what is the meaning of life?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

80% of humanity, the religious folks, don't need to ask the meaning of life, the church tells them....the supernatural explanation. But the rest of us can't swallow religious dogma, because there's no evidence. Nobody can prove that there life after death, that people are tortured or rewarded after life or that there's invisible spirits running around.

I've come to two conclusions recently:

1. Life has no meaning
2. Life has a million meanings.

First, there's a certainty that death and annihilation awaits not only you, but the Earth in general. It's an astonomical certainty that our sun will supernova and leave the earth a burnt crisp, not to mention all the other extinction level events around the corner.

Second, the million things that give us meaning are the pleasurable experiences we can conjure up during the short period we are here on the earth, in the form of the relationships we have with our kids and other people, and the 'housekeeping' types of purposes. What i mean by that are the curing disease, ending hunger, improving literacy, reducing crime, preventing war, helping other kinds of things.

So the bottom line is, we only have a temporary meaning to life, to reduce pain and increase pleasure, other than that everything is lost to oblivion.


To be or not to be? "To be" is temporary and "not to be" is inevitable.....

Answer 3

The meaning of life can't be defined in a general or broad perspective. It's individual and relative to the person. The meaning of life is what you make of it. No one else is living your life but you. Thus, you define your life; however it may be.

Answer 4

one could argue that there is no meaning of life, we are just all random biological accidents with no devine purpose or meaning. However, should you dispare and take your own life the meaning is pretty clear, you will have denied life to your unconceived children, and their children and to the whole population of earth, you will have denied the potential wonders each of those children could bring. In short, my Friend, the meaning of life is to keep the fire burning, live, love, procreate and marvel at the gifts given you.

Answer 5

We were all created by God for his purpose. This is like the dress rehearsal for eternity. If this was all by chance and there was not a higher purpose it would be meaningless. Out of love God expressed his greatest to humans. What an awesome God we have. And to those who arguement opposes this that is what free will is all about, your right to choose. In the final walk you make it will be you and the Lord. Consider the possibilities.

Answer 6

Life – it has a meaning and loving purpose - you just have to find your purpose and live it.

I believe every person is here for a definite purpose. Each person is special and valuable; that refers to me, you, your family, friends, in fact everybody! There is a loving plan for each of our lives here on earth and there is no such thing as coincidence. I don't believe that anything in life happens by chance and that every aspect of our lives points to something deeper.

You need to decide now to live for God rather than for yourself. You spend your life on Earth preparing yourself (as best you can) for death. I don't see death as a scary, negative experience, but birth into a bliss filled eternal life with God. I believe that this is something you have to consciously choose or not during your life on earth.

The meaning of life is for us to discover that we are true children of an infinitely loving and merciful God, to find out what our responsibilities are to our Creator, and to fulfill those responsibilities. Each of us is called to affirm, accept and develop the talents God has given us. -

Answer 7

The Swami's answer is so profound and full of truths.
The question was like the butterfly struggling to come out and complete his metamorphosis and gave rise to the answer.
I appreciate both the question and the reply.
I wonder if the swami is practicing somewhere where I could hear him.

Answer 8

Leading your being

By Swami Sukhabodhananda


The only thing consistent in life is change. Change is not death; change is a movement from birth to birth; from splendour to splendour; mystery to mystery. Managing change is an art of good leadership. To be successful in life, one has to have good leadership qualities. A good leader has a grand vision. The ordinary paradigm is “mine is good”, but the extraordinary paradigm is “whatever is good is mine”.

In esoteric teaching there is an important law called the ‘law of three’. The positive effort you put in is called the first force. As you put in positive force there is a negative force that would affect the positive force. This negative force is called the second force. If one continuously puts in positive effort, there would be a third force that would descend and transform the negative force into a positive force. This is called the law of three.

If you do not continue to exert a positive force, the negative force will take over. So the law of three urges us to be open to the negative force, but to continue applying the positive.


Reflect on the following story.

A biology teacher asks her students to observe a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly. She tells them not to touch the cocoon during the process. The teacher leaves the classroom after giving the instructions.

The students, while observing the metamorphosis, see the butterfly struggling to come out of the cocoon. Out of compassion they assist the butterfly in coming out of the cocoon. In the process, the butterfly dies. The teacher comes back to the classroom and asks the students, “How did the butterfly die?”

They answered, “We do not know. We only tried to help the butterfly emerge from the cocoon.”

The teacher said, “You fools, the struggle of the butterfly emerging from its cocoon strengthens its wings. By forcing the butterfly to bypass this process, you have killed it.”

The moral of the story is that struggles are not as bad as we take them to be.

A good leader understands this law, and, he strives to be positive in the face of fiercely negative circumstances.

The second important factor that a leader should understand is the principle of the ladder. According to this principle, “Each one of us is on one or another rung of a ladder of spirituality. If one has to go up the ladder of spiritual growth, not only should one help others climb, but one should also not pull anyone down.”

The third quality of a good leader is in learning the art of managing people. While managing people, one has to keep their hopes alive. A good leader does not worry too much about his career but works on the careers of others.

To awaken people’s enthusiasm is the greatest skill that a leader can possess. When Andrew Carnegie was asked about the secrets of his success, he answered, “One should have the patience of a gold miner when working with people. To get a little gold you have to patiently remove a lot of dust.”

Answer 9

The meaning of life is to worship God. That is what people were made for, but because Adam & Eve sinned....well we sure see its effects. Anyway, life was initially (and still can be) made for one basic reason---to praise God!

Answer 10

Do you mean what's it all about...life the universe and everything? I don't think your going to like the answer.