The Adventure We Have Along the Way.

So the idea of the "Noble Goals" and the eventual realization of what humans really want in life was what really interested me in our last class. Since the idea behind them is that, no matter which of the goals you pursue, eventually you will realize they aren't what you are looking for. Which reminds me of one of my favorite manga: One Piece.

The main character of the series, Monkey D. Luffy, is traveling the world in order to become the "King of Pirates", and find a legendary treasure left behind by the greatest pirate who ever lived, one Gold/ Gol D. Roger (no family relation between the two). Now, granted this is a decent (and challenging) goal that ends up being somewhere between the Noble Goals of Success and Pleasure (part of the reason Luffy is doing this is simply for the sake of having an adventure), however, the one question that has been bugging me about the series is: What happens once Luffy obtains his goal? Knowing his character, he will just keep sailing the seas until the day he dies, but once he finds the One Piece, what else will there be left for him to do?

This kind of problem shows up a lot in stories, but never really gets addressed. After all, the stated goal of many a fictional villain (cliched of otherwise) has been to rule the world, but they never say what they want to do once they have obtained their goal. Granted, they always end up getting defeated in the end, but the question still stands. And I think the the idea of the Noble Goals really does a good job of addressing that problem. Though I would argue that there is one problem with the concept of the Noble Goals, and their idea of what people really want: They don't really mention the idea that maybe achieving the goal, be it Wealth, Fame, Power, Pleasure, Joy, Enlightnement, Reuniting with Brahman, what have you, isn't ever the point. Maybe the point is the seeking, and the life you live while trying to attain your goal.

I'm not saying that the Gita had the wrong idea, I'm just pointing out that there is something they might have left out. Thoughts anyone?