CHAPTER 3, THE PURPOSE OF LIFE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
FOR GOD'S GOOD PLEASURE
As creatures, human beings are created with a purpose that is
determined not by themselves but by their Creator. This understanding is
particularly well understood in the monotheistic religions, which recognize
that God's purpose for creating human beings is to find those creatures who
would recognize, serve, glorify, and love Him. Therefore, human beings can
find fulfillment in the service of God.
In the Jewish tradition and in some new religions, the loving God
Himself rejoices when He is glorified and adored by human beings reflecting
His image; thus we can speak of the purpose of life as fulfilled in
returning joy to God. God's love for humankind blossoms into divine ecstasy
as that love is multiplied and happiness spreads throughout the human race.
(On the other side of divine passion, namely God's sorrow over the evil
plight of mankind, see God's Grief, pp. 457-62.) Analogously, in Mahayana
Buddhist texts the Buddha rejoices as sentient beings are enlightened by
the Dharma. In Hinduism the embodied Self within stands as the Enjoyer of
all phenomena. The joy of God may be recognized as the divine counterpart
to the quest for human happiness described in the previous section.
On the other hand, in religious conceptions which lack a personal
God, or which stress God's absolute sovereignty, Ultimate Reality is
already perfect, beyond desiring, impassible, and without need of anything.
In Islam, God is often conceived of as the Sovereign Lord, high above the
world and unilaterally enforcing His will on mankind. In Hindu Vedanta,
God's apparent motivation for activity in the world and among human beings
is nothing but lila, divine play. Several passages teaching the divine
impassibility are given at the conclusion of this section.
I have created the jinn and humankind only that they might serve Me.
1.
Islam. Qur'an 51.56
How then to bec
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