THE GOAL OF MAN
Defining Human Life
DR. Alexis Carrel was born in France in 1873. After receiving higher education in Science (Medicine) in France, he went to the United States in 1905 to join the staff of the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research in New York. He remained there for 30 years. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1912 for his contribution to the field of medicine. He died in 1944 in France.
Dr. Carrel’s book titled, Man the Unknown, first published in 1935 and reprinted on several occasions, was his most popular work. A commentator aptly says of it: "This book sums up much of his experience of man and his life, seen from the purely scientific aspect."
But, as we learn from his 312-page book, Dr. Carrel failed to discover the reality of human life. That is why he titled the book, Man the Unknown. A study of this book tells us that, so far as man as a subject of scientific study is concerned, he was to a great extent 'discovered’ by Dr. Carrel.
The question then arises as to why he gave his book the title he did. This apparent confusion stems from the fact that although Dr. Carrel had 'discovered' man, his study did not lead him to any certain knowledge of man’s destination. He felt that a ‘known’ man was heading towards an unknown destination. Hence, a more apt title for his book might have been 'Man’s Goal — the Unknown'.
This is not a problem that was faced by Dr. Carrel alone. The same has been, and still is, true for all other philosophers and thinkers. Although man has appeared to be a known entity, these scholars have remained totally ignorant of his ultimate destination.
The mistake made by philosophers and other thinkers is that they seek the human destination in the present world, whereas it does not exist in this world at all. This world is an imperfect one, while man, by nature, wants a perfect existence. Man wants an eternal life, while in this ephemeral world, it is quite impossible for any individual to have this wish granted. Man wants a life of happiness, but in this world, all kinds of unfavourable circumstances are obstacles to his achieving this end. Man wants an ideal world, but here he is compelled to live in a world that is far from ideal. By birth, man is a perfectionist. He wants a perfect world, but despite all his efforts, he is fated to realize that finding or building a perfect world on earth is impossible.
The truth is that what is unknown is not man, but, rather, man’s destination — in other words, a world that is the realization of human dreams; a world free from all contradictions; a world where man may lead his life with a sense of total fulfilment.
This apparently intractable issue becomes fully resolved when the study of man is made in the light of the Divine scheme of things, that is to say, when efforts are made to understand the will or plan of the Creator along with an understanding of His creatures. This is the only possible method which is of any relevance. When we approach matters from this angle, we realize that this problem confronts us only because we attempt to understand man without keeping in mind the creation plan of God. Man is a creature; he is not the Creator — just as a machine is made by an engineer and is not its own maker.
Although man has appeared to be a known entity, scholars have remained totally ignorant of his ultimate destination.
This being so, if we want to know the reality of man, we shall have to learn the creation plan of the Creator. Just as without the knowledge of the engineer’s plan we cannot explain the machine, similarly, without knowledge of the creation plan of the Creator, it is impossible to explain man. This is why, without keeping this creation plan in view, the meaningfulness of man’s life escapes us, whereas when we keep this creation plan firmly in view, everything becomes fully comprehensible. Everything then falls into place.
In accordance with His creation plan, God created this world as one half of a pair. This world, in which we pass our lives after birth, is that first part. And the other world, the other part, is the one where we live after death. In this way, there are two parts to human life — the pre-death period and the post-death period. The Creator of man has created him as an eternal creature, but He has divided his life into two stages — terrestrial existence and the life after death.
The world before death is designed as a testing ground, while the world after death is designed to be a world of reward or punishment. Since the present world is made to serve the purpose of man’s test, everyone here has been granted freedom to make his own moral choices. It is as if the present world is a kind of examination hall where all the provisions have been made that are needed for this test. But the perfect, ideal things needed for building a happy life do not exist here, for everything here is in an incomplete and limited form. Seeking happiness here is like a student wanting to build his desired life inside the examination hall! He will ultimately be overwhelmed with a sense of frustration. This same state of frustration is faced by all those who want to build the world of their dreams in this world of trial.
So, what must men and women do in this pre-death world in order to find the world of their hopes in the post-death world? The answer is that they must exercise their freedom in accordance with the will of their Creator.
For the life after death, God has made a perfect world which is called Paradise. This Paradise is an ideal and perfect world in every respect. God wants such men and women for this world as are worthy of inhabiting it. From this present world, only those who qualify according to the divine standard will be lodged in this ideal world of Paradise.
Who, then, are these men and women who measure up to the divine standard? They are the ones who, by using their intellectual capabilities, attain the realization of God. They are those who will discover the truth by tearing asunder the veil of mental confusion; who abandon all other forms of worship in favour of the worship of God; who are willing to surrender themselves to divine discipline, in spite of having been granted full freedom to flout it if they wish; who develop a positive outlook even in a negative situation; who treat others as they themselves would like to be treated.
These are the criteria by which to earn Paradise according to the Divine creation plan. Such men and women who come up to this standard will be ushered into the eternal Paradise after death, while those who fail to do so will be cast into eternal hellfire, where they will have nothing in store for them but eternal deprivation and frustration.
The people who will fill Paradise will be those who availed of the opportunities of this present world to do good, while the people who will fill hell will be those who failed to avail of such opportunities. Theirs will be a case of missed opportunities. As the saying goes: ‘Opportunity only knocks once.’ This saying is wholly true in the matter of eternal success. For, the chance to succeed is not going to be given to anyone twice. The situation of those who will be adjudged to have properly availed of opportunities here on earth will endure to their benefit for all eternity, just as the situation of those who will be adjudged to have missed their opportunities will be one of unending perdition.