| [CONTENTS] |
The external and internal endowments of
human nature give us clearly to understand that the highest object of their creation is
the love and worship of God. True happiness which is
generally admitted to be the goal of life, is not attainable throught the diverse persuits
which men follow, but only throught the Divine Being. Not all the felicities of this world
can afford relief from the gnawing grief which attend a man's last moments upon this
earth. The greatest king, the wisest philosopher, the highest official or the richest
merchant does not posses contentment of mind, and departs from this world a prey to
poignent regret. His heart upbraids him for his absorption in worldly cares and his
conscience judges him guilty of the employment of unfair means to attain success in his
worldly affairs.
Let us consider the question in another light. In the case of the
lower animals, we see that their faculties are so made as to render them unable to serve a
purpose higher than a particular one and they cannot go beyond a certain limit. This leads
us to the conclusion that the highest limit which the faculties of a particular animal can
reach is also the highest aim of his creation.
A bullock for instance, may be used to furrow the land or draw water
or for loading, but with its present faculties it can serve no higher purpose. This is,
therefore, also the aim of its existence.
Judging man in the same manner, we find that, of all the faculties
which nature has bestowed upon him, the highest is that which awakens him to a search for
God and encourages him to noble aspiration of losing his own self in the love of the
Beneficent and completely submitting himself to His will. In the requirements of his
physical nature, the lower animals are on a level with him. In art, some animals display
more skill than human beings. The bee producec honey from the juice of many flowers with
such exquisite skill that man has failed to achieve any thing like it. The perfection of
man, therefore does not consist in these matters but in someting else. It consists in the
excellence of his spirituality, in his union with God. The true object of his life in this
world is that the window of his heart should bed towards the Creator.
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