Every man's calling
There are as many views on the purpose of life as there are people. That view, however, is largely governed by one's culture. People raised in the Magus Faith believe that every man's purpose is to “create” himself during the "school semester" he calls lifetime. They note that some take advantage of the opportunity to learn and advance, some waste it and fail, and some abuse it and get expelled. Their beliefs exclude such ideologies as fear of wrathful, jealous, vindictive gods, morbid self-punishment and needless (self)mortification to appease gods who enjoy watching mortals deny their divine origin and human dignity as they “suffer for their sins.” Such notions are alien to not only people of the Light, they are repulsive to all men with any sense of human decency. Even the apathetic find such beliefs absurd and illogical. To the followers of the Light, wrongdoings are the misdeeds of people stumbling in the dark, in ignorance of the divine plan; and misconduct should be corrected by sharing knowledge with the ignorant. Mistakes are experience to learn from, and restitutions take the form of compensation to the injured party, rather than “sacrifices” to some spectator god. Their thinking is that, whenever possible, remedial action should be constructive and progressive. If the loss cannot be undone, then the errant party is responsible for restoring his victim's chances for life to those he had enjoyed before his loss. For example, the earliest known Civil Code, the Sumerian (2100 BC) Code of Ur-nammu stipulates:
"If a man knocks out a tooth of another, he shall pay him compensation" (Article19).
In contrast, Judaism's “tooth-for-tooth” vengeance-ideology is destructive and regressive. This ideology, enshrined in the Hebrew Code of Hammurabi (1760 BC), stipulates:
“If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out” (Article 200).
This law reduces the errant party's chances for life to those of his victim and enshrines the righteousness of cruelty and vengeance. It is self-evident that Ur-nammu's Sumerian justice serves its people, whereas Hammurabi's Hebrew laws serve his own vengeance-ideology at the expense of the people.
In the culture of the Light, magi are healers, educators and leaders. They do not promote themselves as dispensers of tickets to Heaven or exorcists of demons. They dedicate their lives to healing the sick, and to freely sharing knowledge of the cosmos, and wisdom from their interpretations of the “Heavens.” It is the magi who later raise the greatest Greek philosophers and most of their scientists, not with colonizing zeal, but unselfishly, serving the elevation of Mankind (Grandpierre). Nations choose their kings from among the magi to take charge of their physical and spiritual health needs, education and welfare (The biblical magi who came to Jesus' cradle “from the East” are variably called kings). The magi view humanity as equal sparks of divine Light in every newborn, souls to encourage to seek self-fulfillment in spiritual growth through knowledge, love of Mankind, noble achievements, and a healthy diet of work and play, sobriety and laughter. They believe that Man's progress is determined by his contribution to humanity, and that his happiness stems not from his ranking in the social pecking-order but from awareness of his contribution, the knowledge that he had made a positive difference in Mankind's progress towards its maturity. This knowledge, they believe, will also give Man peace and contentment when he is called upon to shed the straitjacket of material existence and return to the Light whence he came, a realm he cannot imagine but which, they believe, will feel like “home.”
Magus wisdom teaches that the purpose of life is to be a part of God's Creation rather than try to have a piece of it. But not everyone agrees. Some believe the purpose of life is to have. In ignorance of the divine plan, or by simply rejecting it as unprofitable, these misguided souls feed off the efforts of producers rather than become one of them. With time, these parasites become dependent on their hosts and, once they realize their dependency, become aggressively possessive. As their fear of losing their source of sustenance escalates, they progressively increase their stranglehold until their fear consumes their existence. If an outsider tries to free their host from their grip by educating him, their fear turns to panic. They react to the insult on their sense of security with unchained vengeance in the hope that unrestrained cruelty will prevent future insults. When the short-term ecstasy of revenge dissipates and fear returns, they repeat their aggression, over and over, increasing their level of cruelty with each step, hoping that the higher “dosage” will produce lasting fear-relief, until they become addicted to “payback” as well, the pursuit of the Old Testament “eye-for-eye” vengeance-ideology. It was this unquenchable thirst for revenge born out of fear that drove Caiaphas and company to torture Jesus to death with such savagery. All because they thought life was about having rather than being.
Just as aborigines worldwide have no concept of land ownership, the Sumerians did not “own” land before Hammurabi's Hebrew despotism, and Hungarians do not even have a word equivalent for the verb have. Both examples are acknowledgments of a universal truth: all matter and power known to Man exist, has existed and continue to exist independent of any claims of ownership by transients who may come in contact with them for a time. Perhaps this is the truth Jesus is trying to make us understand and adopt when he tells us to get rid of our earthly possessions; to be a part of God's Creation rather than try to have a piece of it. Is a man's claim of ownership of the Universe, even in part, any less absurd than a moth claiming ownership of the porch light? These ought to be the objects of meditation for those searching for the purpose of life.
To be a part of God's Creation, Jesus encourages us to seek the Truth. This advice makes sense only if we view Man's calling as do Nib-Ur's (Nimrod) peoples. They believe that every man's calling is to create himself, to bring into being a mature element of humanity using his intellect and knowledge. He is born with his intellect but must acquire knowledge by seeking the Truth.
People of the Light believe that God offers every man a chance to participate, at the individual level, in God's progressive creation of Mankind or, to paraphrase the young poet, Petőfi, to become a ray of sunshine that ripens the Earth as it ripens the grape on the vine.
