Purpose in life

What is your purpose in life?

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In Hinduism, founded by Prophet Krishna, (c. 4000 and 2500
BCE), and traced back to the Indus Valley civilization, it is
believed that the goal of life is to know or realise that one's
atman (soul) is identical to Brahman (God). Whoever becomes
fully aware of the atman (soul), as one's core of self, realises
identity with Brahman, and, thereby, achieves Moksha
(liberation, freedom). Brahman (God) is seen as a supreme
being with a personality and manifest qualities. The atman
(soul) depends upon Brahman for its existence; the meaning
of life is achieving Moksha (liberation) through love of God
and upon His grace.
The basis of Hinduism is the belief in the unity of everything.
The purpose of life is to realize that we are part of God and by
doing so we can leave this plane of existence and rejoin with
God. This enlightenment can only be achieved by going
through cycles of birth, life and death known as samsara.
One's progress towards enlightenment is measured by his
karma. This is the accumulation of all one's good and bad
deeds and this determines the person's next reincarnation.
Selfless acts and thoughts as well as devotion to God help one
to be reborn at a higher level. Bad acts and thoughts will
cause one to be born at a lower level, as a person or even an
animal.
– Omsakthi.org/religions
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Beginning this year, you may take a huge stride,
to change your direction to another side.
Alas your intention may be slightly off track,
but you can adjust and then take a step back.
Through this confusion lessons learned well,
isn't lost time, so there's no need to dwell.
Sometimes in life as you make certain choices,
you must listen clearly to hear the right voices.
Although you admit, you are slightly confused,
with feeling off track and don't feel amused.
Your soul, no doubt, shows you new ways,
to recapture freedom joyfully each day.
For when you think back to awhile ago,
you already felt that you'd be starting this flow.
For in your chart you are to work with others,
but it may take time to believe or uncover.
And during this chaos your soul talks so free,
and tells you things you are unable to see.
For your inner purpose, awakened long ago,
says to live in the "now" and to go with the flow.
It may sound so simple and so easy to do,
but one thing you learn is to remain true to you.
Your soul reminds you the reasons why you're here,
to focus awareness, then release ego and fear.
It tells you your purpose in this cycle of life,
is to teach others to release grief and strife.
Or to light the pathway that they cannot see,
to show them how powerful they can truly be.
And how you will do this still keeps you at odds,
even though you know that your soul is your God.
But when it's time for this mystery to unfold,
you will either be shown or you will be told.
To reveal the puzzle of your spiritual path,
you must trust and believe in what has been cast.
Your outer purpose is connected to your soul,
so as long as you listen, you will complete your goal.
– Margaret Jang
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The Bahá'í writings refer to the gradual evolution or
development of the individual soul as "spiritual progress."
Spiritual progress means acquiring the capacity to act in
conformity with the Will of God and to express the attributes
and spirit of God in one's dealings with one's self and with
other human beings. Bahá'u'lláh teaches that the only true and
enduring happiness for human beings lies in the pursuit of
spiritual development.
In summary, the spiritual reason for our life on earth is to
provide us with a training ground; our life is a period of growth
during which we focus on the development of our innate
spiritual and intellectual capacities. Because these capacities
are faculties of our immortal soul, they are eternal, and we
must make great efforts to develop them. But such efforts are
worthwhile, since the soul is the only part of us which endures.
Whatever promotes our spiritual development is good, and
whatever hinders it is bad. To conclude, Bahá'u'lláh’s message
for the purpose of life is:
“I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know
Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my
powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy
wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.”
– Bahai.org
Bahá'í Prayers
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Judaism (Jews), founded by Moses (c. 1300 BCE), although
Jews trace their history back to Abraham (c. 2000 BCE), is the
original of the Abrahamic faiths, which also includes
Christianity, Islam and Bahá'í’ Faith. Judaism most important
feature is the worshiping of a single, omniscient, ubiquitous,
omnipotent, transcendent God, who created the universe and
governs it. Per traditional Judaism, God established a
covenant with the Jewish people, at Mount Sinai, revealing
his laws and commandments in the Torah. In the Judaic world
view, the meaning of life is to serve the one true God and to
prepare for the world to come. The thought is about elevating
oneself spiritually, connecting to God in preparing for "Olam
Haba" (afterlife); Jewish thought is to use "Olam Hazeh" (this
world) to elevate oneself. “Just as God fills the whole world,
so the soul fills the body. Just as God sees, but is not seen, so
the soul sees, but is not itself seen. Just as God feeds the
whole world, so the soul feeds the whole body. Just as God is
pure, so the soul is pure. Just as God dwells in the innermost
precincts (of the Temple), so also the soul dwells in the
innermost part of the body.”
– Talmud, Berakot 10a
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Zoroastrianism, founded by Zoroaster, (c. 630 BCE), a
Messenger of God, stated that since humanity possesses
free will, people must be responsible for their moral choices.
By using free will, people must take active role to play in the
universal conflict, with good thoughts, good words and good
deeds to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.
This is true religion [and purpose in life]: to cleanse oneself
with pure thoughts, pure words, and pure deeds.
– Zend Avesta
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Bahá'í teachings state that the evolution or development of
the soul and its capacities is the basic purpose of human
existence. This evolution is towards God and its motive force
is knowledge of God and love for Him. As we learn about
God, our love for Him increases; and this, in turn, enables us
to attain a closer communion with our Creator. Also, as we
draw closer to God, our character becomes more refined and
our actions reflect more and more the attributes and
qualities of God. Bahá'u'lláh taught that this potential to
reflect the attributes of God is the soul's essential reality. It is
the meaning of human beings being created "in the image of
God." The divine qualities are not external to the soul. They
are latent within it, just as the colour, the fragrance, and the
vitality of a flower are latent within the seed. They need only
to be developed. In the words of Bahá'u'lláh:
“Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He
[God] hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a
recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the reality
of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of all His
names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His own self.
Alone of all created things man hath been singled out for so
great a favour, so enduring a bounty.”
– Bahai.org
– Gleanings
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The Bahá'í Faith, founded by Bahá'u'lláh, (1817-1892), taught
that only true religion can give purpose to human existence. If
there were no Creator, if humans were simply chance products
of a thermodynamic system, as many in the world today assert,
there would be no purpose in life. Each individual human being
would represent the temporary material existence of a conscious
animal trying to move through his or her brief life with as much
pleasure and as little pain and suffering as possible. It is only in
relation to the Creator, and the purpose which that Creator has
fixed for His creatures, that human existence has any meaning.
Bahá'u'lláh described God's purpose for man in the following
way:
“The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be,
to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence. To
this most excellent aim, this supreme objective, all the heavenly
Books and the divinely-revealed and weighty Scriptures
unequivocally bear witness.”
Life should be seen as an eternal process of joyous spiritual
discovery and growth: in the beginning stages of earthly life, the
individual undergoes a period of training and education which, if
it is successful, gives him or her the basic intellectual and
spiritual tools necessary for continued growth. Through the daily
struggles of material existence, people gradually deepen their
understanding of the spiritual principles underlying reality, and
this understanding enables them to relate more effectively to
themselves, to others, and to God.
– Bahai.org
– Gleanings
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In Buddhism, founded by Buddha, (c. 560 BCE), a Messenger of God,
the primary 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 on to things –
friends, health, material things – that do not last, and this causes
sorrow. The Buddha did not deny that there are things in life that
give joy, but pointed out that none of them last and our attachment
to them only causes more suffering. His teachings were focused
entirely on this problem and its solution. This is done by recognizing
the impermanence (not lasting) of all things and freeing oneself from
attachment to these things. This will lessen suffering and eventually
end the cycle of rebirth. These teachings are expressed most
concisely in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path,
which together form the foundation of Buddhism.
The Four Noble Truths
1. All of life is marked by suffering
2. Suffering is caused by desire and attachment
3. Suffering can be stopped through ceasing of desires
4. The way to end suffering is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path
According to the fourth Noble Truth, one can permanently escape
suffering by following the Noble Eightfold Path. The word "right" in
these eight items designates "true" or "correct." It is not enough to
gain knowledge; it must be the right knowledge.
1. Right knowledge
2. Right intention
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration
– ReligionFacts.com
– The Word of Buddha (Interfaith Explorer)
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Christianity, founded Jesus Christ, (c. 2000 CE), according to the
Westminster Shorter Catechism, the first question is: What is the
chief end of Man? that is, What is Man's main purpose? The
answer is: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him
forever. God requires one to obey the revealed moral law saying:
love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all
our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as
ourselves. The Baltimore Catechism answers the question "Why
did God make you?" by saying "God made me to know Him, to
love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with
Him forever in heaven." “Do you not know that you are God’s
temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? For God’s temple is
holy, and the temple you are. ” (1 Corinthians 3.16-17)
– Westminster Shorter Catechism
– Baltimore Catechism
In Islam, founded by Prophet Muhammad, (born in 570) Allah
(God) states in the Quran that He created man to be His
Khalefah, His trustee on earth (Quran 2:30). Mankind’s basic
trust, our responsibility, is to believe in and worship Allah: “And I
did not create the Jinn (spirit) and mankind except to worship
Me” (Quran, 51:56-58). The purpose for man’s creation is to
worship the Creator. The essence of Allah’s message through all
of the prophets also was: “O mankind, worship Allah, you have no
deity other than Him” (Quran, 7:59,65,73,85). Allah further
states that He made this life in order to test man so that every
person may be recompensed after death for what he has earned:
“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you
is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving.”
(Quran, 67:2)
– The Qur’an
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According to Islam it is believed that in order to worship Him
(God), we have to know Him well otherwise we may form a
distorted concept of Him and then go astray. In the Quran Allah
tells mankind what He is and what He is not. For example, in
response to a question about Allah that was posed to the
Prophet Muhammad, Allah instructs Muhammad to give the
following reply: “Say (O Muhammad): He is Allah [Who is] One,
Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is
there to Him any equivalent” (Quran, 112).
Allah also tells us in the Quran that all Prophets came with the
same identical message to their people – that is to believe in
Allah and to worship Him. He also tells us in the Quran that all
the people of other religions have deviated from the original
teachings of their Prophets. This is due to two reasons. The first
is that earlier scriptures were not preserved simply because of
the absence or scarcity of writing paper [and literacy] and so
the teachings were transmitted orally and with time became
distorted. The second reason is because the clergy of various
religions introduced doctrines that were never there (e.g. the
Christian trinity creed was introduced only after the council of
Nicea in 325 AD and the Council of Constantinople in 386 AD).
– The Qur’an