THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

One who subscribes to the theory that the earth is a testing ground will focus on such activities as will reap a reward in the life hereafter. However, one who believes in the theory that the earth is a place for enjoyment will engage in such activities as improve his worldly life. So test-oriented thinking makes man content as regards wealth; he will remain content if his basic requirements are provided for. On the contrary, enjoyment-oriented thinking will always lead to the endeavour to accumulate more and more wealth. There is no limit to human greed. If a man who has developed this test-oriented thinking has a small car and his friends want him to buy a bigger car, he will say: “I do not want to make my test paper more difficult.” By contrast, the enjoyment-oriented person will always be striving not only for a bigger and bigger car, but also for many more cars. The test-oriented person will keep himself away from futile entertainment, for he will consider it to be a distraction. Conversely, the enjoyment-oriented person will jump into the fray of the entertainment culture, regardless of the amount of time and money he will be squandering. The test-oriented person will avoid all unnecessary wastage of money, time, food, water, and above all, words. Unlike him, the enjoyment-oriented person will not attach any importance to wasteful expenditure. The test-oriented person will consider himself bound by moral values, whereas to the latter, personal interest, and not moral values, is supreme. According to the Creation Plan of the Creator, what is important in this matter is what kind of personality is being nurtured in a man while he experiences different sets of situations. Will it be a God-oriented personality or a self-oriented personality? Just as man has constantly to acquire food in the present world for his physical existence, so also does his spiritual existence require a continual supply of spiritual food. It is this spiritual food which develops in man the God-oriented personality. What is spiritual food? It is the truth, accepted by man whether it comes to him from his own people or someone else. That means that his thinking should not be the result of conditioning: he should form his opinions unaffected by his immediate circumstances. His life should be one of thanksgiving and acknowledgement rather than of ingratitude and denial. He should respond positively, even in a negative situation. He should temper his use of freedom by self-imposed discipline, adhering to justice in all situations, even if it goes against his interests. He should keep before him the eternal rewards of the Hereafter rather than the temporary gains of this world. Those who regard the present world as a testing ground and lead their lives accordingly will be lodged in the Hereafter in the Eternal Gardens in close proximity to their Creator. Those, on the other hand, who regard this world merely as a place of enjoyment will finally face the dreadful consequences of being denied access to the eternal world: they will have nothing but deprivation and frustration in store for them. THE PURPOSE OF LIFE