Philosophy Of Life IV

Anger

We get angry whenever we find some body acting against our own interest and we are unable to restrain him. May be that although that persons actions are against our interest, they are perfectly serving his own interests.

I have myself gone through such situations several times. In these situations although I continue to restrain other person to best of my abilities, what controls my anger is my belief that at the core everybody is selfish including myself. Thus I see myself and the other person in same boat. Further I believe that it is my bad luck due to which I am suffering from that person. Thus I do not hold him fully responsible for my fate.

Arrogance

Arrogance results from two things. First from capability of successfully managing one's occupation. Secondly from taking full credit for the success.

Of course individual competence is necessary for success but does it account for every thing? If we think so, perhaps we are underestimating contribution of society and our luck factor for what we are.

Man is a social animal. Without society he is nothing but animal. Yet many behave as if they are self made.

Purpose of life

Purpose of life is to live purposeful life. But what is purposeful life? For those who are religious, religious life is purposeful life. For those who believe in universal religion and universal God , spiritual life as purposeful life.

According to Christianity, this world is temporary. All pains, pleasures and worldly purpose in this world are temporary. This world is going to end and thereafter God will create a new world, which will be permanent. All those living will die. Those living for Christ will find place in the new world and will live forever. Thus for them purpose of life is to find place in new permanent world.

According to Hinduism one of the four purpose of life is Moksha, i.e. freedom from cycle of life and death itself. According to some thinkers this world is an illusion. For them reality is nothing and nothing is reality. Along with the world, the life, and ‘purpose of life’ are illusory. When they go through personal tragedies, sometimes even hardcore illusionist’s mind may be taken over by emotions and illusory world may appear to be too real to be unreal.

Purpose of life may also keep on changing as we move on in life. For some it changes from worldly to out worldly, for others it may remain worldly throughout the life. Those who are neither aware of any out worldly purpose nor have any significant worldly purpose left to be achieved, life becomes purposeless.

Some people find it difficult to admit that life could also be purposeless. According to them, since God has created life, it can’t be purposeless, especially if it is human life.

There are millions and millions who are not able to manage basic necessities of life such as food and shelter. Can they think of any purpose in life? For them is there purpose in living or living is the only purpose? Is the need for purpose is a higher need after basic needs have been met with?

What are the options if to you your life seems to be purposeless? If you find your life
purposeless, most probably you are either atheist or agnostic. In that case to you the life of every body else also may also seem to be purposeless. You may take solace in the fact that you are not alone in going through a purposeless life. Even the life of those living apparently purposeful life may appear to you as purposeless as you find their purposes purposeless. To you perhaps life is nothing more than a chemical process. You do not worry about after life. To you life is like an onion. Peel it off layer by layer at the end you find nothing or life is like a broken pencil, it is pointless.

In life if you keep complaining about your fate,
Life may go in just complaining.