IN SEARCH OF MEANING

IN SEARCH OF MEANING Humanity’s Greatest Quest I n 1946, the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Emil Frankl (1905–1997) published his renowned work Man’s Search for Meaning. Over the decades, many other books with similar titles have appeared. During more than three hundred years of the printing press, billions of books have been produced in different languages, and if a single title could be given to all of them, it would undoubtedly be: In Search of Meaning. A human being, by nature, is a seeker. Each person is born with an enquiring mind, always attempting to understand the world and his place within it. It is this inner curiosity that has inspired the writing of so many books, whether fictional stories or serious works of philosophy, psychology, religion, or science. All of them, directly or indirectly, turn upon one idea: the quest for truth and the longing for significance. When an individual reaches adulthood, his immediate concern is the earning of a livelihood. He enters employment or engages in some form of economic activity. While he is absorbed in his work, he experiences a period of satisfaction and routine. Yet, gradually, a realization begins to surface. His job provides sustenance but does not offer the deeper fulfilment he silently seeks. Certainly, work puts bread on the table, but, as Jesus Christ rightly said, “Man cannot live by bread alone.” (Matthew 4: 4) Bread meets physical needs, but it cannot satisfy the intellect, the imagination, or the spiritual hunger that underlies every human personality. This gap between outward success and inner emptiness is one of the principal reasons for the frustration and unhappiness felt by so many today. According to the Big Bang theory, the universe came into existence nearly thirteen billion years ago. Simply knowing this makes one reflect. “For billions of years I did not exist, and then I appeared as a conscious being, part of the human world.” Almost every thoughtful person, at some point, wonders how and why he came into existence. There are very few who have not paused to consider the meaning of their presence in this