Due to the faculty of the intellect, buddhi, man is not only conscious of the world of objects, he is also conscious of himself. The self he is aware of is not a happy, complete, an adequate being. The self he is conscious of is a wanting, seeking self, Every moment in life is a struggle to become a better being by trying to change the world around and changing oneself. Man hopes that by doing things or changing things or even getting rid of things he would be complete self one day. This is the human problem.

There are topical problems which keep on changing. For any individual or a nation there will be topical problems. These problems can be solved if one has a mind that is awake, alive to the facts of life and learns with every passing experience. The topical problems vary from person to person. They also change in various situations. But to expect to discover fulfillment in life by solving the topical problems is to betray the ignorance of the fundamental problem of the human being the problem of seeking a self which is free and complete.

Many are not aware of this basic problem because they are too engaged in the pursuits of money, possessions, etc. In other words, they are struggling to settle in life, Caught in the web of self-deluding judgments and comparisons, they sweat and toil in vein to make their living "comfortable". In the world, the only difference between the haves and have-nots is that the "have" is not happy in comforts, the "have-not" is unhappy without comforts; this is because one has a value for what the other one has. Nobody is really happy. Everyone wants to be different from what he is. This is a constant problem of the human being.

This fundamental problem is to be discerned in life. There is no meaning in life if all the time one doesn't know what one is looking for. One must necessarily know what is

the problem
in life. There are many experiences in life enough to make man think what is he really in for. "All the time what I want is not this or that, but I want to discover how to be at ease with myself, how to be a free-self". This gives an edge in one's life because one knows exactly what one is to look for in life, and life gains a meaning. Otherwise it is only eating, mating and dying. A dog need not know this because it has not got this problem.

Vedanta makes one discern this human problem and helps to solve it. In fact, Vedanta puts the question and answers it.