Have you ever wondered if there is an intrinsic purpose of life?
By valeshg
@valeshg (9)
India
January 11, 2013 11:37pm CST
I have been searching for the meaning of life since I was 19 and I arrive at the same conclusion after every introspection-Nothing!Yes,I feel life is so meaningless and we cannot possibly have any purpose to fulfill since we are here only by accident.If that is so,how are we supposed to spend our time here?Are there any objective guidelines?Are religion,caste,race,God mere delusions?So many questions..but no answers.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
29 Jan 13
I find it odd that you see life as nothing. What do you want to do? Who do you want to be with? How is your relationship with your family? Do you get to spend time with your friends? All these are part of your life.
To know your purpose in life is to find out what is something that pulls you into and that you think will make something out of you.
@valeshg (9)
• India
30 Jan 13
You are right,jenny.But what I mean by 'nothing' is our life is not a means to fulfill some external purpose,but it is an end in itself.We are here by accident,but not intentionally to achieve something.If you look at life in this perspective,you will not agree with those who say that you are obliged to do this/that because you are sent here on purpose.Life is just a plain canvas and you can paint anything you want on it.That's what I mean by 'it is meaningless'.
@fannekhan (783)
• India
13 Jan 13
You are arriving at the right conclusion...Nothing. Everything seems to be contained in that nothing. no thoughts no actions.
We were born because two people took some decisive action in a passinate manner. Hopefully they enjoyed their passion. As a result of passion we are also beings who are ruled by passions. The lucky ones are able to transcend this passion to become compassionate. Maybe that is the route we all are supposed to discover on our own, by ourselves. If we look for guidance we get it. If you become still and silent, a new world reveals itself to you with all the possibilities.
Everyone goes through action and inaction. There is a rest period in between. How many of us are active 100% and inactive 100%? Not many, I am sure. when you are active you start to think about how to be idle. when you are idle you think about being active. this overlap does not allow you to rest as your sleep is disturbed and you feel ill at ease.
Maybe, we should take this rest period very seriously so that our active periods do not extend into our inactive sessions. When we are inactive are we still? are our minds uncluttered without any thoughts? when we are resting are we experiencing deep relaxation?
@valeshg (9)
• India
13 Jan 13
That's really a deep spiritual insight!!But what I've been trying is to find a way to manifest my spiritual knowledge into the material world,but I find it almost impossible to do so.I do not detest material gains.I think I am a hedonist at the core.I enjoy pleasures and passions and so I do not find a need to transcend them.The dilemma I am facing is if spirituality can provide answers to the problems of the physical world.For eg.A very poor person in need of money for his education or a hungry beggar in need of food.How can spirituality be of help to those persons?
As OSHO once said,"I am a rich man's guru."So is spirituality out of bounds to the poor?
@subhojit10 (7375)
• India
12 Jan 13
Thanks a ton for sharing this discussion. Well i beg to differ from your statement that life is meaningless. Life is indeed beautiful if we are positive. If u think negative always then every thing will seem negative for u. there are many people on earth who do not have food shelter and clothes and they are also spending their lives. So we should stay happy and cheerful and then only life will be meaningful for us.
What say?
@fannekhan (783)
• India
13 Jan 13
'we should stay happy and cheerful and only then life will be meaningful to us'. Well... why use the word should, is it a command or an order from above? You will realize that our moods and state of mind changes constantly. From positive and cheerful mindset we can become morose and sad in a jiffy.
I mean, none can be in a similar state of mind always. If you are feeling down, how can you ensure that you are positive and cheerful? You will have to ride the trough and wait for the upswing to take you up. The mind is always moving in a sinusoidal curve. Up sometimes and down sometimes.Your actions when you are down are as important as when you are upbeat. some of the most memorable creations of this world were created when man was down and out. maybe, we should learn to accept sadness, frustrations and miseries and wait for the upswing to take us up. when we are up and soaring we should wait for the downswing. But someting far better than that is to realize this up-down cycle and learn to accept the moment and be in that moment. why wait for something which has not happened as yet?
@nyssa102 (748)
• United States
25 Mar 13
Lots of good posts, and mine is probably a retread of theirs. But I actually believe that this is a school for our energy, a school for the spirit. I think we have a higher purpose and our souls can only learn lessons while in the flesh. At least that is how I look at it. Our purpose here, is to attend classes. Classes that will make us better spirits.
