The endless questions that the book Man’s Search for Meaning prompts
It is one of the most content-heavy and difficult-to-digest books I have read this year. The book prompts many questions, and such books are uncomfortable, for the questions are sometimes not the ones I want to be asked, or the answers, if I could find one, are true and harsh. It is hard to categorize these books into a genre to arrange them on the library shelves. The book is based on real experiences, which are sometimes hard to believe. I may not experience some of the situations the author faces in the same way, or rather, I would never want to face such situations. We would long for our cozy bed to get a good night’s sleep; now, imagine being taken away from everything and sent into a remote concentration camp; losing one’s hope and faith in the future is the apparent feeling. The frantic and disturbed state is as close to death as one gets.
Viktor Frankl, the author of the book, shares the mental state of the prisoners, which he is himself one of them, in 3 periods -
- The period following his admission
- The period when he is well entrenched in camp routine
- The period following his release and liberation
All three periods cause great oppression, endless uncertainty, and true hopelessness. I cannot imagine myself in these three periods; it is traumatizing.
Will I keep my values, beliefs, hopes, and the self that identifies me in adverse, distressed, and crises?
The other day the temple was crowded, celebrating an auspicious day. There was a long queue waiting for at least a glimpse of the deity. Many made various provisions for a shortcut to skip the line, even if it required filling guards’ pockets. Those who could afford paid for the fast track, and some jumped barricades; others willing to but didn’t act remained at the ends of the long line. A simple act of staying prompt in a queue can be a good judge of our core values, isn’t it?
The Bengaluru traffic offers more situations where one can quickly lose his integrity. Anyone who has experienced city traffic will know sneaky ways to navigate quickly.
How about situations where kind help is required? We are slowly tuning ourselves not to pay ear to such asks. Will I lose hope and faith when I do not get help?
Our daily lives offer enough instances of adverse, distressed and crises situations; braving those with our self and still carrying our values through must be a conscious path.
I believe any situation would let us be our self. We get to choose. The situation rarely allows us to behave unconsciously, even if we act instinctively. There is always a choice. But I have a long way to adopt this myself.
Will I break down into an animal if I lose everything? Will I break down or keep myself, in terms of moral, emotional, and mental state? Further, there are social factors — friends, family, and society. If these factors that I live with don’t identify me as the individual I’m and for the place I hold, will I still be myself?
The author says, “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now.”
Is it possible to live with such an effective sense of present and prospective future needs?
Ultimately, what is the meaning of my life, and what is its purpose at all?
Excerpt from the book — It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life-daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.
Is it possible to identify what that life is expecting from me? Is it too early to ask this question?
“He who has a WHY to live can bear almost any HOW” — Friedrich Nietzsche
My short notes on the book can be found here.
