(Original article: Mystic Living Today, October 2023)
Nassir H. Sabah
When asked what surprised him most about humanity, the Dalai Lama answered:
What surprises me most about Man is that he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
This conjures up the image of an animal pointlessly thrashing about within the confines of a cage trying to find a way out. For humans, the cage is that of worldly concerns, anxieties, and frustrations of everyday pursuits.
As we grow up, we have our owns hopes, desires, dreams, and ambitions. Those who possess the means will strive to achieve their goals and fulfill their ambitions. Some will succeed; many will not. Those who fail, or do not possess the means to pursue their dreams, or are not sufficiently motivated, will drift through life, like a rudderless boat buffeted by prevailing winds and haphazardly chopping waves. They might seek all sorts of distractions and gratifications to find satisfaction and try to escape from the confines of their cage.
And there are those who have achieved some degree of success in their lives, according to whatever measure they choose to apply. They feel content with what they have, such as material comforts, rewarding careers and occupations, a leisurely and enjoyable lifestyle, and occupying hobbies, family life, and social activities. But in their moments of introspection do they really feel self-fulfilled, free from that feeling of inner void or emptiness? Are they immune from the vagaries of life, such as debilitating disease, or calamities that befall suddenly without warning or preparation, or the ravages of aging as they witness the waning of their physical and mental capacities with advancing years?
Many people take matters rather philosophically. They assume that human destiny is simply to be born, live our lives, enjoy what our circumstances allow, achieve what we able to achieve, then end up as a lifeless corpse to be disposed of one way or another. They see no need and no reason for purpose and meaning to our existence. Why should there be?
The answer to this seemingly ingenuous question is in a profound observation that many take for granted, and that is, humans have astonishing mental capacities. We share with our closest biological kin, the chimpanzee, about 95% of our DNA and a striking physical resemblance. Yet, human mental capacities are stupendously beyond those of chimpanzees. Humans have produced advanced civilizations, are capable of dazzling intellectual feats of scientific discovery, philosophical discourse, vivid imagination, and stunning creativity, have a mysterious, fathomless conscious self, can experience sublime feelings, and can conduct themselves with virtuous morality. How and why did these astonishing mental capacities come about?
I firmly believe that these astonishing mental capacities were not caused by some chance mutation of genes that affected the brain, as posited by some. They were endowed by some power for a purpose. The question is what power and for what purpose?
This power can only be God Almighty, the creator of the universe and the guide and sustainer of everything in it. How do we know that God exists? Objective, science-based evidence for the existence of God was presented in: “Is There Objective Evidence for the Existence of God”, Mystic Living Today, July 2023. The purpose of our existence was discussed in “What Is the Purpose and Meaning of Life”, Mystic Living Today, May 2023.
How does one escape from the cage of worldly concerns, anxieties, and frustrations of everyday pursuits to the liberty outside the cage and to the sublime heights of serenity and self-fulfillment? It is through a wide-enough opening that can be provided by a spirituality that is a quality of being predicated on a sense of connectedness to God Almighty, the creator of the universe and the guide and sustainer of everything in it (see “A Call to Spirituality”, Mystic Living Today, June 2023).
