"Meri zindagi ka ek-kahi maksad hei. Badla !!"
- Sardar Khan(Gangs of Wasseypur)
This, seemingly just, catharsis had an unexpected effect on
me. It shrugged me from my dogmatic slumber and forced me to ponder over some
of the most fundamental and yet most overlooked questions of our lives.
Should the thirst for vengeance or of other negative
emotions be the driving force of one’s life?
If not, then what should be the
raison d’etre of one’s existence?
Is it necessary to have a purpose in life in
the first place?
Was our birth just result of a mechanical process of
reproduction, an inconsequential cog in the cycle of genetic evolution?
To look
for answers would mean keeping aside all our established opinions, attitudes, standards
of morality and starting afresh into the unknown waters.
About 200,000 years ago homo sapiens started evolving in a
hostile environment. In a surrounding where other organisms were bigger and
more ferocious. The challenge to our ancestor’s was to survive through another
dark and dreary night. Existence itself seems to be the purpose of their lives.
It’s saddening to see that today in spite of no imminent danger to life people
commit suicides on trivial issues showing utter disregard to our ancestral
value of survival.
Animals also seem to live with the purpose of survival. Is
then to exist itself be the reason to be born. By this logic even the so called
non-living things serve the purpose of life by existing.
Is there, and more
importantly, should there be any difference between a modern man’s and animal’s
purpose of existence?
Are we just condemned to live?
The differentiating factor
between an animal and a man is the power to reason. Thus mere surviving might
not be the optimum use of this facility.
Then, it seems to realize and actualize one’s power to think
and reason should be the purpose of life. The whole superstructure of modern
education is built on this belief. This idea has also strengthened the survival
of humans by providing higher life expectancy, better medical care etc. But
this untrammeled triumph of reason has produced some unsavory effects.
Apart from the usage of man’s rational ability in production
of weapons of mass destruction, creating havocs for environment there is
another sinister side of this multifaceted ability. It has made man more self-centric,
this has led to growth of unhealthy competition, jealousy, vengeance etc.
Should then actualization of reason be the purpose of life?
Theists say that reason isn’t intrinsic to man, rather it is
a gift from God to help man realize the Omnipotent. The purpose of life they
say is to realize the supernatural entity. Mother Teresa realized this purpose
via serving the lepers in streets of Kolkata. Ram Krishna Paramhans used to say
that service to mankind is service to God. But it does not absolve religion of
the fact that there are certain lumpen elements in them who do certain things
to realize a certain God. Wars fought in the name of religion, self-inflicted
pain, child and animal sacrifice are some grave violations which cast clouds of
doubt on the horizons of theistic logic. Is then the realization of God/supernatural
entity be the purpose of life?
There can be a contradictory view also which discards other
worldliness and focuses on here and now. This view lays a high premium on an
individual’s life. Worth of life is to be measured not in the years lived, but
the life lived in those years. Majority
of us today subscribe to one or the other variant of this line of thinking.
Its grossest form would be giving up the reigns of mental
control over the bodily senses and succumbing to all ephemeral desires. Since
there is no afterlife, the purpose of life should be enjoying this life to the
fullest. Eat, Drink and be Merry for you may die tomorrow. Although this seems
very attractive, but after some deliberation we realize that actually it turns
a man into a slave of his cravings. Also to provide the same amount of joy, progressively
more and more amount of the input (food, sex, wine etc.) is required.
Ultimately the inputs themselves would turn into scare resources initiating
wars over their appropriation. So, should Eating, Drinking and being Merry be
the purpose of life?
There is a more nuanced approach also, since mankind has existed
continuously for the past 200,000 years and is unlikely to perish anytime soon
; shouldn’t a man who lives for less than a 100 years look for means which can
somehow elongate his existence. The quest for immortality, the desire to be
remembered for posterity, has fueled many hearts; manifesting itself in myriad ways.
Alexander tried conquering the world in ancient times. Vasco
da Gama sailed into the unknown seas during the medieval era. Edmund Hilary in
modern times scaled the world’s highest peak. The thread of striving for
undying glory binds these seemingly unrelated personalities. But these very
steps towards glory also led to millions being massacred by Alexander, naked
plundering of India’s riches and the loss of lives while attempting to scale
the Everest. Should then achieving glory be the purpose of life?
From Socrates drinking the cup of hemlock to Martin Luther
King Jr. taking a bullet on his chest. There have always been people who have immortalized
themselves by serving humanity at large and giving up their life in due course
of service. These men lived their lives to uphold certain ideals they believed
in. But in the same breath I must also add that there have been zealots like
Hitler who ruined the world by their ruthless ideals .With ISIS also flashing
an ideological batch; I must ask- Should the purpose of life be upholding
certain ideals?
There are, at least to my limited mind, no concrete or
unconditional answers to any of the questions raised. Whether Sardar Khan is
right in seeking revenge or not, I am not sure, my hunch would be as good as
yours. But the thing to note here is that regardless of not having absolute
answers these questions have been independently and repeatedly asked across
time and space. From Ashoka to Alberto Camus, all men worth their salt, have
presented their opinions on them.
Thus it’s incumbent upon us to ask these questions which are
the very life and breath of our existence and to realize the fact that maybe
the purpose of life is to have a life of purpose.
