Is there any Purpose or Meaning in our Lives?

The lines of an old Sahir Ludhianvi song from ‘Hum Dono’ keep ringing in my mind:

“किस लिये जीते हैं हम

किसके लिये जीते हैं

बारहा ऐसे सवालात पे रोना आया

कभी खुद पे

कभी हालत पे रोना आया ....”

Every last one of us needs someone or something to live for. For too many of us a comfortable home, a good job, a reasonable bank balance, good health are all valuable, essential even but somehow not quite enough. We need the laughter of a child or the caring presence of friends, family – people we love  in our lives. For a lucky few, creative or challenging work  provides a purpose. The scientist in his lab, the artist in his studio, the writer struggling with words, the activist fighting for a cause are happy because their lives mean something to them and are going somewhere. But what about a man dying of cancer, a mother struggling with a handicapped child, an abandoned, poverty stricken old man waiting for death… people trapped in the iron grip of terrible circumstances from which there is no escape?

 (Artist: Berit Hildre

Pic re shared courtesy: http:tatucya.com, Art & Painting, www.facebook.com)