Existence

Note: I wrote this piece initially 1 am in the morning after a few cups of coffee and armed with a shocking lack of inspiration or imagination. Due to my vast technical superiority with computers i seem to have erased the post as i was tinkering with it and hence I have had to reconstruct the same to the best of my ability and knowledge.

What is the purpose of our existence? This is a question that that all of us ask ourselves sometime or the other. The answer that we get from life either causes satisfaction or leaves us confused and dissatisfied. More often than not it would be the later since, if we were happy and satisfied (with life and the answers it gave), we wouldn't be sitting alone and asking ourselves questions we would be out having a ball. Extrapolating this theory, I would have to assume that most philosophers were extremely unhappy people, since they sat around and questioned various aspects of existence. A quote of Socrates comes to mind "My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher" he said (It is a chauvinistic world, isn't it? I don't think it has changed much over the last few thousand years. Maybe it’s because we do not want it to change).

I have successfully deviated from the question that started it all so I shall take a full U turn and go right back to it. A popular theory which that is said as the reason for existence is that of procreation. This theory maybe construed as the most plausible answer that we would receive. There is nothing wrong with that, we are in a split level world, there are no universal truths nor is there a big mistake. Having said this, I would differ from this theory, if we were to live only to create other living things, then what is art? And what is technology? Why have we created so much? (Often at the cost of other living things too) Of course once these questions are raised the achievers among us smartly point out that its not just to procreate that we live but to leave a personal mark in this earth. As decades and centuries roll by the number of people remembered become fewer and fewer. After a point, the mere handful of achievers who have stood the test of time cease to be remembered as mortals and become myths. With the bad track records of those who wished to leave a lasting mark, this theory too doesn’t seem to hold water. Then there are those who say that we exist to continuously better the living standards for ourselves as well as the people we love, interesting, sounds like one of the pillars on which capitalism stands proudly, a concept which I love and hate in equal measures. My opposition to this view is predicated by a gut feel really, a feeling that this theory is culled out of an advertisement for an expensive car or an apartment building. The feeling that this idea is not our own but planted by a smart marketing executive, doesn’t seem to go away.

I am sure by now you would be very curious as to what my theory would be. Would it be able to buck favourites like procreation and Mercedes Benz, you ask. Well, my idea is that we exist to satisfy ourselves. I can almost hear you sucking your breath but hold on, before you brand me a selfish person I hope you would listen to my argument. A fair trial is all I ask. I believe that there are two kinds of satisfaction that we derive in life, direct and indirect. Examples of direct satisfaction could be, earning the money that we want or a hard day’s work or a very well cooked meal or creating a work of art or writing a passage or two. Hence, it could be termed as acts by us which results in a sense of self satisfaction.

To illustrate the indirect kind of satisfaction, let me as you, have you ever shopped for hours or created something nice for someone you love? Or have you fed someone who was incredibly hungry? Or have you spared your time or money for a just cause? I’m sure you’ve done all these things in the past and would readily agree with me that the pleasure you derive on doing these things gives you a glow that lasts days! I remember the time that I had bought my dad a sweater, this was when I was in my engineering college and we had got for a tour to Shimla (a hill station in north India). Since I was a college student, the money I used to buy the sweater was my Dad’s but then that was the first gift that I had ever bought for my all providing human being, the pleasure I derived that day could not be described in words. 12 years hence, I still remember that feeling vividly. Hence by this logic, if giving is a form of satisfying oneself, isn’t caring itself a selfish act? (It really isn’t but I’m being argumentative here). I think the experts say that these acts satisfy our self actualization needs; hence we have to realize that there are certain needs within us to care for others. Would dying for one’s country be a form of satisfying oneself? I’m not sure, since we really wouldn’t be around to talk about how we felt, would we? This in itself would be big enough to merit a discussion of its own.

When we do not derive satisfaction, out of life we resort to things that simulate the same (this could mean a night of drinking or philosophy or chocolate and some us swear by Nintendo). Whatever we resort to could only be short term in nature and often leaves residual baggages i.e., hangover, nightmares, calories etc (One can assume little or no side effects from Nintendo).

When we feel that we have achieved everything that we’ve wanted to but there is still a piece of missing in our lives, it is quite possible that though we have satisfied our direct needs but have neglected our indirect needs. I’m sure there is always someone or some cause in this world that would appreciate our care, thereby giving us the satisfaction we crave. Well anyway, after re writing this piece, I still feel unsatisfied with the effort and what more, I nurse a bad feeling that the previous effort at 1 am in the morning a was much better than this one, anyway, I rest my case, your opinions and ideas are solicited.