence, family, and justice are not abstract ideals — they are the bedrock upon which meaningful action is built. Write down your top five. Then ask: what specific activities give expression to these values?
Eknathji Ranade, inspired by Dr. Hedgewar and Swami Vivekananda, devoted his entire life to the spiritual and national regeneration of India. His guiding values were selfless service, organizational rigor, and spiritual nationalism. He led the construction of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and founded the Vivekananda Kendra — a nationwide organization dedicated to rural development, education, and character-building.
Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to people who have been wrongly convicted, unjustly sentenced, or denied adequate legal defense. His core conviction is that “each of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done.” He has helped overturn wrongful convictions and challenged excessive sentencing, including life imprisonment for children.
What aligns with your core values endures — sustained by conviction, not by circumstance.
5. Set Meaningful, Aligned Goals
Break your purpose down into three horizons:
- Long-term direction (e.g., “I want to help people heal.”)
- Medium-term goals (e.g., “Train in counseling.”)
- Short-term habits (e.g., “Read twenty minutes daily on psychology.”)
Thomas Edison developed the practical incandescent light bulb through methodical trial and error, testing over six thousand materials before arriving at a workable filament. He famously noted that he had not failed — he had simply discovered ten thousand approaches that did not work. Verghese Kurien transformed India’s dairy industry not through any single dramatic breakthrough, but through decades of steady, grassroots effort. By organizing small farmers in Anand, Gujarat into cooperatives and building reliable systems for milk collection, processing, and distribution, he quietly catalyzed the White Revolution, making India one of the world’s largest milk producers.
Steady, consistent effort outweighs sudden giant leaps on the road to anything worth doing.
6. Build Supportive Relationships
Deliberately cultivate relationships that support the purpose you have identified. Seek mentors. Nurture friendships with people who challenge you in constructive ways. Seek out communities that share your values. The right people will amplify your efforts in ways you cannot anticipate. Stay away from chronic naysayers.
Narendra Modi found early guidance and community within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, where mentors shaped his discipline, his thinking, and his long-term vision. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple alongside Steve Wozniak, whose technical brilliance complemented Jobs’ design sensibility and commercial instinct. Mentors like Mike Markkula helped ground his ambition in business discipline.
Accept people as they are, but understand that you, and only you, have the right to decide where each person belongs in your life, not where they wish to be placed. Ask yourself honestly: do the people around you enlarge you, or diminish you? And be prepared to accept that sometimes listening to the right person means acknowledging that you were wrong. That is among the most difficult things any of us can do.
7. Cultivate Discipline and Resilience
Unfortunate things have a way of arriving at the most inconvenient times. The best-laid plans fall apart. Any given day can simultaneously be the best of times and the worst of times. And even an ordinary life, free of tragedy and crisis, can become stagnant and dull if it is not directed toward something meaningful.
Living with purpose requires:
- Doing the hard thing when the easy path beckons.
- Staying consistent when motivation has faded.
- Recovering from setbacks without excessive self-reproach.
- Saying no to distractions that are not aligned with your direction.
Discipline protects purpose when motivation fades.
I suffered a stroke two months before my planned retirement at fifty-one. The entire left side of my body was completely paralyzed. It has now been more than five years. Years of intensive work — motivating myself to exercise every single day, learning new recovery techniques, staying current with the latest research on stroke rehabilitation, all while managing the financial demands of daily life. And here is what I can tell you: I have not yet reached my maximum recovery. That moment will come only when I leave this body. I intend to keep fighting until then. Make every breath count.
Resilience deepens purpose. Adversity, if you let it, will clarify what truly matters.
8. Keep Evolving
Periodically reassess your goals. A purposeful life is not a fixed blueprint — it is a living process. The destination may remain the same, but the path will need adjustment along the way.
Leo Tolstoy achieved fame and wealth through War and Peace and Anna Karenina, yet by the late 1870s he was gripped by a profound existential crisis that left him questioning the very meaning of existence. He ultimately rejected materialism and devoted himself to a life of moral simplicity — a transformation that profoundly influenced Mahatma Gandhi. Emperor Ashoka began his reign as a conqueror of extraordinary brutality, including the devastating Kalinga War. Shattered by the suffering he had caused, he renounced violence and devoted the remainder of his reign to Buddhist principles of compassion and ethical governance.
Growth is transformation. Do not be afraid of who you are becoming.
9. Live in the Present
Purpose is not only about some distant future. It is about how you show up today. Living in the present means giving your full attention to what Dharma demands of you right now — without being paralyzed by regret over the past or anxious about what lies ahead. Deep, wholehearted engagement in whatever you are doing right now transforms ordinary moments into meaningful ones. Constantly close the gap between who you are and who you aspire to be.
Take the Controls
My dear friends, if your life is like an airplane journey, then your childhood and early youth are the takeoff — and that phase is very nearly complete. The engines have roared. The runway is behind you. You are now rising toward cruising altitude. This is the phase where direction matters most.
An airplane on autopilot will keep flying — but only toward whatever destination was programmed into it. If the coordinates are wrong, it will carry you confidently to the wrong place.
Many people live exactly that way. They drift. They react. They follow the crowd. And then one day they wake up and wonder, “How on earth did I get here?”
If you want your life to be purposeful, meaningful, and worthy of leaving a legacy, you must take the controls. Do not fly on autopilot.
Be conscious of your direction. Be intentional with your choices. Be awake to your Dharma.
Own today. Shape tomorrow. Become eternal.
That is how you live a life of purpose.