Purpose

of Life ? Yea!!

Vasan Sri
What is the purpose of human life?-- We
seem to be constantly asking this question.
What is the purpose of any life that exists
or existed on Earth or in the Universe at
large? Philosophers, religious scholars and
pseudo-scientists have pondered over this
and have given numerous curious explanations
.
For some it is 'nirvana' [liberation], or
freedom from the cycle of birth and death or
'bliss' --an eternal joy and so on.

As I write this, I find a small red ant

crawling on the desk top. I pick it up and

crush between my fingers. An ant , weighing
a few milligrams , is not a wild animal.It
is not a threat to my life. Still, it can
sting me. The life of this ant is quenched
in a second. Did the ant have a purpose in
life or its instinct driven existence?
I can rationalize in many ways. I know
that ants can be useful; ants produce formic
acid in its body and with that acid ,I can
preserve human body or tissues ['formalin'
solution']. Recall that early chemists
extracted a few drops of this acid by
crushing thousands of ants...Yea, the ants
serve mankind in some ways. {Prof E B Wilson

spent his whole life studying ants.]

I know for sure that cows serve us by
giving lots of milk which we market cleverly
in so many forms...after all, they are like
small chemical units for converting green
grass into white ,thick milk with lot of
great 'ingredients for life'. Again some can
eat its flesh. I can get soft leather shoes
after a cow dies or killed....Well, a cow
is an economically useful creature.

What about an elephant ---a remnant of
large animal creatures that roamed on this
world? The many uses of elephant I need not
list here. Elephants were used for moving

lumber and are still employed

usefully...Hannibal even used elephants for
his army and many Maharajas in India used
them for warfare. I wonder what if an
elephant chose to ask itself the question:
"What is the purpose of my life? ". Will it
find the answer in the way I see its purpose
or "usefulness to me" ?
WE see all the time creatures from a tiny
ant to a huge 3-tonne animal like elephant
or rhino and wonder the seeming 'purpose of
existence' embedded in their life. You may
derive your own conclusions about the
purpose in their lives 'as you see it.'
Is there an absolute meaning to our lives or

purpose of life?
Each can draw his own 'self-serving
rhetoric' or philosophic mooring for his
life. One may say that he had served his
society or fellowmen or humanity at large
and pride himself on his highly limited
achievements. Some may say that his or her
life had a meaning for his /her immediate
family. Some may say that he had served
his nation or his king, even was ready to
sacrifice for his nation in the army. Some
may say that he had sacrificed for the
liberation of his country from tyrants or
oppressive regimes . Some may take pride in
leading a set of immigrants to a new colony

of liberty ..... Well, all these 'purposes

of life" are highly limited and seen from
the perspective of oneself and his/her
neighbors. They could be significant in the
eyes of a historian or an idealistic youth.
I could pin the purpose of life for an
ant for what it does to me----to produce
formic acid or kill other insects. In that
sense, the case of bees buzzing right now in
my garden is a great example. It helps to
pollinate thousands of flowers and also give
me a few drops of honey. Snakes are
sometimes sources of chemicals or drugs
extracted from their venom, apart from their
use for food and making skin purses.

Assume that there is a Supreme Being

[SP], called "GOD" or by any other name.
Assume that he had designed , produced and
managed this Universe thus far; [ Evolution
and environmental factors may modify the
creatures quite much and lead to create new
species.This is not discounted.]
Assume that he is the designer and creator
of your heart, your lungs, your guts and
your skeleton and so on. He indirectly keeps
this machine going 'even when you sleep';
What that God would think that your purpose
in life should be? Even if there is a
purpose from this SP 's viewpoint, how would
you know that purpose? Would that matter to

you to know the SP's purpose in creating you

or putting you in a place and time on earth?
A little reflection tells me that we
would never know the SP's view of purpose in
a human life,even if an SP exists as I
assumed in the first place. We can draw our
own conclusions and feel happy or depressed
over our answers. If you assume that there
is no SP or do not believe in SP [or God],
you can still employ your brains and arrive
at the purpose of life which could give some
meaning to your existence...If that is the
ultimate or sole purpose of life, no one
knows or can tell you.
For the most part, I have begun to

understand that most of the scriptural

pronouncements for the purpose of life are
tentative and partial explanations only and
do not convey the Grand Purpose or Ultimate
Purpose of life which is ever hidden from
our view--this is due to the limited
capacity of our mental equipment.
In simple terms, it seems to me that
there is no grand purpose to life beyond
what each one of us feel in the depth of his
or her heart...rather, we draw our own
conclusions and go on with life.
Please send your comments to :
nenmelisrinivasan@gmail.com
------------XXXXXXXXXXXXX-------------