The meaning of life

By Kuvan Bamarny:

There have been a large number of theories and opinions about the meaning of life, from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The meaning of life is deeply mixed with the scientific, philosophical and religious conceptions developed by people from all over the world. Some say there is no real answer to the question of the meaning of life or that the answer is purely a matter of personal choice.

For some, the meaning of life is a financially prosperous life, and happiness lies in the possession of wealth. For others, worldly success is what counts, and anyone who is not successful in the usual sense is counted as a failure. Some other people strive for a life based on honor and public recognition. Along with these, there are people who show by their lives a desire for glory or power that inspires great efforts. And those who are not drawn to wealth, power or glory, because of the difficulties involved in attaining them, may choose the pursuit of pleasure.

We humans instinctively seek pleasure and avoid pain. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus: “Firm understanding of desire enables us to refer every choice and avoidance to the health of the body or the calm of the soul, since this is the goal of a happy life.”  Indeed everything we do is for the sake of the health of the body or the calm of the soul, namely to avoid pain and fear. Once this is achieved, all the soul’s trouble is dispelled as the living being does not have to go in search of something missing or to seek something else. We have need of pleasure at that time when we feel pain because of the absence of pleasure. When we do not feel pain, it is because we no longer have need of pleasure. Therefore we declare that pleasure is the beginning and the goal of a happy life.

Generally, most people seek pleasure and want to live a happy life. However, while the fundamental nature of all human beings is the same, each human being is a different person with a different mentality and perhaps with different beliefs and tastes. In addition, people have come from different backgrounds and cultures or perhaps lived in different countries that have different laws, practices and cultural norms. So the meaning of life could differ from one person to another. Now if you happen to live under a culture or a system where you have not had much freedom to makes personal choices then the concept of life would certainly be different to you than to someone who was born in a free democratic society where individuals have the freedom and make their own personal choices about life, on a daily basis.

I was born and raised in Kurdistan of Iraq, ruled by a dictatorship where citizens, especially Kurds, did not have the freedom to make choices about their lives. The way of living was predetermined and fixed for all citizens by the force and fear of the state and religious leaders. All citizens had to live, think and believe in a certain way. Under the circumstances, I clearly lived a predetermined life for twenty years in Iraq. Until the age of twenty, the meaning of life to me was, first, to obey the rules and advice of my parents, such as finishing school, finding a job, getting married, making children and keeping a strong faith by following the commands of God so that we may all rejoin in the next life, in paradise. Second, to obey the dictatorial rules and laws of the head of the state, such as joining military service at the age of 18 and fighting against those who oppose your religion, your national beliefs and your way of living. And third, to follow the religious teachings – such as praying five times a day, fasting in Ramadan and doing good deeds and, at the same time, restraining yourself from having sex, alcohol, etc. Otherwise I would be sent to hell by God. According to the Islamic religion the purpose of life is a test – “to do good and avoid bad” – and, by following the divine teaching through the prophecy of Mohammad and the holy scripture Quran, one can pass the test that will lead to salvation, liberation, satisfaction, happiness and the reward of entering into paradise.

Due to the war circumstances in Iraq I had to leave the country, as did many others. At the age of twenty, I left my birthplace and travelled to different countries looking to find a peaceful place to settle down. During my journey, I met different people and visited different places in Asia and Europe until I ended up in Canada in 2003. Furthermore, I had many conversations with different people in different countries about the purpose of living. And I spent a lot of time thinking about the way I was living and pondering and comparing the ways of living of other people with different beliefs and tastes. In addition, I started doing scientific, philosophical and religious research about the meaning of life. After my extensive studies, I came to know that there are many different ways in which you can live your life. People can experience and evaluate the type of life that makes the most and best sense to them and gives them a real purpose to live meaningful happy lives.

To make a long story short, I gradually came to realize that people have different opinions about the meaning of life and all of them make sense of the purpose of life. It made me think that my own knowledge and concept of life might not necessarily be the right one, and I might need to reconsider my beliefs on the meaning and nature of life and afterlife.

During my philosophical research and study into the meaning of life, I found the philosophy of Buddha very useful to practice as it can strengthen your will power and boost your control over yourself. It makes you overcome evil temptations and bad habits successfully. It is highly recommended for those who have been spoilt or those who have a weak will power and difficulty in overcoming their bad addictions. According to Buddhism, the purpose of life is to end suffering. The Buddha taught that humans suffer because we continually strive after things that do not give lasting happiness. We desperately try to hold onto things – friends, health, material things – that do not last, and this causes sorrow. However, I do not believe that you should totally deny yourself from enjoying the material world. There are many good activities – such as music, movies, sport and games – that can bring you a lot of joy and happiness every day.

Now we know that athletic people enjoy playing sports. And we also know that the joy of playing a sport game will not last forever. But that certainly does not mean that people should not play sport games because some day down the road they will lose or quit their sport activity and consequently suffer over it with sorrow and grief. There are also a lot of other joyful sources in this world that can bring you a momentary joy and happiness – such as drugs, alcohol, sex, eating different foods and so on – but one should be careful not to hold onto them too much because having too much of them can be counterproductive and ultimately cause you pain instead of joy.

I do not want to claim that I know the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, whether there is divine justice, reward, and retribution, or whether life is merely a fluke and purposeless. However, I believe that one should still live with hope, ambition and goals along with a well-balanced approach based on ethics and virtues. Regardless of whether or not life has a divine purpose, I believe one should still live and work to survive and live with respect and dignity in society. Of course, there are always people who are virtuous and just, despite not believing in the existence of God or hell and paradise. These are people who, in Plato’s terms, are good merely out of habit. According to Plato, “the meaning of life is in attaining the highest form of knowledge, which is the Idea of the Good, from which all good and just things derive utility and value. Human beings are duty-bound to pursue the good.”

In conclusion, we find our own meaning of life throughout the journey of experiencing life and also by attaining the highest form of knowledge and education. We each have a purpose, we find our own purpose and we fulfill it. I don’t think the meaning of life has some innate purpose written in stone from birth. I think we literally find it, by shaping it, by shaping ourselves. By knowing ourselves, we know our purpose. If life really had no purpose, why would we be here today? Can we honestly think that our lives were created just to die? There is something we are all meant to do that will define our existence. None of us immediately knows what it is, or how high a level of thing it is, but it is out there. I believe that living the best possible life is about becoming a person of virtue.

Copyright © 2011 Kurdistantribune.com