What Is the Purpose of Life?

The title of this article may be misleading, since I’m not pretending I have the answers. Rather, I have thoughts and questions. If you are the type of person who demands certainty, seek it elsewhere. If you enjoy a journey down the rabbit hole, then maybe keep reading.

I’ve always been interested in philosophy. So have many who have gone before me. Philosophers have considered the meaning of life for many thousands of years. Some of this philosophy is grounded in religion.

So, for example, in the Bible, Jesus says “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much”. This implies that love and the deeds that come from love matter more to God than sins.

Each of the Abrahamic religions clearly define differences between good and evil, with the understanding that God is more powerful than his evil counterpart, the Devil. But this is not true with all religions.

In Mithraism, the struggle between good and evil is emphasized, while in Shintoism, there is really no absolute good or evil as everything and every person changes by interacting with the universe. Among those who followed Zoroaster, two opposing forces, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, representing the creative and destructive forces, were equal in power.

Many non-religious sources also consider the concepts of good vs. evil.

Some philosophies focus on personal consequences, others focus on the societal aspects, while still others don’t see the dichotomy at all.

Tensions arise when people face conflicts between the rights of the individual vs. the rights of larger organizations, while societies handle these in a variety of ways.

For example, in China, the emphasis on the family is different than it is in the United States. In India, the hierarchy of the caste system might be viewed differently due to a greater emphasis on social stability vs. the way it is viewed in the United Kingdom, with its greater emphasis on the individual.

When we talk about needing to find a balance in our own lives — what does that even mean?

There are philosophies that emphasize strength. These might justify the destruction wrought by a Genghis Khan, for example, due to his overwhelming power. Certainly if we look to nature — the Khan’s descendants number, it is estimated, at over 16 million. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, left behind no heirs, as far as we know. Does this make Khan greater?

Another viewpoint might be more relatable to the average person.

After all, who is going to conquer the world? Or, for the geeks among us — who will truly shake the mathematical or technical world? Many an engineer might get his or her name on a patent but how many will develop something as novel as the transistor?

However, what about daily acts of kindness?

When I was 20 years old, I volunteered for 10 weeks. One day, I was working with a classroom full of children. One little boy was very sad. He walked out of the room and sat on the curb.

When I saw him do this, I asked my fellow monitors if they’d mind my leaving. Then I went out and sat with the child.

We did not talk. We simply sat together. After a while, he felt better, and we went back inside.

Did I do a good thing?

I’ve had friends who have bought groceries or eye-glasses for people they knew who could not afford these. I’ve known people who have stopped and helped a stranger change a tire. And of course there are those who have helped save a dog who was wandering in traffic, or left food for feral cats.

There are many people who do random acts of kindness.

Who are these people? They seldom make the newspapers. But what would society be like if they did not exist?

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This post was previously published on Shefali O’Hara’s blog.

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