Do you think that our life if the greatest mystery of all times?

For centuries life has proved to be a veritable enigma for humanity around the globe. Saints and sages, not to speak of the myriads of ordinary mortals, men and women, have wondered what the real purpose of life is, what God really wanted human beings to do, how life began and what the solutions to the various mysteries of terrestrial existence are. It has been well said that the greatest mystery in the world is ourselves.

Scientists, as well as non-scientists, have also posed the questions: What is life? How did it begin? Is there life after death?

Time was when people contented themselves by merely saying that God is responsible for what we are and what we shall become. But now, such simple, and in part evasive, answers are not accepted. The spread of education and all round enlightenment and inquisitiveness prompt people to go deeper into the matter.

Hans Christian Anderson, the famous author of fairy tales, continuing the theme of his works, wrote: “Every man’s life is a fairy tale, written by God’s fingers.”

The Almighty’s fingers, assuming He had a human form, did perform miracles, and human life itself is a miracle on earth. The view is extended to signify that miracles are beyond human comprehension; this being so, it is contended that speculation and theorising about what life was meant to be and what it would be in the years to come are futile exercises.

But one kind of exercise is the scientific, or rather the chemical. In hundreds of laboratories in many continents, scientists have been probing the mysteries of life. But the results they have so far obtained, after prolonged research, in effect create as many new mysteries as the ones they seek to solve. Science, thus, has no better solution to offer than the one dictated by laboratory examinations and analyses.

Chemically, life can be seen as the linking of certain types of organic molecules, known as amino acids, to form more complex substances. But the point at which a mere collection of lifeless chemicals (which can be had by the tonne from the market) becomes a living creature is still not precisely known.

If, however, life is supposed to be already present when the chemicals are able to make exact reproductions of themselves, so as to ensure continuity of all species on earth—human beings, plants, animals and birds then we might as well accept the follow-up: that the amino acids form themselves into deoxyribonucleic acid, popularly known as DNA.

This, in fact, is the substance that carries information from one generation to another in living organisms. Darwin’s theory of evolution, according to which such mutations lead to the evolution of many different species, each best fitted to survive in the particular environment in which it is placed (survival of the fittest concept) sounds relevant in this context. The rest of the chemical theory might as well be left to technicians.

Life is activity; in fact, without activity life would become purposeless and would lose its very basis. Of course, the type of activity differs from individual to individual and from society to society. There are those who lead a fruitful life in the real sense, and there are others to whom life is proving deceptive in the sense that they have adopted the negative aspects.

They have become law breakers and criminals in the process, presumably because of frustration and disillusionment, or as a result of a distorted sense of values and an abnormal brain that thinks of the worst aspects of life instead of adopting the constructive approach. To each according to his or her taste, as the phrase goes.

But the better and far more numerous section of society comprises those who follow the dictum that “he most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest and acts the best”. To most of us the noble values of life have a great deal of appeal; we aspire to observe these values, to live up to them, to shun evil and prefer truth and the good things of life. It is true, however, that life is a great mixture; one has to accept that it is so, and seek to make the best of it.

Life, indeed, is rich and varied; along with the muddy marshes and stagnant pools there are clean rivers and sparkling springs. Our choice depends upon our concepts of life.

But it just will not do for people to say that life is too complicated an affair to be understood. Despite there being several facets to it, life has to be lived in the way prescribed in the teachings of saints and sages in all countries, who have interpreted life as God willed it. They have laid down certain precepts which must be observed by all good people.

This brings in the questions of spirit and spiritualism. Satisfaction of human wants during one’s life span has, of course, to be ensured; they are our basic needs without which life would come to an end. But that is only one aspect of life, and a minor one.

The stage, at which spiritualism comes into one’s life, after the material needs have been satisfied, differs from person to person. But there is little doubt that at some stage in one’s adult life we seek an inner meaning, some psychological understanding and satisfaction.

Thus, in a sense, there is an internal life and an external life. Equilibrium between the two is not easy to establish, and quite often there is a divergence, even a contradiction. The mind then feels troubled because of the resultant conflict. One begins to seek the real meaning of life; thus, after materialism comes spiritualism, more and more thought of God and religion.

Western philosophers are of the view that religious and spiritual approaches do not help much. Rather, they hinder the material progress of man. Morality and spirituality, they contend, have only a minor place in life; one can ignore them at times and concentrate on the day-to-day living.

Jawaharlal Nehru, presumably under the influence of the Western school of thought, wrote in his “Discovery of India” that spiritualism, with its so called manifestations of spirits and the like, “has always seemed to me a rather absurd and impertinent way of investigating psychic phenomena and the mysteries of after life”. Usually, according to his belief, it amounts to exploitation of the emotions of the ignorant and credulous people who seek relief or escape from mental troubles.

Spiritualism in India plays a special role; in fact, Indian spiritualism is also known across the seas, even in lands where materialism holds sway. Why, after all, do countless people in the USA, where there is prosperity and affluence, turn to Indian preachers and Gurus? They seek to solve the mysteries of life, to understand the concepts which Western materialism casts aside as superfluous.

This presents an interesting contrast in life. On the one hand, the person who is starving himself and is unable to feed his family because of utter poverty, in India and elsewhere, seeks solace in spiritualism and begs for food and shelter (material things). On the other hand, many people in the West, although well provided for in respect of the necessities and comforts of life, decide to abandon Western materialism and even their personal fortunes and put on coarse saffron clothes and become disciples of Gurus.

There seems to be no limit to injustice on earth. Why should there be such glaring inequalities? Why should falsehood and treachery flourish while truth suffers year after year? Indeed why should there be falsehood, deception and utter destitution at all on this earth? These questions are posed by many people. Have these evils, or rather the darker aspect of life, been provided by God to present contrasts?

This is, in fact, yet another mystery of life which has baffled mankind. Is it our mission on earth to redress the anomalies, eliminate evil and promote honesty and goodness? Is this a challenge to men and women, a challenge they can never meet because as the decades pass the injustices continue to increase instead of vanishing. The complications and illogical events of life certainly baffle mankind.

Science cannot solve them; it can only harness certain forces of Nature for the benefit of mankind. But, it has not made people happier. Is it God’s will then that millions of people should continue to live in misery, pine constantly for the basic necessities of life while tones of food go waste in certain continents?

Life continues to be a big mystery, indeed.