Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Do we have a purpose?

Welcome back. Why are we here? Is it part of some plan or is it just plain fluke? If we are really a part of a big plan, how well are we playing that part? All right, enough questions for now; let me try to answer some of them.

Now, I believe that each organism in this world has a specific purpose. I learnt that a certain species of red ant helps the huge sequoia trees by providing the giant trees valuable nutrients (I do not know the exact scientific details). So, though the ant doesn't know that it's playing a part in a bigger plan (or maybe it does!), it merely lives its life and does the job. So things like Mutualism (association between species where both are benefited) and Commensalism (only one is benefited and the other is neither harmed nor benefited) are merely plans being worked out in this world. Of course, there the third kind of association called Parasitism; I strongly believe those kind of parasitic organisms are most similar to humans. This view is quoted by a computer program in the sci-fi movie 'The Matrix':

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I've realized that you are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague."

I believe that this is the truth. I believe that parasitic organisms like us are those which have stopped doing what they are supposed to do. I think we are here for a purpose; but we are not serving it right now. So, all these Tsunamis, Earthquakes and other natural disasters might be merely the attempts of the bigger plan to eliminate 'unwanted' or 'harmful' organisms. If we are not serving our real purpose, what is that real purpose?

We have been given the power that no other organism in this world has; The power to protect. The power to prevent other species from undergoing hardship, misery and even extinction. So, are we doing that?

As I tried to tell you in my previous posts, there are no only 'yes' or 'no' questions; There are answers like 'mostly, yes' and 'usually no, but...' because there is nothing like perfect cosmos (uniformity) or perfect chaos. In the same way, not all of us are playing their parts in the bigger plan. But, do we have a choice? Yes, we do. We can choose whether to protect or to destroy.

All these arguments are based on one singular probabilistic theory: 'We have a purpose and we are not here by fluke'. If that theory is wrong, what should we do then?

Well, some questions are there just for the asking.

Cheers,

Ravi Teja R.

4 comments:

The Ranting Human said...

If that theory is wrong and we are here by fluke, what we could do is to shut up and continue living our lives, if we want to live. As you say, "We can choose whether to protect or to destroy." I see no purpose for mankind, though there might be one hidden just deep enough to be invisible to us. Humans play a role similar to that of a batsman in cricket. A batsman comes, disrupts the bowling and the scoreboard(if he's not out for 0), and then goes. We enter, disrupt what others would call a "balance", and then we die. That's all we do... apart from people here and there who change the course of history by bringing in new faiths and beliefs.

Ravi Teja R said...

I don't understand your last sentence. Do you mean that people who bring in a new belief to change history's course do not 'enter->disrupt->die'?

The Ranting Human said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The Ranting Human said...

What I meant was that while we disrupt it in a mild way, the people who bring in new faiths and stuff change history in a more dramatic fashion...