On the Meaning of Existence
In modern society, many people share the view that human life is the result of a random union of two cells, male and female, and the human body further develops under the influence of the environment where being determines consciousness.
Most people believe that everything that a person can achieve in life is the result of his own efforts, wishes and good fortune. There is just one life (and a short one), and nothing after that remains but a ruined body and a disappeared consciousness. In other words, life is a set of totally random circumstances in the personal, social and economic spheres. And the purpose of life is to reach a material and social summit.
This paints a sad picture: modern man is trapped by commonly accepted ideas and is a victim of the false values of our contemporary culture. His life is filled with militant vanity, petty fights with people and the environment, and negative emotions such as anger, fear, jealousy and frustration appear one after another. In addition, during economic and ideological crises, people increasingly question politics, progress and civilization.
Against this background, the loss of faith stands, perhaps, as the main problem of the last century. But the fact is that we cannot believe blindly and thoughtlessly. Faith plays an important role in human life and in the life of one’s spirit, but still there is something blind and reckless about it. Faith is not a substitute for knowledge, it prepares the way.
Having a deep interest in the study of different levels of consciousness and existence, I select for myself a form of knowledge: knowledge of a special kind, beyond the capability of the ordinary mind and giving spiritual liberation and enlightenment.
This is Gnosis (Greek γνώσις) – esoteric knowledge that liberates one’s consciousness. It is the knowledge that the meaning of life is self-knowledge and harmonious and holistic spiritual development. And then faith comes not as a blind belief, but as a living reality. It comes as a deep awareness of the inner conviction of things not seen, and in the fact that under the outer shell of things is something truthful and alive.
So what is this truth? To me it seems so.
Life in the universe is a universal phenomenon. Life is present in everything since the universe is infinite. Being an amalgam of energy and knowledge, life develops in endless worlds in infinite forms. These forms will never stop and move from one sphere of life to another. The main property of life is development, and death is only a temporary stop in the transition from one form to another.
An individual, as a part of the universe, of course submits to these laws. His body is just a form embodying consciousness and after death the soul passes into another form for the next incarnation. Excessive concern about the external form distances man from his spiritual search. The external form should be treated wisely, but do not spend your life on it, making a cult of it.
I see man as an impermanent, imperfect, evolving being who is subject to many influences. Attempts of spiritual quest through the practicing of empty religious rituals, trips to holy sites and the accumulation of large amounts of information lead to nothing. The path of spiritual development is through suffering, separation, difficulties and struggle. This pushes a person to self-awareness and self-knowledge, to recognize his negative and inharmonious qualities. Therefore, as a consequence, human life is not a chain of accidents, but a manifestation of the causal link between qualities of the inner world of man and life situations in which he finds himself, which he himself creates: the entire set of life experiences is a consequence of the level of man’s development and of his ability to respond to the environment and people around him. If a person learns to manifest himself more harmoniously in the world, in his life there would be less suffering, separation, conflict and more love and happiness.
I come to the conclusion that the essence of life and the purpose of man’s multiple comings into this world is the development of consciousness, of better personal qualities, more harmonious development of his character.
The spiritual search is a never-ending process resulting in loss of a fear of death. In its place develops a wise attitude to life. This happens when a person begins to use every situation to understand his qualities, when he starts to see people surrounding him as time travel companions, as teachers giving him life lessons.
Living in an illusion is meaningless but the path to enlightenment is too painful – this is the tragedy of human existence. We must have the courage to get out of our comfort zone, and to recognize that the mind is a vast magical power, and it is never too late to embark on the path of development. Age, our situation and what is behind us is not important. What is important is to know that spiritual perfection gives us power over the physical world. This knowledge is itself a reward. A profound desire to search for it is a call from the heart that cannot be satisfied by any other way.
Good luck with your search!
