2007-02-20 05:05:40 · 12 answers · asked by suma 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
In the increasing level of importance.
1. Dull matter(earth, water, air etc. . .)
2. Senses(eye, ear, nose etc. . .)
3. Mind(director of senses and thus higher than senses)
4. Intelligence(directs mind)
5. Spirit Soul.
The above as per Bhagavad-gita(3.42)
The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.
Even Jesus Christ says that there is no profit if one gains the whole world but loses his own self(spirit soul).
2007-02-21 00:17:36 · answer #1 · answered by Gaura 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are actually asking two different questions:
1. What is the purpose of life?
2. What is the meaning of life?
By way of example -- if I hold up an empty water balloon and ask you what it's purpose is, the most basic answer is 'water transportation via aerial mode.' That's all the purpose is -- it is a reason for existing. If it is sitting on a shelf in a store, it has that purpose, if it's in my hand filled and ready to go, it has that purpose.
Meaning, however, is something that is ascribed to an object. I fill such a balloon with water so that I can tag my mother during the next family reunion summer-fun party. That is now its meaning -- joy and playfulness. It did not have that meaning on the store shelf. There, at the store, its meaning was profit -- the owner of the store hoped someone would buy it and thus the owner would make profit off it.
So to go back to your questions -- what is the purpose of life? It has none. To have a purpose means that an intelligent being must have created it. Purpose is an intended direction, a best-suited direction, and life has no creator nor an intended direction. Life is inherantly purposeless.
What is the meaning of life? Because we are self-aware, even in acknowledging the purposelessness of life, we can ascribe a meaning to it. For many people, this meaning is little more than that they hope to live day by day. Some people make religion their meaning, others knowledge, others intentionally make hate or cruelty their meaning -- no one said all meaning has to be good. It just gives us a reason to wake up in the morning and defy our purposelessness.
2007-02-20 05:08:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The spiritual purpose of man? And the physical? The spiritual is to do the will of God (I wish I had more time but I do not) The only reason the physical is in existance is to reach, through the physical, the spiritual.
2007-02-20 05:18:08 · answer #3 · answered by Haz the Preacher 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The spiritual and physical purpose of human is to experience the gifted life in a best way. Physical without spiritual is like dead body without soul or live energy, isn't it?
2007-02-20 12:23:44 · answer #4 · answered by vishw_paramaatmaa_parivaar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Physical purpose: evolve (physically--including brain power/capacity/intelligence), survive, reproduce and propogate the species.
Spiritual purpose: to evolve (spiritually/emotionally/etc). To gain wisdom and knowledge. To move to some higher level of existence and understanding.
Which is more important? The spiritual purpose is the ultimate, but it cannot be achieved without the physical, so they are intertwined.
2007-02-20 05:24:45 · answer #5 · answered by I 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It couldn't exist physical purpose of man, because the man (human being) is not the owner of the universal creation. The human being doesn't understand that the single important thing is the spirit and they think that theirs mind has no limits to do. (It means exaggeration on freedom. The human being is an insatiable being that cannot control its mind rationally. When human being feels that it has to control its mind, it has to choose to leave the ambition and to live thinking about the real life, which is without material that cannot has feelings. It just think about to have, to have, to have, to do, to do, to do, and not to live or understand the life better. It has been thinking it is a competitor of the GOD, the big power one.) So, the spiritual is more important.
2007-02-20 07:07:57 · answer #6 · answered by mary2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a common belief for many that there is an afterlife, and the body is only a shell. If this is true, I would have to say that the spiritual purpose of man is more important. As far as the purpose....hmm, I guess this differs for everyone. I believe that we all have a purpose, its just whether or not we follow our intuition and fulfill it.
2007-02-20 05:11:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The spiritual and physical purpose of life are intertwined, as we cannot separate them without dying! And the purpose of life is to glorify God
2007-02-20 05:11:35 · answer #8 · answered by Laura H 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Man has both a physical and spirtual purpose! His spiritual purpose is getting to know god thru jesus! His physical purpose is bringing others to know god! They are both inportant.
2007-02-20 05:13:10 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Note: These are my opinions please do not take them personally.
Our soul needs physical body to express themselves.
This is like a coin. Both are useless without other side.
A body without soul is of no use. And to make progress on spiritual front the soul needs a body. So both are of utmost important.
2007-02-20 18:12:24 · answer #10 · answered by Kamal K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋