Director Roger Nygard traveled the world asking theologians, scientists, skeptics, and everyday people 85 tough questions to try to understand The Nature of Existence! Now that he’s asked the experts, it’s YOUR TURN! To offer your own insights on today’s question, “What is our purpose?“, Leave a Reply below!
Our purpose is to find happiness without denying others of it. Any purpose that degrades or harms the lives of others shouldn’t be your purpose.
So if you’re a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, etc – you should look at yourself in a mirror and ask yourself – “Does my religion require that I treat everyone with respect and dignity?”. Once you answer, “No” ask yourself why should it you’ve been okay with it for so long…
I wish that was one of the 85 questions.
Our purpose is very simple, just like any other living being we only have two purposes in life:
- To survive long enough to reproduce
Every thing, every action we do, is in support of either survival or reproduction.
To experience all there is possible to experience.
I think it’s to ultimately understand our connection to each other, to life, to everything around us. Realizing our true potential as human beings and as spiritual beings.
The human organism has many purposes, but the highest purposes are the production and proper use of soulstuff.
I saw almost nothing in the film/website regarding Muslims and Islam, which I think should be discussed and examined most importantly out of all the belief systems, given the global climate we live in. Here’s an incredibly concise overview that I found useful:
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What does Islam teach? What are the Islamic beliefs?
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Islam is the name for a divinely ordained and complete way of life founded on the principle that there is only one God, and that He alone is worthy of our adoration and servitude. The fact that it is a complete way of life means that it contains guidance in all affairs, whether spiritual, social, communal, financial, environmental, political, etc. Islam literally means submission to God and the Muslim is one who submits to God. This entails acceptance of and adherence to the revealed laws. Through dedication to God the Muslim comes closer to Him and acquires inner peace and tranquility.
Islam calls on humanity to acknowledge that there is only one God, to believe in Him and to worship Him alone. Human beings are to utilize their God-given faculties of reason and logic to come to the realization that they have not arisen by coincidence out of insentience and chaos, but are rather subject to the definite order of a single supreme Omniscient Lord. He has not created human beings in sport but has placed them on earth with a precise purpose, to enjoin righteousness and forbid evil. Through one’s struggle to spread virtue and righteousness one acquires a deeper understanding and a stronger relationship with God. The righteous will be rewarded in the next life with paradise while the evil-doers will be punished with Hell.
Noble as the human purpose is, human beings tend to fall short and many tend to deviate from the pure and pristine servitude of the One God into man-made doctrines and sins. Hence, God has continually appointed Prophets from every nation to call their people away from sin and vice and back to the noble position of worshiping God and performing righteous deeds, abiding by His laws. Each prophet communicated God’s revelation to their respective nations and warned them against persisting in evil and disbelief. Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, John and Jesus are some of the prophets sent by God. Muhammad is God’s final prophet, sent to all humanity to call them back to the truth before the coming of the Day of Resurrection where every human being will stand to be judged before their Lord for that which they did in their life.
All the Prophets brought the same message and shared the same call. Those who accepted that message and submitted to the way of God are called Muslims. Thus, in the time of Prophet Moses, the Muslims were those who answered his call and followed him, submitting to the laws of God. Similarly, in the time of Prophet Jesus, the Muslims were those who followed and accepted his call. Now, after the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, one must believe in him and accept his call.
Despite the fact that previous prophets shared the same call, their people deviated from the path and the revelations brought by their Prophets were either lost or corrupted. The Qur’an is God’s last message to mankind, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Unlike the previous revelations whose preservation was entrusted to its nation, God has promised to preserve the Qur’an Himself and the duty entrusted to Muslims is its propagation since the Qur’an is for all mankind.
In addition to God’s revelation, the Qur’an, the Islamic way of life is based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, known as the Sunnah. Together, these two sources are the guiding lanterns in the life of every Muslim, illuminating the path to God, the path of righteousness.
FOR MORE INFO:
http://www.islamreligion.com
Frankly, I don’t know my purpose in life. Play video games? Listen to music? Work? Get a wife? Make babies? Kill someone? I have no idea!
I think we have to look around and decide for ourselves what our purposes are. Because the ultimate one is already decided – we all die.
The purpose of our existence is to meet God.
The Vanity of Human Matters
Vain, vain, vain, in vain are they,
Human matters in this world are all in vain.
Friendship, affection, hatred and quarrels, all are futile.
Disappearing with the wind on the day you and I die.
Eating, drinking, watching, listening,
All are futile.
The day the flesh disappears into the ground,
All come to naught.
Wealth, prosperity, power, and the throne are all futile,
Dreams fancied during the short doze of a dayfly
That falls and dies after a half day of flying.
Youth, health, strength, and valor are all futile,
Things our predecessors mock at lying in their graves.
In the infinitely wide and broad universe,
Human bodies smaller than the dust,
Humans that sit like dust and disappear like dust,
What should they pursue and what should they enjoy?
What should they grasp and what can be thought secure?
Nothing but meeting the true God when one is alive,
Obtaining immortal life, and within the guidance of His providence,
Receiving His love and living forever as an immortal god.
Is this not the only thing that humans should grasp?
Our purpose is to meet God.
The Vanity of Human Matters
Vain, vain, vain, in vain are they,
Human matters in this world are all in vain.
Friendship, affection, hatred and quarrels, all are futile.
Disappearing with the wind on the day you and I die.
Eating, drinking, watching, listening,
All are futile.
The day the flesh disappears into the ground,
All come to naught.
Wealth, prosperity, power, and the throne are all futile,
Dreams fancied during the short doze of a dayfly
That falls and dies after a half day of flying.
Youth, health, strength, and valor are all futile,
Things our predecessors mock at lying in their graves.
In the infinitely wide and broad universe,
Human bodies smaller than the dust,
Humans that sit like dust and disappear like dust,
What should they pursue and what should they enjoy?
What should they grasp and what can be thought secure?
Nothing but meeting the true God when one is alive,
Obtaining immortal life, and within the guidance of His providence,
Receiving His love and living forever as an immortal god.
Is this not the only thing that humans should grasp?
We, as human beings, have no purpose. Life on the other hand has a purpose and it is life itself.
Our purpose is to survive and perpetuate our species. As we as organisms have become more complex, that imperative, in turn, has become more complicated and convoluted. Our highly developed egos now distract us from that simple imperative, and actually serve to be counterproductive in our attempts to achieve it.
This is somewhat off the point, but now “want” so supersedes need, especially in western culture, that it could be the very thing that destroys our specifies (and certainly others). Case in point: the Gulf Oil Spill.
To find this answer you have to explore the sources available in this world and then put them to test of time, science and common knowledge. If they seem to stand that test to the full then we can trust the source and see what it says about Reason of Life and God.
In my understanding every major religion in the world has A Holy Book or set of books that are deemed to be the exact word of God. Simple put those books to test see if they conflict with science, common sense, laws of nature, history and you will know for them to be true or false.
In my opinion I have done that test for Bible, Tora, Geeta, Veedas and Quran and have clearly found Quran to stand out astonishingly accurate and without errors.
Quran posses some unique qualities not found in others for example having one single transcript in the whole world. No other book is present in its single transcript form in the language it was actually written.
Secondly I found some Quranic verses to posses pin point accuracy about scientific facts that were not known to man 1400 years back in fact we have just discovered them in this century. A few are mentioned below:
Our Universe Expanding
51:47 AND IT IS We (God) who have built the universe with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.
Iron sent from outer space
57:25 Indeed, [even aforetime] did We send forth Our apostles with all evidence of [this] truth; and through them We bestowed revelation from on high, and [thus gave you] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong], so that men might behave with equity; and We bestowed [upon you] from on high above iron, in which there is awesome power as well as [a source of] benefits for man:and [all this was given to you] so that God might mark out those who would stand up for Him and His Apostle, even though He [Himself] is beyond the reach of human perception. Verily, God is powerful, almighty!
Whole Universe starting from smoke & sound waves resulting in expansion:
41:11 And He [it is who] applied His design to the skies, which were yet but smoke; and He [it is who] said to them and to the earth, “Come into being, both of you, willingly or unwillingly!” – to which both responded, “We do come in obedience.”
21:30 ARE, THEN, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder? – [38] and [that] We made out of water every living thing? Will they not, then, [begin to] believe?
Now looking at the above verses which can be verified in any Quran in the world one has to believe that it is something from the creator of this universe and everything. And according to Quran life is a test for mankind. There are boundaries determined by the creator on one side and on the other we are given urge to cross them and the ones who are able to control and live a pious life being concious of God are successful.
God Bless
Our purpose was to come to this earth to gain a body, to have mortal experiences, to learn right from wrong, to be tested, and to return to God–all of which is possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Purpose isn’t something that can be instructed or told to someone. You need to find a purpose. So if you don’t have a purpose your purpose is to find one.
We do not have one. Tools have purpose, people have agendas.
Just like any other animal, we don’t have an inherent purpose. We just exist. Whatever we make of it is our choice, a choice made based on our desires and character.
We exist to exist. The whole thing becomes circular. We could say it is to become powerful so we could lie with impunity and immunity, but that’s Satanic or hierarchy oriented. i am not sure any of us know, because we live our lives around the gaming or virtual reality we make up or contribute to by receiving status.
i personally was (as a child) overwhelmed by extreme bullshit doctrine and dogma to the point i was felt my existence as a human being life threatened for not believing “common knowledge”. It was like three different kind of common knowledge and they did not like or trust one another and i was in that mix as a pawn in these games of power.
To be happy.
We have no inherent purpose. Just as our universe didn’t one time choose to create galaxies, or our galaxy choose to create solar systems, our our solar system choose to create planets…our planet never set about choosing to create its many forms of life to satisfy some predetermined purpose.
As humans we refuse to accept that we are not here for some purpose that has been chosen for us. That notion scares most people. So we look outside ourselves to give ourselves purpose rather than looking within to make our own.
I think the more pertinent question is : “Why are humans obsessed with purpose?” Who says there is one? Who says there isn’t one? Would your life “cease to have meaning” without a notion of an absolute causal path?
Purpose is merely subjective causality.
Whatever each of us decides it should be.
Our purpose here is to re-cognize our True SELF… which is the same in all, perfect, infinite Awareness itself. This whole universe is nothing but this one divine, infinite Consciousness. IT is .. SELF Aware. Our ‘purpose’ is to AWAKEN and recognize THAT which we have ALWAYS been, to realize ~ I AM THAT ~
At some point in its existance the individual soul is directed to turn within and seek the transcendent POWER of Grace. To even want to seek Grace… takes Grace. No religion, no belief system owns it, nor does Grace concern its Self with one’s intellectual finite beliefs, it simply shatters everything that we THINK we are and REVEALS our own Infinite Perfection to us.
Grace is that divine INNER Power which Awakens us from our ‘dream of limitation, imperfection, and seperation’ from The ONE which everyone and everything IS.
Grace is free of all constraints and is a total gift… from our SELF to our self and is never simply an intellectual knowing. As has been said… When the student is ready THE Master appears. And who/what that Master is will always amaze the finite mind. Grace is indeed amazing. : )
We don’t have one. We are here by accident, and we are astonishingly lucky to be alive. We were not “given” this chance anymore than fish were given water, but we each only have one shot at it, to learn what we can, experience what we can, and assist others in doing so. We have to choose our own “purpose” and in the brief span of time and slice of space we have, we can make it enjoyable and encouraging for others, or not. So in the interest of keeping this curious existence of the human race going for as long as possible and enriching it for all, let’s make a choice to adopt a very simple purpose- Be nice to each other.
What is our purpose? To love.
Our purpose is to decide who we want to be in any given moment. To make choices that ring true with what we say we want out of life. Our purpose is to find harmony with the essential rhythms that govern our circumstances, to dance within the context of being.
To experience, make choices and observe outcomes.
We have no “purpose” other than the objects and goals we choose to work for during our lives. Having purpose to me, sounds like there ultimatley is a goal already in mind. If this is the case then the only purpose would have to be for us, is to die, it’s the only thing we all do regardless of anything. I feel that we live solely for the sac of living, and our only purpose in self-imposed.
The purpose is to choose order over disorder, to choose to believe, create, relationships. To become closer to everything, the opposite of the big bang, to conclude, to choose to live eternally or temporary, to think, “I think therefor I am”.. thinking is a means to create more order,ORDER. to let BELIEFS act through you. We are the embodiment of BELIEFS, an outporing of BELIEF and choices.
To understand the purpose, we need to understand how universe works. look at this equation: 0=2-2 which might mean that to descrive nothing, we actually created something (2) and ‘balanced’ the equation by negating that ‘something’ (-2).
To visualize this, think about Taoist Taisitu, a circle containg the yin and yang–two opposites, black and white, darkness and light, male and female principle–constantly rotating, chasing each other. Here, the circle is the god–the zero, and the yin and yang are positive and negetive entity–the three basic building block of the univers. The Trinity where God is a singularity, an entirely different entity than the dualistic world. Here God’s role is that he/she maintains the balance of the overall equation of our existance (The right hand part of the equation). The lightness and darkness can’t dominate over each other–so against thier nature. But here attempting so only result in chasing. And that’s what keeps our universe running! –the ‘Chakravartin’ in Buddhism, wheel of the universe. The term ‘potential’ in physics which causes the lightning from cloud to earth.
Then question arises, if both are equal (just opposite) why light/positive is percieved as good and darkness/negetive is bad? The answer is in the direction the wheel moves. It’s decided that light will chase the darkness, not the other way round. (I don’t know why) we just need the darkness to balance the equation, otherwise we can’t exist (0=0).
“The middile path” is God’s path, a balancing act between the two extreme.
Here’s another example. When we walk on a narrow rope, we need to balance between left and right to avoid fall. The best strategy is to continuously moving (You can’t balance forever just by not moving) and that move should be in one direction. The forward direction is prefereable than backward, although we see people compromise it at the circus.
Some might say, well then the middle path mean not to good and not too bad right? So it is OK to be a little bit bad? The answer is, ‘The middle path’ doesn’t mean the middle point in a line with two extreme points, but to resort to the third point of the triangle which is neutral, niether positive or negetive, the balancing role of the God. Our brain has two sides, one is good at logic, another imganiation. That’s why our mind id dualistic. We always see two aspect of anything, Good or bad. But in the realm of God, there’s no sense of good or bad, only love which doesn’t care about the both. We must combine our logic and imagination/emotion side of brain–the middle path–to transcend to a new level of consciousness–intuition–to know God. Living a monastic or materialistic life is two extreme, Buddha gone through the both and finally chosen the middle path. ( I don’t necessarily agree with all doctrine of Buddism)
I hope now it is clear what is our purpose in this world.
Procreation. Our purpose is fulfilled when we have children. After that we have no purpose, we just consume precious resources the young people need. Have kids, raise them and kindly die, thanks!
God gave us our purpose: To rule the earth!
I believe it’s an improperly-framed question because I see no reason to believe our existence has any “purpose” at all. As with the question of the “meaning” of our lives, it doesn’t seem relevant to anything.
Here, it is to leave this slavery state of being, condemned to suffer and die.
We just exist, there is no ultimate purpose. We have to make our own. Sometimes people think up shoddy purposes – like Hitler and Mussolini – but that’s just the way nature works and I think that the fact that they were allowed to go as far as they did is solid evidence that there is no higher governing purpose.
We have only one natural purpose, to exist…and to continue doing so by whatever means necessary while remaining in accordance with the “laws” of the universe. We are to add to our capacity for survival as a life-form through adaptation and reproduction. That we can now take our development into our own hands rather than waiting for natural events to throw us a challenge, it behooves us to take upon ourselves the responsibility to remain within the natural boundaries that other life-forms know inherently. We must also, however, continue to develop according to our expanding intellectual and technological capacity while remaining in harmony with both the nature of our world and the rest of the universe when we join it.
There is no cosmic purpose for life other than survival, so we must each find our own purpose. As long as I can survive (my basic needs are met), I am free to find deeper meaning in life and my actions. I believe in this journey called life we should do what we can to help others find deeper meaning as well, which means helping others along the path of discovery and joy.
We make our own purpose. Who we choose to spend time with, what hobbies to take up, what causes to fight for, we write our own life stories with every deed.
To expand our knowledge of the universe. We create our purpose.
We exist, because biochemistry is a more efficient means of transfering heat. Life in its many forms hastens entropy. Complex life is the result of life consuming itself and morphing into more resistant states. Be cool – enjoy the show!
The purpose of our existence? Procreate. Multiply. Grow in numbers. And when there’s enough of us, form one hell of a conga line!
To love and to be loved. For and by others and God.
We are to play our part in this great action-adventure, comedy-tragedy, love story. Our energy and our passion shape tomorrow.
Continuation; survival (avoidance of), or creation of a condition we perceive.
Our purpose is nothing more than to reproduce and pass on our genetics. There is no romantic explanation, our purpose in life is just the same as a dog, a jellyfish, a tree, or a single-celled bacteria; simply to reproduce.
Our purpose is to serve and through this humility, find happiness.
I’ve spent alot of years considering this very thing. Only it hasn’t been an ours, but mine.
Before I could ever consider looking at this question from an “our” place, I had to know what it was for me.
To be honest I think that until we get past the garbage that makes people keep going to war against people, the real purpose of humanity will remain mostly shrouded from view.
I do think there are people who have seen a part of our collective purpose, but that’s only part.
I don’t think one person is suppose to have the be all end all answer. I think that it’s suppose to be a collective connecting of the peice each of us have so we can finally see the big picture of what our purpose is, and then it’s up to us all to get on with the program all ready.
From a biological stand point, our purpose is to not become extinct, but rather evolve into responsible participants in the family of species who call this planet home.
Funny thing is, that maybe it’s all about our unique biology that helps make this planet what it is. Maybe it’s really just that simple after all.
Most of these responses say that there’s really no purpose to life, which brings up the question I’ve always wondered: Why do we keep on going and not just kill ourselves? Wouldn’t not-being be just fine? I mean, any reason you could give for wanting to live could be answered with “If I’m not around, I wouldn’t care anyway.” Right?
Do we need to have one?
We just keep on inventing them as we live life in its entirety.
Again, the question is superfluous.
To learn.
To do the Hokey Pokey. That IS what it’s all about. What else could it be, really?