2. The Purpose

     If we are given an object from Mr. Anonymous, and for argument sake, let us assume this object is a laptop, what we do with this “laptop” is entirely up to us. However, it is only natural for us to ask who gave this “laptop” to us? and why? We have all been given “life”. We do not fully understand what “life” is but we have assigned the word “life” to it. Let us first talk about why life was given to us. One of the most widely asked question that is responsible for a large part of our conscious mind is, “what is the purpose of life?” This is a question, over which countless have lost sleep, direction, and even a sound state of mind. This simple question is the driving force of all humanity. If it weren't for this question, why would anyone do anything at all? If we did not believe, that there must be some reason we have what we have, by which I mean life of course, we wouldn't really continue living, would we? Well we wouldn't, at least not as conscious human beings.

     Many people have their various theories regarding why we are born and what we must do. Most of us think that once we have completed this task, we have fulfilled our purpose, however what most of us don’t realize, is that what if we complete our goals faster than we died? Why do we continue to live even after that? In other words, “what now?” We are, in this situation, obviously capable of more. Our purpose must be one that does not have an end, and yet that which we fulfill every day. This purpose is change or rather, something new. If you look at your environment, you’ll see that everything is different. No two snowflakes are the same, every atom has its unique frequency, every being has its own mind with different thoughts, different perspectives, and different ideas. Going on a macro level, every star is different, and so is every universe. Apart from this, change is the only thing that does not lead back to the beginning, ie. It isn't a cycle unlike abstractions such as happiness and sadness, or pain and pleasure.

     Now we do not fit in with the general flow of things. We are not born to eat, sleep, and reproduce. Like most creatures, we have needs but, unlike most creatures, we also have wants. This collection of “wants” is a major part of one’s consciousness, which leads me to ask the question, what is consciousness? Some people may argue that it is the soul but what is a soul? Does it really exist? Or is it just another creation of man in order to receive a comfortable answer? No one has ever seen a “soul”. No one has proof of its existence. No one has felt it. So how did the idea of its existence come about? Once again, just a possibility incorporated into the mind-set of a large portion of humanity.

- Sharan Joshi

1. The Reasoning

     If I told you an invisible tiger with the body of an elephant, from outer space, landed in the middle of the Sahara desert, looked around, saw nothing but sand, and magically left earth, would you believe me? Would it be safe to assume that 99% of clinically sane humans wouldn't believe this as this sounds highly unlikely? I cannot prove to you that this phenomenon happened and hence it is highly improbable, but you cannot prove to me that this phenomenon didn't happen and so it becomes a mere possibility.

     Now, keeping this in mind, if I told you that there is an all-powerful being that has taken a human figure and is governing the entire universe and everything in it, would you believe me? Would it be safe to assume that over 50% of clinically sane humans would believe this? The possibility of either situation is as high as the other, and yet a larger percent of us believe in the latter. Why is this so? Is this human ego? Is the thought of a “tiger-elephant” being a higher being than humans, that outrageous? Do we really need someone other than ourselves to blame for the actions that we commit, or have committed to? As I have “safely” assumed earlier, more than 50% of humans believe in a higher being, which has taken the form of man, who governs our every action, and is responsible for everything that happens, everything that has happened, and everything that ever will happen. Let us remove our sense of irresponsibility from this picture. We have an all-powerful man watching over us who does not govern our actions and does not “write” our destiny. Now let us go a step further and remove ego from this picture. We have an all-powerful “tiger-elephant” that does not govern our every action, or “write” our destiny. Oh god, all of a sudden this isn't very convincing. The point of this is that the existence of “God”, in my opinion, isn't a probability, but one possibility amongst billions, no, trillions. And the very belief in this all-powerful creature that has given life to us all has caused more deaths than the strands of hair on my head. How has the human race allowed such a blunder to exist? If it were only two people to create such a misunderstanding in a world full of “non-believers”, they might just be placed on the bottom half of the intelligence pyramid.

     Some people, however, only believe in “God” to find a sense of purpose. This leads me to my next question, “What sense of purpose does God fulfill ” Most people wish to go to heaven. What do they expect to find there? What happens then? What do you do once you’re in heaven? Is heaven an eternal sense of happiness? But what is happiness without sadness? I don’t believe happiness can be that happy if it wasn't for sadness. Like all things, happiness is relative. For example, if a homeless man with a hundred dollars in his pocket stumbles upon a hundred dollar note in the middle of his day, his total worth has doubled and he will have a smile on his face powerful enough to subconsciously create a belief in “God”, however, if a billionaire finds the same note when he steps out of his 500,000 dollar car, he might not even flinch, or bother reaching for it. We do not realize it but the economy not only circulates money, but also happiness in this manner. When the rich get poor, it creates sadness, only for it to turn back into happiness when they get rich again, and in this manner does this vicious cycle turn round and round in an infinite cycle. And we have nothing but consciousness to blame for this never-ending cycle.

     Unfortunately, because this is just a cycle, we always seem to return to where we started, which leads me to believe that this cannot serve as a purpose for life. What can serve as a purpose of life is pure innovation in its raw form. This is the only abstraction that does not move backwards but rather, forwards. As Thomas Edison once said, “I have learned a thousand ways how NOT to make a light bulb”.

- Sharan Joshi