The Insatiable or Infinity-Seeking Human Being. What Role Does This Desire Play in Our Wishes?

The human being desires infinity! Understanding this fact does not require any proof or reasoned argument. It is enough to take a look at our behavior to confirm this truth. We usually seek to make ourselves feel good by cherishing a sweet dream of gaining something we do not have or achieving a specific goal. If we take a moment and remember the past, we will see that most of the events in our lives are the result of our wishes, either the happy moments that make us smile when we remember them, or the bitter moments that bring sadness to our faces. In fact, our desires are like the spark caused by striking a match against its box, which ignites the flame.

If these wishes are pursued with effort and perseverance, they will often be fulfilled. The problem here is that our wishes are endless, while our life on earth is finite and limited. Our wishes are unlimited, but our opportunities on earth are limited and within a certain framework. So what should this infinity-seeking human being with endless desires do?

What Does the Human Being Look for in His Wishes?

Have you ever experienced saving up for a long time to fulfill a desire, like buying a beautiful dress or an expensive perfume, only to feel unsatisfied after having it, thinking that you deserve something more elegant and glamorous? We are thirsty, and we want to quench our thirst with our desires. But we are unaware that we look like a patient who suffers from insatiable thirst. The more water we drink, the thirstier we become. Each fulfilled desire only fuels our longing for something greater and more elevated. Actually, it is not the actual fulfillment of our desires that we truly want, but it is the experience of wanting and achieving that has captivated us. The only solution is to accept that the human desires infinity. Once we accept this quality in ourselves, we must find the right way to satisfy this desire.

What Is the Effect of the Desire for Infinity on Human Wishes?

We desire infinity, and this desire is the driving force of our life and existence. It prevents us from settling and being inactive. Since the desire for infinity is inherent in all human beings, it unconsciously manifests itself in different dimensions of our existence.

Like slow drip watering, this desire is slowly injected into our wishes and pushes them towards desiring infinity. The infinity-seeking human being has no choice but to fulfill the desires of each dimension of existence to keep those aspects satisfied. In the end, like the survivor of a broken ship, he will end up being adrift in a vast sea of never-ending wishes, feeling lost and overwhelmed.

We have heard it many times that drinking seawater will make us thirstier. Our wishes are like seawater, and even fulfilling them only makes us thirstier. The infinity-seeking human being constantly looks for the better and the best in the wishes related to each existential dimension, i.e. inanimate, vegetative, animal, and intellective. The only way to feel inner peace amid all these endless desires is to find the right criterion for our desires, a criterion that does not limit us but saves us from drowning in the sea of ​​endless and desirable wishes. It is like a filter or sieve that can make the salty seawater sweet and drinkable.

The Difference in Manifesting the Desire for Infinity

Each of us manifests the desire for infinity in one dimension of our existence. This dimension is usually the part to which we devote more focus, effort, and energy and has a direct relationship with our potentials and abilities. Imagine a person who focuses most of his attention and efforts on cultivating the vegetative dimension of his being. For this person, the most important desire is to have a healthy, strong, and beautiful body. Therefore, his wishes unconsciously go towards perfection in this dimension, and exercising and reaching the desired weight overshadow his other goals and plans in life

When we look back at history, we come to realize that when the infinity-seeking human being actualizes the potentials of his animal dimension, it becomes so strong and out of control that it leaves irreparable damage in the world. Or even there are many people who have stopped at the intellective level; they fervently wish to master a specific field of knowledge, study at a top university, or even become a mujtahid.[1]

One important point that we often overlook is that not all dimensions of our existence are infinite; they do not have the capacity and potential to receive infinity. As a result, seeking infinity in the lower dimensions of the soul will end up in nothing but anxiety and restlessness. We want what we cannot have, and there is no greater suffering than this.

Let us compare the capacity of the dimensions of human existence to five cups with specific sizes. Just as it is not possible to pour an infinite amount of water into a small cup, it is impossible to contain the infinite perfection within the small, limited body and the short life of the infinity-seeking human being.

The Supra-rational Faculty or the Human (Spiritual) Dimension Has an Infinite Capacity

Now the following questions arise: What is this infinity-seeking human being destined for? Does this desire for infinity, which moves us towards infinite wishes, satisfy the wishes of our lower dimensions or those of the human dimension?

The human being has infinite capacity only in his human (spiritual) dimension. So he has the ability to receive infinity only in this dimension. Since the capacity of a container must be compatible with the contained, the desire for infinity is beneficial in fulfilling the wishes of the infinite dimension of our existence. The human dimension of our existence is the sieve or filter that must be placed in its proper position; that means it must be the leader of other aspects of our existence to change the salty taste of the desire for infinity into infinite sweetness.

Desiring is one of the appealing and inherent qualities of human beings. This capacity is a motiving factor and driving force in our lives. But the important point is that our wishes should be in their right place. In this case, they make us grow, move forward, and feel good. But if each part of our existence wants to become infinite on its own, the desire for infinity will lead to sadness and feeling bad because earthly life is short and our opportunities are limited.

The infinity-seeking human being has only one infinite dimension in his being, and the desire for infinity belongs only to that part. But since he is not familiar with this dimension of his existence, he desires infinity in other dimensions.

[1]. Mujtahid is a jurist competent enough to deduce precise inferences regarding the commandments from the holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the holy Prophet by the process of Ijtihad.