The Goal and Final Destination of It All
TARRYTOWN, New York — What are we created for? What is our destination? What is the destination of this endlessly-large and incomprehensible universe?
These are centuries-old questions which come to the mind of every thinking human being.
The Torah tells us: “To glorify Gd!”
But other purposes for which everything was created, and the final destination of humanity and the universe in general, are known only to Gd. We humans can only come up with some guesses and assumptions based on our experience and observations.
Guesses about the purpose of human life and the prospects of life improvement.
Guess 1. To continue the existence of humanity by bringing to this world, with Gd’s help, the priceless and precious gift to us from Gd, our children, and by improving human health and wellbeing.
Optimistically the guess would be that humanity will reach, in an unknown number of years, such a level of intelligence that it will be able to rid itself of all illnesses, enabling people to live until 120 in good health, as stated in the Torah, and then peacefully and happily, without any unpleasant feelings, change from a physical and spiritual existence to just a spiritual one, at which point the soul will exist forever becoming closer to Gd.
The soul/spiritual part of a human is the only logical explanation of the ability to love, to hate, and to have any emotions and feelings. The molecules and atoms of which the physical parts of a person’s body are comprised, including the brain, cannot feel any emotions. It seems, however, that while not understood by science yet, there is some relationship between the soul and brain.
Pessimistically the guess would be that humanity will never be able to reach such a high level of intelligence, and the conditions of human health, and our vulnerability to natural and other problems, will improve but basically remain similar to what we experience now.
Guess 2. To continue the development of human beings in terms of our collective humanity and moral norms, to continue the process of moving from a primitive to a more and more advanced level (the process we observe through all of human history), and to drastically improve peoples’ lives and conditions.
Optimistically the guess would be that people will continue the process of moving to such a level of moral and intellectual development that hatred, cruelty, envy, and crime will no longer exist in society, everybody will “love their neighbor as him/herself,” and there will be no more hungry and unhappy people.
Pessimistically the guess would be that human nature and development will never reach the level of a happy and enjoyable life for all, and there will always be evil people and evil regimes. With more and more sophisticated tools of mass destruction, these evil regimes might cause catastrophic global conflict bringing the earth back to the Stone Age.
Guess 3. To continue the process of moving to a higher and higher level of knowledge, and scientific and technological advancement.
Optimistically the guess would be that science and technology will not only make life healthy and everything in peoples’ daily routines easy, but also enable people to control forces of nature. Hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes, and similar disasters will never endanger human life or cause destruction and hardship.
Pessimistically the guess would be that scientific progress, with all its accomplishments, will improve but never completely change the conditions we are experiencing right now.
Guesses about the purpose and destination of this tremendous, incomprehensible universe.
Guess 1. Regarding other planets and us:
Optimistically the guess would be that some planets are suitable for human life. With earth becoming overpopulated, and with the advancement of space exploration, people will be able to establish flourishing communities on other planets.
Another optimistic guess would be that some planets are inhabited by intelligent life which will, in time, interact positively with people on earth.
Pessimistically the guess would be that people will never be able to establish themselves on other planets.
Another pessimistic guess would be that life on other planets, if it exists, might be hostile to life on the earth.
Guess 2. Regarding cosmic processes:
Optimistically the guess would be that cosmic processes, some of which we observe, are still part of the continuous process of creation and will benefit conditions on earth.
Pessimistically the guess would be that these incomprehensibly-powerful natural processes might sometimes endanger life on earth (like, for example, the cosmic catastrophe which led to the extinction of dinosaurs).
Guess 3. Regarding the destination of the universe:
This is such a far-fetched and difficult subject that it is impossible even to make a guess (at least for yours truly).
What would be your guesses, dear reader?
Let us also remember that the future reality (known only to Gd) might be completely different from our guesses.
Let us pray to Gd that only the optimistic guesses will materialize.
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Arkady Mamaysky is a mechanical engineer who emigrated directly to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1979.