Our Folly Has a Purpose

One of the most perplexing questions haunting humanity is why the most intelligent species on the planet cannot manage its life intelligently. After every self-inflicted cataclysm, we analyze, reflect, and draw conclusions in order to avoid its recurrence. Yet, every time, without fail, we fall once more into the same pitfalls of vanity and shortsightedness that lead to yet another cataclysm. Why is it that the most intelligent species must keep treading this march of folly?

Why is it that the most intelligent species must keep treading this march of folly? The surprising answer to this question lies not in our makeup or in our intellect. The answer lies in our purpose, the purpose of our existence.

The surprising answer to this question lies not in our makeup or in our intellect. The answer lies in our purpose, the purpose of our existence.

If we were developing according to Darwin’s laws of evolution, meaning naturally, we would not be making any mistakes in our behavior, just as animals know when to do what, and their species survive millions of years with very few changes.

But for humans, there is another goal besides physical existence. We are destined to become omniscient, knowing and understanding everything about Creation: why it exists, how it persists, and how it will achieve its goal.

To understand how everything works, we need to consciously connect with everything. Just as evolution advances from the simple to the complicated, from single-celled creatures to trillions of cells working in unison to sustain large bodies such as ours, our consciousness must gradually evolve from focusing only on ourselves to focusing on all of humanity, then on the entire planet, and finally on all that exists.

We are already connected, but we are unaware of it and behave as if we are not. While animals follow their instincts, and therefore do not break the connections between all parts of reality and cause no harm, we follow our whims and whatever comes up in our minds. Since our minds do not perceive the connectedness of all of reality, and even resist perceiving it because of our ego, we act as if we can ignore the rest of reality and do whatever we want. The result is the chaotic world we live in, where each one is trying to impose one’s will on everyone else or destroy them.

Unless we acknowledge our connectedness and begin to act the part, we will not perceive what we are intended to perceive. We will not be able to understand the world we live in, how it persists, and why.

The purpose of the chaos, therefore, is to make us acknowledge our folly. It is to make us see that whether we like it or not, we are responsible for everyone, and each of us is responsible for all of us. Unless we acknowledge our connectedness and begin to behave with due consideration, we will destroy everything.

Moreover, unless we acknowledge our connectedness and begin to act the part, we will not perceive what we are intended to perceive. We will not be able to understand the world we live in, how it persists, and why. Indeed, we have come to a point where our physical existence and our spiritual development are interdependent. Only if we develop our minds will our bodies be able to survive.