When Does Understanding the World Take Shape Correctly? What Is Required to Interpret the World Accurately?
Have you ever wondered why life in this world feels meaningful to some of us, while to others it seems empty and insignificant? What is required for us to truly understand the world?
Why don’t we all feel the same level of satisfaction from living in the world?
What could be the reason that each of us reacts differently to the world and its events, interpreting them in such varied ways?
The truth is, even though we live in the world, are familiar with it, and go through the various stages of our lives within it, we don’t all view it the same way. Some of us see the world as a part of our life, while others view life as confined entirely to the world, leading to many ambiguities. Questions arise, such as: Why should we make certain choices? Why should we avoid certain behaviors? Why shouldn’t we expose ourselves to every kind of relationship? Or why should we manage our thoughts in a particular way? In reality, our perspective on the world stems from how we view ourselves as human beings. This perspective only approaches its true purpose when we see ourselves as eternal beings—beings meant to spend part of their existence in this world, using it to prepare for the next stages of their life. However, because most of us do not have a true and precise understanding of ourselves and don’t see ourselves as eternal, we fall into error when trying to understand the world and interpret its circumstances and conditions.
When it comes to understanding and interpreting various matters, we face two scenarios: matters that can be interpreted independently and matters whose interpretation depends on something else, making it meaningless to examine them in isolation. For example, we can examine a bicycle or a watch on its own, but evaluating the function of a gear is impossible without considering the machine it’s a part of, as its entire purpose and function are defined in relation to that machine. So, the question is: which category does the world fall into? Can the world be interpreted on its own, independently, or does understanding the world depend on grasping a larger system within which the world exists and without which it has no meaning? In this lesson, we aim to address this question and discuss the ultimate purpose and goal necessary for understanding the world and interpreting it correctly.
Disability in Understanding the World Without Considering Eternity
In truth, understanding the world depends on how we view ourselves as eternal and everlasting beings. To comprehend the world and interpret it correctly, we need to understand eternity, as eternity encompasses the world and represents its ultimate purpose and destination. Just as it’s impossible to prepare for an exam without knowing its subject or purpose, or to begin building a tool without considering its form or intended function, understanding the world is impossible without considering the eternity that results from our actions and performance in this world and the attainment of the ultimate purpose of creation within it. In fact, our understanding of the world is fully realized only when we see it as part of our eternal life and define its relationships, obligations, and prohibitions in terms of an eternal and everlasting being.
However, expecting to live in the world without considering the Hereafter and eternity is akin to a fetus developing its limbs without regarding the world it will be born into. Just as entering the world would be meaningless and damaging for a fetus if they didn’t account for the conditions and requirements of life in it, our healthy entry into the Hereafter is equally meaningless without attention to its conditions, minimum requirements, and necessities. It is the existence of the world and its conditions and characteristics that give meaning to the movements of a fetus in the mother’s womb. Otherwise, developing hands and feet for a fetus that can barely move them in the confined space of the womb, or forming lungs in an environment without air, would be meaningless. Thus, it can be said that awareness of the world’s conditions and requirements gives meaning to the fetus’s movements and behaviors in the womb, providing them with purpose and reason.
Based on the Law of Proportion, the same principle applies to the relationship between the Hereafter and the world. It is the Hereafter and eternity that clarify the purpose and reason for our actions and deeds in the world, giving them direction. Without the Hereafter, the obligations and prohibitions of our life in the world lose their significance, appearing futile and meaningless. This is similar to a student who plans their entire schedule to achieve the top rank in an entrance exam, only to find out the exam has been canceled, or a mother who prepares food and supplies for a trip that is later canceled, rendering her efforts purposeless.
In all these examples, it is the overarching goal that gives direction to the task we are undertaking, defining its boundaries and characteristics. Without that goal, our efforts lose their relevance and become futile and meaningless, just as preparing for a trip becomes pointless if the trip itself is no longer happening. Similarly, understanding the world and our actions within it is only possible when we are aware of the ultimate purpose and goal awaiting us.
Why Understanding the World Depends on the Hereafter
The relationship between the world and the Hereafter is so deeply intertwined that imagining the world without the Hereafter is impossible. But how can such a claim be proven? Let us once again draw on the Law of Proportion and examine the life of a fetus and its connection to the world to clarify the critical importance of the Hereafter in our worldly existence. Just as the world plays a pivotal and defining role for the fetus in the mother’s womb, the existence of the Hereafter is equally essential for the world.
In fact, severing the connection with the world for a fetus developing in the womb leads, in the short term, to defects and illness. Depending on the nature, duration, and severity of this disconnection, it may even result in the fetus’s death. This is because, without this connection, the fetus cannot align themself with the purpose and conditions they are meant to adapt to, nor can they access the source of nourishment, growth, and development they need. It becomes unable to meet even their basic survival needs, such as receiving oxygen, or to acquire the minerals, vitamins, and materials required for growth and organ development in the womb. Naturally, in such conditions, their life comes to an end.
A parallel relationship exists between our actions in the world and the Hereafter. The world, with its gym-like nature, enables us to acquire the names and attributes of God, to prepare tools for the Hereafter, and to ready ourselves for it. Severing our connection to the Hereafter, which is our ultimate purpose and destination, halts this process of preparation in the world, slowing our progress or even causing regression. Ultimately, this can lead to an unhealthy birth into the Hereafter or even our miscarriage within the realm of the world. As eternal and everlasting beings, we need to utilize the world and its dynamics as a womb that can create the conditions for a healthy life in the Hereafter, thereby securing our eternity.