What's your Life's GPA?

In recent times, thanks to my son, who is pursuing his Undergrad at the University of Chicago, I have been introduced to the concept of GPA__Grade Point Average. It is always on a maximum of 4 Points and the closer you are to 4, the better.

This brought me to examine life, its myriad challenges, opportunities, temptations and learnings. And I set off to reason and to explore how God would rate us, humans, for our performance in our lives, on a GPA scale.

What I discovered was both simple and shocking at the same time. In God's Manual, the following Standard Operating Principles will fetch full marks or what they call A+ Grades:

1. Did you understand the core purpose of your creation to be to realize the truth__of our existence, that all life is equal?
2. Did you deliver on the performance expected of you/of every human being which is to be loving__towards all?
3. Did you practice giving selflessly?
4. Did you keep the faith and stay patient during your 'darkest' hours?

Applying this logic, none of us mortals would get an A+. Because, on an average, we don't accept that all creation is equal. This leads us to practice different, variable behavioral standards with different people. We often look for returns when giving anything__money, time, advice, opportunity. And in the times that we are troubled, we stop believing there is a God or even a Universal Energy Source.

Imagine writing an exam without understanding or even attempting to know what are the criteria for assessment? Well, that's exactly what all of humanity is doing today. Taking an exam called life__living__without realizing that all God expects us to do is to fulfil the four simple criteria listed above.

Invariably, all of us, until a great awakening moment comes, lead our lives in painful ignorance, agonizing over our existence and circumstances. And then the moment comes. We lose a dear one or we lose all that we created or we are subject to public trial for no fault of ours__and then the WHY ME? question gives way to a grudging acceptance, followed by total surrender. In surrendering, we actually end up realizing ourselves. And in one flash, the four simple measures of our performance show up before us. They then become the raison d'etre for us to live from that moment on.

Make no mistake. Whoever we are, whatever we do, one day, in this life time, that moment will arrive in our lives. Until then we will struggle to get our GPA up. And then, in one defining moment, the truth will emerge. After that living__getting an A+ from and in life__will become so easy and simple. That's when we will realize that living is loving.

Learnings:
1. The criteria for living your life intelligently and purposefully are very different from what we understand them to be.
2. Resultantly, after a lifetime of work, we realize, we have done nothing that merits an A+.
3. Once that realization happens, living becomes simple. Living becomes loving.