Why did God make us intelligent?
Well the questions above is not exactly what my young friend Arulmoli asked. I paraphrased it for the title of this QnA. Here is Arul's original question:
The basic needs of men is food, and shelter. So, why are men given such a powerful mind to create so many great things like machines. Do men actually need all these things to live ..... no. Then why are we such an advance creation by god ? We should have just been monkeys.
This question came to Arul out of his enthrallment after viewing the trailer for the upcoming Transformer movie. I saw the trailer with Arul, it was impressive to say the least, especially how computer graphics have evolved over the recent years. Arul's question seemed appropriate. (Click Here to View the Transformer Trailer in a new window.)
Why in the world to we need all this technological entertainment and conveniences around us? We take most of it for granted; from the Panadol we swallow to manage headaches, to the light switch we turn on daily. Why did God make us distinctly more intelligent than other species of animals.
These 'why' questions are usually always tough to answer. Especially if it starts with "why did God....." The easiest answer I use to wriggle out of these questions is - Ask God. Then when you get the answer, pray tell me too!
Anyway handicapped with a finite mind, I will try to answer a seemingly infinite answer and following the advise of my guru, "If you are stumped, go in and in and in." It was his way of saying find the answer by meditating on it. So here are the revelations from my meditation on this perplexing question.
The most basic answer to this question is contemplation. To elaborate on this answer I must establish an important assumptions. This assumption is that humans are part of natural biological and spiritual evolution, however God has given humans an extra faculty compared to other species of animals. This extra faculty is the ability to contemplate one's destiny or future.
Arul's statement that we should just have been monkeys, though it may seem sarcastic, is very much an important key to this answer. If we were to compare ourselves to say chimpanzees, even from all the faculties of our mind, we are not that basically different. Chimpanzees and humans share same survival instincts and basic desires, chimpanzees are able to form family groups, use basic language and also create tools. However unlike humans chimpanzees cannot contemplate.
Contemplation is the ability to think profoundly about a subject matter, it can also be called meditation. It is through contemplation that we can fashion a future for ourselves that is seemingly improbable in the current moment. So much of what we call modern convenience comes from this faculty. Just imagine how improbable it must have during Thomas Edison's time to think that one day we can use electricity to light up the night. If we go back beyond the modern era, what about the invention of sailing schooners, or learning to tool metal or even making fire and controlling it to our advantage.
Contemplating a grander or more convenient future is the mother of all inventions. As a species, every time we exercise the power of contemplation we set ourselves apart from other animals and bring about new innovations into life. Of course not all the innovations are necessarily positive, some are down right useless. Ultimately contemplation leads us to question our purpose in life and destiny especially since we can also contemplate that one day our body will perish. I am not sure if a chimpanzee is consciously aware that one day it will die, though it may have witnessed death of another of its kind, does it anticipate that it too will one day die? We humans certainly can, and our contemplation of this scenario has brought about spiritual revelations.
In a nutshell my answer to Arul's question, "why are men given such a powerful mind to create so many great things like machines" is that eventually this 'powerful mind' will lead us to question our own existence and lead us to seek out our Creator.
What do you think of this answer? Do you have another point of view or a different insight? If you do please share it with all of us by commenting.
Return To Questions and Answers Content
Search My Hindu Page Website
|
