The meaning of human life
Any person sooner or later faces the most important question – what is the meaning of his life?
It can be answered quite easily, it is enough to look at the basic processes occurring in nature.
– Everything that develops, fights and improves – lives and moves forward (advances in its development).
– Everything that ceases to develop and fight, begins to degrade gradually, and then simply disappears.
It should be understood that there are no static states in nature. Any being and process either moves along the stages of development or rolls down to the lows of degradation.
So any stop in movement is the first step on the way to the opposite direction.
1. Main theses
So – the main meaning of human life is development, struggle and progress. Physical, mental, spiritual development, everything that contributes to it – healthy lifestyle, sports, education, moral principles, perseverance, will, strength – should be maximally cultivated.
Everything that hinders – laziness, cowardice, stupidity, indecision, weakness, moral decay (promiscuity), bad habits – should be ruthlessly rejected.
However, personal self-improvement is not enough, an important element of spiritual growth is the ordering of the surrounding world (according to the ideas of honor and justice).
Specific steps that will help you on the path of development:
Self-discipline, self-realization, physical exercise, brain training, reading books, conversations with intelligent people, helping others (but not everyone, but only those who deserve it, who are not on the path of degradation and are able to adequately assess your actions), ordering the surrounding space.
It is very important to go to the end, it is important to bring to the end of the started business and the started project. Especially if it is directly related to your personal self-realization and progress.
And, if this path is right – spiritual forces standing on higher stages of development will invisibly help you on your way and support you (Destiny helps the brave).
It is important to overcome obstacles arising on your way – because overcoming obstacles is the most effective way of improvement and progress. It is overcoming difficulties that raises you to a higher level. And the more difficult the difficulties you overcome, the higher will be your spiritual ascent, and the higher will be the level of perfection of your skills.
And with each new step, new opportunities will appear.
Only by overcoming serious difficulties do we accumulate the necessary experience that leads us to development.
In any case, it is easy to be a righteous person, living alone in a secluded cave, far from populated areas. And it is very difficult to be one, arriving on the outskirts of some dysfunctional city and being under the constant oppression of negative factors (It is the second option will give you maximum development, in case you successfully pass all the hardships and trials).
An important factor of development is your immediate environment. If your environment is primitive degradants, they will have a serious influence on you and pull you to their level of development. And vice versa, highly developed people will help you on your way as much as possible.
Let us add that within a single genetically homogeneous community (nation) and a single cultural code it is easier to progress, developing advanced qualities and building a harmonious world order.
It should be noted that different races and peoples differ mentally and genetically, somewhere the differences are almost imperceptible, somewhere the differences are serious. And this is neither good nor bad – it is just a given. Each nation has its own destiny, its own way of life, its own dynamics of development – and this must be taken into account and respected. But if, in the analogy of dog breeds, we mix a dachshund and a pit bull, we won’t end up with a super dachshund or a super pit bull – we’ll end up with a mongrel that genetically loses the best qualities of each of those breeds.
It is believed that a person accumulates certain genetic changes during his life. Further, these genetic changes, as well as behavioral patterns, a person will pass on to his children. And, if a person led a decent and healthy way of life, as well as developed, then he will pass his level to his children. If a person has degraded, he will pass his level of degradation to his children. This is a kind of a variant of karma – cause-and-effect relations. And this fact also requires from every reasonable person to take a responsible attitude to himself, to his behavior and to his development – because it will directly affect your children.
So, the purpose of human life is to develop spiritually, physically and mentally. It is necessary to rise to a higher stage of development during one’s life. Improving both one’s spiritual essence and the human species as a whole. Then, it is important to pass this new stage to your children, through your genetics, education, culture and scientific knowledge. So that they can continue the movement and development of their kind, their nation (their human species further on) towards superhumanity and absolute perfection.
An important factor of effective and harmonious human life and activity is the knowledge of cause-and-effect relations of the invisible spiritual world, as well as the principles of functioning of human society. We will consider these questions in detail in other sections of our site.
The next important factor is harmony in everything. And here, for clarity, it is worth considering a Buddhist parable:
“One day Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) saw an old musician passing by on a boat who was talking to his disciples. “If you pull the string too tightly it will break, if the tension is too loose you won’t be able to play!” – the man was saying. Siddhartha realized that there was a profound truth in these words. The path of knowledge, of perfection, is a line lying in the middle between opposite extremes.”
There should be harmony in everything, it is necessary to refuse any “kinks” and fanaticism.
Let us add that a man is the master of his own destiny and this is also the meaning of his life – to live it independently, gaining personal experience, making his own choices and decisions.
The fact that the world around us develops according to certain strict natural laws tells us that everything in this world is not accidental. And at the heart of everything there is a super-intelligence, God-Absolute, who established the universal laws.
2. Metaphysical concept of development
Now let us consider the conceptual structure of the universe based on the data of ancient Vedic texts, since most of these data agree (and do not contradict) with the technical data of modern science.
The Universe and the Creator (God)
According to the “Big Bang Theory” – initially the universe was in a singular state. This is a state of the universe characterized by infinitely large density and temperature of matter. That is, some kind of singular array of energy-information essence. After that, for unknown reasons there was a Big Bang and particles of the unified array began to fly to all corners of space. That, in fact, was the beginning of the universe known to us. And the universe itself began to expand. (According to modern ideas, the age of the observed Universe is 13.799 ± 0.021 billion years).
According to the Vedic texts of ancient India, our universe is cyclically created and destroyed. There is a concept – Life and Death of Brahma, as well as Day and Night (of a single creator, God the Absolute). The Day (in some sources Life) of God Absolute begins with the “Big Bang”, when the Absolute splits into innumerable small autonomous elements. After that, these particles start flying in all directions, to different corners of the universe. It is necessary for each of these particles to start its own way of development from scratch. Every second of time, interacting and gathering personal experience, improving their skills and qualities. And also comprehensively evolving, gradually self-organizing into more complex structures.
Trillions of years will pass and, gradually, centrifugal processes will begin in the universe. When all particles of the cosmos will be attracted to the unified center of the universe again. Then there is a collapse and all autonomous particles again become a part of the single Absolute.
After that the so-called night of God (Brahma) begins, which lasts exactly as long as the day. During this period of inactivity the Absolute comprehends and analyzes all the information collected and accumulated by each autonomous particle, absorbing new experience. And at the end of this process, God becomes one more step more developed and perfect.
After that, a new day of the cosmic God begins, the Big Universal Explosion takes place again and the Super-God divides again into small particles to continue its movement along the path of further development.
Thus, all things (and even God) in the universe need to evolve. For sure, there are even higher levels of being above our universe, which are inaccessible for our perception, and therefore God of our universe has something to strive for.
3. Steps of evolution. From simple to complex
Particle of God – Jivatma
So, God the Absolute divided into the smallest autonomous particles, which began to fly around the universe. The smallest particle of God, in Vedic cosmology, is called JivAtma. “JivAtma is the True Self, the immortal and eternal spiritual essence. JivAtma is the basis of all living things. It is the smallest particle of the Supreme, equal to it in quality (potential), but not equal in power. ZhivAtma is beyond time and space, it has never been born and will never die. It cannot be destroyed by any known or unknown weapon, it is immortal. JivAtma changes bodies like “a capricious fashionista changes clothes”. Her job is to accumulate experience and evolve.”
In essence, JivAtma is spirit and is God (or rather a fractal of God), but in an autonomous mode and limited from absolute knowledge.
So, ZhivAtma appeared in the autonomous mode in the boundless expanses of the universe. And from this moment it begins its difficult path of evolution and accumulation of personal experience. From simple to complex.
First stage – elementary particles.
The second step is the world of minerals, stones. Here the soul learns to concentrate and hold its form, perfecting it, it gradually rises up the ladder. The highest step of evolution here is the Diamond.
The third step is the world of plants. In the world of plants the soul learns the first metabolic processes. Flexibility, elasticity and cycles of life are what the soul learns at this stage in the plant body. The highest stage of evolution here is the Lotus.
The fourth stage is the animal world. Here the soul learns to take care of the continuation of life, and the care and rearing of offspring.
The fifth stage is Man (some sources believe that man is the highest stage of the animal world). Man is given maximum possibilities and free will. At this level, the Soul can become an assistant of God, manifesting creative abilities and helping to organize the surrounding space.
The sixth stage is a certain world of “angels”. This is the world of some energy-informational entities of the highest order. It is clear that these beings perfect and fulfill tasks of a more serious level than on the previous stages of development.
The universal hierarchy of development is not limited to these stages. And there can be a great number of such stages in different corners of the universe. And the most developed Soul, at any of these stages, always tries to self-organize and order the surrounding space, as well as the surrounding entities.
“I died as a stone and rose as a plant, I died as a plant and became a wild beast,
And having died a beast, I am now a man, Why should I grieve that my age is short!”
(Jalaladdin Rumi, 13th century Persian Sufi poet)
So, having reached a certain level, ZhivAtma – a particle of God begins to inhabit physical shells to gain additional experience and improve its skills and capabilities. Thus, every object in the universe has a Soul. And even planets and stars are essentially thinking super beings of specific nature, which stand on a rather high level of development, in the general hierarchy of evolution.
The ultimate goal of this entire hierarchy is the Absolute, the creator of the universe. After traveling a long way, to return and become a part of it again.
At the same time, we allow such a possibility that some particle during billions of years of autonomous existence will reach such a personal high level – that it will allow this particle to become a new autonomous God Absolute. And create its own new separate universe, moving already there on its own similar path of development.
As a conclusion
A person should have a clear idea – what is the meaning of his life and for what he lives, how the world is organized. To know about cause-and-effect relations uniting all events and phenomena in our world. Only in this case he will clearly realize his purpose and will be able to live a productive life full of meaning. A life filled with accomplishments and feats, the life of a worthy man. And if he did everything right – his descendants can be rightfully proud of their ancestor, will look up to him in their aspirations and on their life path.