what is the meaning of life?

Question

what is the meaning of life? why are we here? what happens to us after we die?

Answer 1

"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives. Some people believe that the meaning of life is one or more of the following:

Survival and temporal success

* ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
* ...to compete or co-operate with others
* ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
* ...to die having succeeded in your purpose
* ...to live
* ...to protect one's family
* ...to gain and exercise power
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction
* ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
* ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
* ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)

Wisdom and knowledge

* ...to be without question, or to keep asking questions
* ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
* ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
* ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
* ...to try to discover and understand the meaning of life
* ...to expand one's perception of the world

Ethical

* ...to express compassion
* ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
* ...to give and receive love
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds
* ...to work for justice and democracy

Religious, spiritual and esoteric

* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
* ...to become God, or God-like
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
* ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God

Other

* ...to advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
* ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future human
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
* ...to die, or become a martyr
* ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
* ...to live, and enjoy the passage of time
* ...to have fun
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
* ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
* ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
* ...to seek and find beauty
* ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
* ...to participate in the chain events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
* ...still some do not even think there is any purpose whatsoever (see nihilism)
* ...(This is actually an extension of the point immediately above) There is no inherent meaning to life, existence, the universe, etc. They exist because they can. However, humans appear to inately give meaning, usually many, often conflicting, to what they are conscious of. So, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever they decide it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.

Answer 2

Live and make yourself happy. The meaning of life is, Do Not Stress Over The Meaning Of Life! Or death, for that matter.

Answer 3

People have been asking that question since life began without ever getting a satisfactory answer. I doubt if you will get one on Yahoo.

Answer 4

we are here becos we were meant to undergo a life of suffer and then die.
what happens after death is rebirth in another body.
and the whole cycle continues again..

Answer 5

in hindu religion you are very lucky to have human body
so dont waste your time in thinking why you are here just do your duties and help others and do not hurt anyone in life
dont worry and be happy
live and let live and be healthy wealthy and wise

Answer 6

it is a journey it will have its potholes and hills but it will also have green meddows and bunnies, all u have to do is live it to ur fullest. and make sure that the next person behind u gets to do the same.

Answer 7

life is your journey.
you make the choices, you make it yours.

Answer 8

God created us for His glory. One has the most meaningful life when they are united to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

The sin of our first parents (Adam and Eve) brought about the fallen state of mankind. Humans are sinful because of their iniquity, sins bring curses and both iniquity and curses pass down the generations if they are not cleansed by the blood of Christ. Children are born with defects and suffer unfortunate circumstances because of curses due to their ancestors’ unrepented sins. Hereditary illness is an example of a curse. In the future, God will make a new Heaven and earth, and there will be no more suffering, sickness, sin, evil, old age or death. God’s people (those who accept His Son Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord) will joyfully and peacefully live in this new and perfect earth, with the Lord Jesus Christ as their King forever. See chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation.

Almighty God was, is and will always be triune (one God in three persons, not three gods). God is comprised of the Father, the Son (Lord Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Triune Godhead has a different role. There is only one God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6,8; 45:21-22; 46:9; John 17:3; 1 John 5:20-21). The Father is God (1 Peter 1:2; Philippians 2:11), the Lord Jesus Christ is God (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 20:28; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:7-8; 2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; Acts 28:25-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

Without God, man’s spirit is unilluminated. This illumination happens at the time one’s spirit is united to the Holy Spirit (which happens only after one has accepted Christ as their Saviour). The Light went out of the spirit after the fall of man. Man had lost communion with God. Christ, the second person of the Triune Godhead made the sacrifice for our sins so the Light could be lit in the spirits of all. There is no redemption or unity to God apart from receiving Christ as one’s Saviour and Lord. The infilling of the Holy Spirit was possible only after Christ’s sacrifice. Before the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit only fell on persons who worshiped and served the true God (Judges 15:14; Ezekiel 11:5). Hebrews 9:6-8 (KJV) tells us that unity to God “the way into the Holiest of all” was also possible only after Christ’s sacrifice which brought an end to the Old Covenant. Christ made the sacrifice for our sins as the spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:9) and took the place of the Jewish high priest and became our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). The Book of Hebrews explains how the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant.

The blood of Christ was shed so our sins could be paid for and we could have direct unity to God. The Holy Spirit leads us to remain focused on God so we can grow spiritually. God the Father lives within believers (John 14:23), God the Holy Spirit lives within believers (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and God the Son also lives within believers (2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20). Because Christ lives in us, we are a new being, having our old self with its evil practices stripped off, and we are being renewed and remoulded after the image of God, in order to bring us to a full knowledge of Himself (Colossians 3:9-10). Because He lives in us, we have His peace (John 16:33), we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), we have His strength to do all things (Philippians 4:13) and we are a chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation and God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God (Peter 2:9). As Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ is always interceding for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25), He is preparing a place for us in heaven (John 14:1–3) and He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11).

The truth about Jesus Christ can be found only in the word of God which is the Holy Bible. Three days after the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, He resurrected from the dead (Luke 24:1-8; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4) and 40 days later, He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:3; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11).

1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Jesus Christ is Lord over all:

Philippians 2:9-11
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

False doctrines claim that there are several paths to God. The word of God tells us that THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO GOD AND THIS IS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS ONE’S LORD AND SAVIOUR.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him

Shortly after physical death, humans pass into either Heaven or Hell. Before Christ’s sacrifice, access into Heaven was not possible for human souls. The souls of those who loved and served the true God were kept in the paradise part of a spiritual place within the earth called Sheol, and the other part of Sheol was a prison of torment where the souls of those who rejected God ended up (Luke 16:19-31). There was a spiritual gulf fixed between these two parts so no soul from one side could cross over to the next (Luke 16:26). Access into Heaven was made possible for humans by Christ’s sacrifice and right after He died on the cross He went into the paradise part of Sheol, told the good souls (who were there for thousands of years) what He did and took them up to Heaven (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:8–10; 1 Peter 3:18–20). The paradise part of Sheol no longer exists but the prison part of Sheol still does. This part of torment is called Hades or Hell. Those who reject God by not receiving Christ or any one of the Triune Godhead (Jeremiah 15:6; Matthew 12:311; Chronicles 28:9; 1 John 2:23) end up there and then go into the Lake of Fire after the Millennium (Revelation 20:15). Earthly fire, Godly fire (the type Jesus baptizes with) and the tormenting fire of the Lake of Fire are three different types of fire. There is also demonic fire which demons can produce.

Reincarnation is a false teaching (Hebrews 9:27). The Lord Jesus said that the human being’s afterlife state whether torment or paradise, will be eternal (Matthew 25:46). In the original text, the Greek word for eternal, aiōnion is used. He didn’t say that we would be born again and again until we got it right and received liberation. He would not have made that huge sacrifice for us if we could have had unity to God another way, and if there was another way, He would have taught that. The Lord said he could have employed legions of angels to prevent His crucifixion (Matthew 26:53), but because of His great and perfect love for humanity, He chose to endure a very painful death so we could be redeemed and united to God.

Salvation, redemption, reception of the Holy Spirit and adoption as God’s own children happen the instant a human being has faith in Christ as their Saviour and Lord and not at some future time in the believer’s life.

People who have not accepted Christ can become better individuals, but only to a certain extent. The Holy Spirit calls out to everyone but only those who have let the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Triune Godhead) into them by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are the ones who are transformed and experience abundant and constant spiritual growth.

Iniquities (tendencies that cause one to sin) pass down the generation line (Numbers 14:18). After one accepts Lord Jesus as their Saviour, God forgives their sins as they truly repent and removes their iniquities (evil tendencies) in the transformation process which makes one more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 9:12-14). After genuinely accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, ALL sinners (alcoholics, liars, drug addicts, fornicators etc.) will be saved and transformed. Each believer is cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and receives the infilling of the Holy Spirit who renews them.

REDEMPTION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Because mankind is incapable of meeting God’s standard of perfection necessary to abide in God’s presence (Romans 3:19-20,23), God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the total debt for the believer’s sins and mercifully credits to his account Christ’s righteousness (Romans 3:21-28,5:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Jesus’ gracious act of atonement was complete and covers all sin (Colossians 2:13-14; 1 John 1:9). Salvation is not based on good deeds but according to the mercy of God (Titus 3:4-5). Believers are justified by faith; it is a gift by God’s grace (Romans 4:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9). A true, living faith will result in a desire to live a holy, loving life of good works (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-26), but failure to be absolutely successful at righteous living does not negate the believer’s justified status.

If you sincerely say this prayer, your sins will be washed away, you will be redeemed to God, be saved from eternal torment and inherit the Kingdom of God:

"Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me and save me by your shed blood. Come into my heart. I want to receive you as my own personal Lord and Savior. Amen"

https://victoryinjesuschrist.wordpress.com/

Answer 9

Life is the characteristic state of organisms. Properties common to terrestrial organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists and bacteria) are that they are cellular, carbon-and-water-based with complex organization, having a metabolism, a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and—through natural selection—adapt.

An entity with the above properties is considered life. However, not every definition of life considers all of these properties to be essential. Broader definitions of life sometimes include viruses (which are acellular and do not metabolise) and theoretical non-carbon-based life or other alternative biology. Human-made analogs of life (alife) may also be considered to be life.

The entire Earth contains about 75 billion tons of biomass (life), which lives within various environments within the biosphere.

How can one tell when an entity is alive? It would be relatively straightforward to offer a practical set of guidelines if one's only concern were life on Earth as we know it (see biosphere), but as soon as one considers questions about life's origins on Earth, or the possibility of extraterrestrial life, artificial life, non-cellular life or alternative biochemistry it becomes clear that the question is fundamentally difficult and comparable in many respects to the problem of defining intelligence.
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A conventional definition

While there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life exhibits the following phenomena:

1. Organization - Living things are composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life.
2. Metabolism - Metabolism produces energy by converting nonliving material into cellular components (synthesis) and decomposing organic matter (catalysis). Living things require energy to maintain internal organization (homeostasis) and to produce the other phenomena associated with life.
3. Growth - Growth results from a higher rate of synthesis than catalysis. A growing organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter. The particular species begins to multiply and expand as the evolution continues to flourish.
4. Adaptation - Adaptation is the accommodation of a living organism to its environment. It is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the organism's heredity as well as the composition of metabolized substances, and external factors present.
5. Response to stimuli - A response can take many forms, from the contraction of a unicellular organism when touched to complex reactions involving all the senses of higher animals. A response is often expressed by motion: the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun or an animal chasing its prey.
6. Reproduction - The division of one cell to form two new cells is reproduction. Usually the term is applied to the production of a new individual (either asexually, from a single parent organism, or sexually, from at least two differing parent organisms), although strictly speaking it also describes the production of new cells in the process of growth.

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Exceptions to the conventional definition

It is important to note that life is a definition that applies primarily at the level of species, so even though many individuals of any given species do not reproduce, possibly because they belong to specialized Sterile castes (such as ant workers), these are still considered forms of life. One could say that the property of life is inherited; hence, sterile hybrid species such as the mule are considered life although not themselves capable of reproduction. It is also worth noting that non-reproducing individuals may still help the spread of their genes through such mechanisms as kin selection.

For similar reasons, viruses and aberrant prion proteins are often considered replicators rather than forms of life, a distinction warranted because they cannot reproduce without very specialized substrates such as host cells or proteins, respectively. However, most forms of life rely on foods produced by other species, or at least the specific chemistry of Earth's environment.

Some individuals contest such definitions of life on philosophical grounds, and offer the following as examples of life: viruses which reproduce; flames which "grow"; certain computer software programs which are programmed to mutate and evolve; future software programs which may evince (even high-order) behavior; machines which can move; and some forms of proto-life consisting of metabolizing cells without the ability to reproduce.

Still, most scientists would not call such phenomena expressive of life. Generally all six characteristics are required for a population to be considered a life form.
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Descent with modification

A useful characteristic upon which to base a definition of life is that of descent with modification: the ability of a life form to produce offspring that are like its parent or parents, but with the possibility of some variation due to chance. Descent with modification is sufficient by itself to allow evolution, assuming that the variations in the offspring allow for differential survival. The study of this form of heritability is called genetics. In all known life forms (assuming prions are not counted as such), the genetic material is primarily DNA or the related molecule, RNA.

Unlike other definitions, this definition of life includes viruses, as they are replicators with a genotype and phenotype, making them capable of natural selection and evolution. The definition may also include other replicating elements, including plasmids, which are otherwise considered part of a larger organism.

Taken to the extreme, a characteristic conveyed by a single gene of an organism may be considered to have its own life, as it has descent with modification,—an idea explored by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene. The usefulness of this definition becomes less clear when the link between genotype and phenotype is more abstract, such as for individual base pairs or satellite DNA.

Also difficult for this definition is organisms which cannot reproduce directly, such as worker bees—which may also continue their gene-line by helping to produce siblings, and sterilised organisms, such as spayed or neutered pets, which are no longer capable of descent.

More abstract concepts may also be considered alive by this definition, including memes and the artificial life of computer software, such as self-modifying computer viruses and programs created through genetic programming.
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Other definitions

The systemic definition is that living things are self-organizing and autopoietic (self-producing). These objects are not to be confused with dissipative structures (e.g. fire).

Variations of this definition include Stuart Kauffman's definition of life as an autonomous agent or a multi-agent system capable of reproducing itself or themselves, and of completing at least one thermodynamic work cycle.

Another definition is : "Living things are systems that tend to respond to changes in their environment, and inside themselves, in such a way as to promote their own continuation."

Yet another definition: "Life is a self-organizing, cannibalistic system consisting of a population of replicators that are capable of mutation, around most of which homeostatic, metabolizing organisms evolve." This definition does not include flames, but does include worker ants, virii and mules. Without 'most of', it does not include virii.

Self reproduction and energy consumption is only one means for a system to promote its own continuation. This explains why bees can be alive and yet commit suicide in defending their hive. In this case the whole colony works as such a living system.
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Origin of life

Main article: Origin of life

There is no truly "standard" model for the origin of life, but most currently accepted scientific models build in one way or another on the following discoveries, which are listed roughly in order of postulated emergence:

1. Plausible pre-biotic conditions result in the creation of the basic small molecules of life. This was demonstrated in the Miller-Urey experiment.
2. Phospholipids spontaneously form lipid bilayers, the basic structure of a cell membrane.
3. Procedures for producing random RNA molecules can produce ribozymes, which are able to produce more of themselves under very specific conditions.

There are many different hypotheses regarding the path that might have been taken from simple organic molecules to protocells and metabolism. Many models fall into the "genes-first" category or the "metabolism-first" category, but a recent trend is the emergence of hybrid models that do not fit into either of these categories.
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The possibility of extraterrestrial life

Main articles: Extraterrestrial life, Astrobiology

Earth is the only planet in the universe known to harbor life. The Drake equation has been used to estimate the probability of life elsewhere, but scientists disagree on many of the values of variables in this equation. Depending on those values, the equation may either suggest that life arises frequently or infrequently.