Module I

Lesson 3. THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE

Lesson Objectives:
After studying this lesson on the ultimate purpose of human life, you shall
be able to:
1. deduce that the over-all purpose of human life is happiness;
2. demonstrate understanding that what can satisfy man's craving for
happiness must be total, permanent, lasting and eternal; and
3. invite yourself to contemplate that God or the Supreme Being is the
ultimate purpose of human life because He alone can make man
completely happy, for God or the Supreme Being is the beginning as
well as the end of human existence.

Terms as Defined, Gleaned from the Given Selections

1. Purpose — that for which an action is done
2. Intellect — seeks for truth
3. Will — always inclined toward the good
4. Good — object of the will
5. God or the Supreme Being — the only total truth, the only total good,
the satisfaction of all man's desires, transcends geographical
boundaries and time zones
6. Highest good — desired for its own sake
7. Object of the intellect — universal truth
8. Object of the will — universal good
9. Contemplation — highest form of activity-loved for its own sake.

1
Philosophical Questions:
1. Is there a general purpose for human acts?
2. Is there one commonn objective for human acts?
3. What do all men consciously strive for?
4. If there were no items to buy, would there still be a desire for money?
5. What is the truth that can satisfy the craving of the intellect?
6. What is the good that will satisfy the craving of man's will?

Thoughts to Ponder on, Gleaned from the Given Selections

1. Every human act has happiness for a purpose.
2. Food satisfies the body only until it is satiated.
3. Power can be cumbersome.
4. A man/woman ages, hence, good looks will not last forever.
5. What makes a man/woman distinctly man/woman are his/her faculties
of intellect and will.
6. What wields religions together is the common aspirations they share
towards a Supreme Being whether He is called God or Allah or
Brahman.
7. Wealth shines in giving rather in hoarding.
8. The final good is thought to be self-sufficient.
9. Man is born for citizenship.
10. To be happy takes a complete lifetime.
11. The enjoyment of knowledge is still a pleasanter occupation than the
pursuit of it.
12. The activity of contemplation may be held to be the only activity that
is loved for its own sake.

Purpose is that for which an action is done. One's purpose or reason for studying is
to learn and earn a degree necessary for employment. One builds a house to have a
permanent dwelling place; one gets married to procreate and to establish a family.
All our actions, provided they are human acts, have a purpose or end or objective.
We eat to satisfy hunger; we bathe in order to be clean; we stand up in
order to do something and so on. There is no human act without a purpose.
Is there a general purpose for human acts? Is there one common end or
objective of human act? One thing is certain. We do not perform an act in order
to cause pain on ourselves. No one consciously seeks misery or unhappiness.
Reflecting upon what we do, we are led to a common purpose or objective.
Every human act has happiness for a purpose or objective. It happens
sometimes that we undergo an operation or have a tooth extracted for the purpose
of achieving health which is indispensable to happiness. We do not undergo an
operation or have a tooth extracted for the purpose of experiencing pain and
inconvenience. We agree to an operation or tooth extraction in spite, not because,
of pain. In this case, a greater happiness is achieved by the removal of the
inconvenience brought about by them.
If all human acts have happiness as purpose or end or objective, would it
also be the ultimate end or purpose of human life itself? What do all men
consciously strive for? What do all men naturally tend to?
All men strive to be happy. The over-all purpose of human life is happiness.
Why does a person eat or drink or make merry? Or why does he scale heights or
go through hardships to accomplish an end? Or why does he drink and gamble and
stake everything he has? If one examines all these human acts, one inevitably
arrives at happiness as a common objective. No matter how diverse our human
acts are, such as those of a lazy person or an ambitious one, or a politician, an
artist or a religious person, all their acts are done in view of happiness. We may
not agree as to what can make us happy, but collectively, men act for the sake of
happiness.
People, however, may not be aware all the time that they aim to be happy.
This is because they do not have the habit of examining their deeper purposes.
but a reflection on this point would easily yield the answer. All men live and
work for happiness. In some Constitutions, the pursuit of happiness of individuals
is enshrined.
A more important question is: if men have diverse concepts of happiness,
what will make men truly happy? Is there only one concept of happiness that
will satisfy man as a human being?
While there are indeed diverse concepts of happiness that individuals pursue,
i.e., food, drink, sex, art, success, still there is one concept of happiness that
will satisfy man as man. Food satisfies the body but only until it is satiated.
Likewise, with drink and sex. Art satisfies the mind and soul, but even art has its
limit, beyond which it cannot satisfy man's craving for happiness. Success has to
be constantly nurtured; otherwise, success loses its glitter. Everything is pursued
for the sake of happiness; for no other reason do men indulge in food or drink or
sex or art were it not for the elusive happiness they erroneously think is in these
things. Men, however, soon realize that these things do not only give lasting
happiness but may even result in pain when overindulged in.
If the above do not make men happy, what about money? Men do not seem
to have enough of money. The millionaire does not stop at millions but desires
to make billions. Money is hoarded or is used to buy goods that would produce
more money. Would money satisfy man's craving for happiness? Further thought
on the matter would easily yield a negative answer. Money is desired only because
of its buying power, or for the power that it wields. But what if there were no
things to buy due to some war or depression? Would there still be a desire for
money?
Would power constitute happiness? Again, power has its limitations. Power
can even be cumbersome. In some cases, powerful persons are annoyed at the
prerequisites of power. Sychopants plague them with requests accompanied by
flattery.
Would good looks satisfy man's craving for happiness? A man ages, and
hence, his good looks will not last forever.
What can satisfy man's craving for happiness must be total, permanent,
lasting and eternal? If a man knew that an enjoyable party would soon end, would
his happiness be completed? If a man realizes that old age and death are
inevitable, how can he find lasting satisfaction in this life? True happiness must
have no admixture of misery, pain or unhappiness. Nothing in this world is
permanent or lasting. Neither money nor power popularity nor good looks. Hence,
what can make a person happy cannot be in this world, for nothing in this world
is eternal. The poet Robert Browning wrote, "Man's reach should exceed his
grasp, or what's a heaven for?" If man could possess everything he desired on
earth, indeed, what's a heaven for?"
 What can make a man happy lies in the satisfaction of his capacities of
man as man. What are the qualities that make a man to be distinctly man? Not
his body or senses since he has these in common with brute animals. Not his
capacity to nourish himself, grow and reproduce, because plants can do the same.
What makes a man distinctly man are his faculties of intellect and will, and hence
man's satisfaction lies in total truth and total goodness.
The intellect of man seeks truth and will not stop until it possesses truth
without error. The will of man is always inclined toward the good. The good in
this sense is the pleasurable good, not the moral good. For instance, a person is
attracted to liquor because he looks upon it as a pleasurable good. He drinks in
spite of the hangover or the threat of liver cancer. A person is attracted to
illicit sex even when he knows that it is a moral evil. This is because he looks
upon it as a good, i.e., a psychological good that will give him pleasure.
What is the total or absolute truth and good? What is the truth that can satisfy the
craving of man's intellect? What is the good that will satisfy the craving of man's will?
There is only one total truth, and that is God or the Supreme Being. There
is only one total good, and that is God or the supreme Being.
The above statement is not a religious, but a philosophical one. It is not due to
faith or any membership in a religious sect. One arrives at these conclusions through the
use of one's reasoning power.
Truth in the world continues to elude man. Through the centuries men have
thought that they held the truth, only to realize later that it was an imperfect one.
Total satisfaction of men's yearnings has not been had in this world. Even the
usual goods that men desire, like food, drink, sex, money, power, good looks,
eventually lose their luster due to aging, boredom and satiety. The wise man is
he who does not stake his entire life on any of the above goods because he knows
that what can satisfy man's craving can only be the lasting or eternal. God alone
can satisfy man's will. St. Augustine expressed the sentiment very aptly when he
said, "Our hearts were made for thee, O God, and they will be restless until they
rest in thee."
(See Confessions)
The skeptical man will, however, ask: how can God satisfy my craving as a
human being if I am not even sure about His existence? Or, the believer can
even say that while he admits the existence of God, he does not see how God
could satisfy his innermost desires. Many believers consider God as a God of fear
and they cannot connect the Supreme Being to their human cravings. Some would
even say that if they were rich and forever young and could have the usual
pleasures of life to an unlimited degree, they could not desire anything more.
This situation is very much like that of a young child who, because he
thoroughly enjoys his lollipop and is loathe to share it with anyone, hides behind
a door to indulge his pleasure. If perchance, an older person offers a thousand
pesos in exchange for the lollipop, the young child would keep his lollipop rather
than accept an amount of money which could buy him a carload of lollipops.
This is because he does not understand the purchasing power of money and cannot
postpone that pleasure he is presently enjoying. He cannot wait for a future of
greater pleasure which to him is uncertain. When a person disclaims that God is
the satisfaction of all human desires, and that he would rather have his "heaven
on earth" it is only because, like the young child, he does not understand that a
future and enormously greater happiness awaits him, and that he would rather
indulge his small pleasure here and now.
That God or the Supreme Being is the satisfaction of all our desires is a
theme orchestrated by saints and mystics and wise men all the world over. Eastern
as well as Western philosophers have copiously written about experiences beyond
the reach of logic and common sense. The Muslim sufi was known to have
exclaimed, "I went from God to God, until they cried from me in me, 'O Thou I.'
The Indian rishi or seers understood that only Brahman or the Supreme Being
could satisfy all human desires, and thus the path that yoga treads is ananda marga
or the "path to joy" because it leads to union with the Supreme Being. What
welds religions together is the common aspirations they share towards a Supreme
Being whether he is called God or Allah or Brahman. Hence the idea that God or
the Supreme Being alone can satisfy man as man transcends geographical
boundaries and time zones. It is not confined to Christian writers and/or Catholic
saints.
If we therefore search ourselves deeply for the satisfaction of our deepest human
desires, we would find that only the Creator can satisfy His creatures.
Hence, God or the Supreme Being is the ultimate purpose of human life because
He alone can make man completely happy. God or the Supreme Being is the
beginning as well as the end of human existence, truly the Alpha and Omega, the
first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

Readings in Module I. Lesson 3

The Ultimate Purpose of Human Life

From the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas, Part

I-II, Question 5, Article 8: "Whether every man desires
happiness?"

I answer that, Happiness can be considered in two ways. First, according to

the general notion of happiness: and thus, of necessity, every man desires
happiness, for the general notion of happiness con sists in the perfect good. But
since good is the object of the will, the perfect good of a man is that which
entirely satisfies his will. Consequently, to desire happiness is nothing else than
to desire that one's will be satisfied. And this everyone desires. Secondly, we
may speak of happiness according to its specific notion, as to that in which it
consists. And thus all do not know happiness; because they know not in what
thing the general notion of happiness is found. And consequently in this respect,
not all desire it.

From the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas, Part

I-II, Question 2, Article 1. "Whether man's happiness
consists in wealth?"

Objection 1:
It would seem that man's happiness consists in wealth. For since
happiness is man's last end, it must consist in that which has the
greatest hold on man's affections. Now this is wealth: for it is written
(Eccles. x. 19): All things obey money. Therefore man's happiness
consists in wealth.
Objection 2:
Further, according to Boethius (De Consol.iii), happiness is a state of
life made perfect by the aggregate of all good things. Now money
seems to be the means of possessing all things; for, as the philosopher
says (Ethic. v.5), money was invented, that it might be a sort of
guarantee for the acquisition of whatever man desires. Therefore
happiness consists in wealth.
Objection 3:
Further, since the desire for the sovereign good never fails, it seems to
be infinite. But this is the case with riches more than anything else;
since a covetous man shall not be satisfied with riches (Eccles. v.9).
Therefore happiness consists in wealth.

On the contrary, Man's good consists in retaining happiness rather than in

spreading it. But as Boethius says (De Consol.ii), wealth shines in giving rather
in hoarding: for the miser is hateful, whereas the generous man is applauded.
Therefore man's happiness does not consist in wealth.
I answer that. It is impossible for man's happiness to consist in wealth. For
wealth is twofold, as the Philosopher says (Polit. i.3), viz., natural and artificial.
Natural wealth is that which serves man as a remedy for his natural wants: such
as food, drink, clothing, cars, dwellings, and such like, while artificial wealth is
that which is not a direct help to nature, as money, but is invented by the art of
man, for the convenience of exchange, and as a measure of things salable.
Now it is evident that man's happiness cannot consist in natural wealth. For
wealth of this kind is sought for the sake of something else, viz., as a support of
human nature; consequently it cannot be man's last end, rather it is ordained to
man as to its end. Wherefore in the order of nature, all such things are below
man, and made for him, according to Ps. viii. 8: Thou has subjected all things
under his feet.
And as to artificial wealth, it is not sought save for the sake of natural
wealth; since man would not seek it except because, by its means, he procures for
himself the necessaries of life. Consequently much less can it be considered in
the light of the last end. Therefore it is impossible for happiness, which is the
last end of man, to consist in wealth.

Reply Objection 1:
All material things obey money, so far as the multitude of fools is
concerned, who know other than material goods, which can be obtained
for money. But we should take our estimation of human goods not from
the foolish but from the wise; just as it is for a person, whose sense of
taste is in good order, to judge whether a thing is palatable.
Reply Objection 2:
All things salable can be had for money; not so spiritual things, which
cannot be sold. Hence it is written (Prov. xvii.16): What both it avail
a fool to have riches, seeing he cannot buy wisdom.
Reply Objection 3:
The desire for natural riches is not infinite because they suffice for
nature in a certain measure. But the desire for artificial wealth is
infinite, for it is the servant of disordered concupiscence, which is
not curbed, as the Philosopher makes clear (Polit. i. 3). Yet this desire
for wealth is infinite otherwise than the desire for the sovereign good.
For the more perfectly the sovereign good is possessed, the more it is
loved, and other things despised; because the more we possess it, the
more we know it. Hence it is written, (Eccles, xxiv, 29): They that eat
me shall yet hunger. Whereas in the desire for wealth and for whatsover
temporal goods, the contrary is the case: for when we already possess
them, we despise them, and seek others: which is the sense of Our
Lord's words (Jo. iv. 13): Whoever drinketh of this water, by which
temporal goods are signified, shall thirst again. The reason for this is
that we realize more their insufficiency when we possess them: and
this very fact shows that they are imperfect, and that the sovereign
good does not consist therein.

From the Summa Contra Gentiles by St. Thomas Aquinas,

Chapter XXX, "That man's happiness does not consist in
riches"
 Riches are not desired except for something else; for of themselves they do no
good, but only as we use them:
1. The highest good is desired for its own sake, and not for the sake of
something else.
2. The possession or preservation of those things cannot be the highest
good, which benefit man most in being parted with. But such is the
use of riches, to spend.
3. The act of liberty and munificence, the virtues that deal with money,
is more praiseworthy, in that money is parted with, than that money is
got. Man's happiness therefore does not consist in the possession of
riches.
4. That in the gaining of which man's chief good lies must be something
better than man. But man is better than his riches, which are things
ordained to his use.
5. The highest good of man is not subject to fortune: for fortuitous events
happen without effort, of reason, whereas man must gain his proper
end and by reason. But fortune has great place in the gaining of riches.

From Chapter XXVIII and XXIX: "That happiness

does not consist in honors nor in human glory"

The last end and happiness of man is his most perfect activity. But the
honor paid to a man does not consist in any act of his own, but in the act of
another towards him.
1. That is not the last end, which is good and desirable on account of
something else. But such is honor, for a man is not rightly honored
except for some other good thing existing in him.
2. Even bad men may be honored. It is better then to become worthy of
honor than to be honored. Therefore honor is not the highest good of
man?
 Hence it appears that neither does man's chief good consist in glory, or
celebrity of fame. For glory, according to Cicero, is a "frequent mention of a
man with praise;" or according to St. Augustine, "brilliant notoriety with praise."
So then men wish for notoriety, attended with praise and a certain brilliance, that
they may be honored by those to whom they become known. Glory then is sought
for the sake of honor. If then honor is not the highest good, much less is glory.

From the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas

Aquinas, Part I-II, Question 2, Article 8 "Whether
any created good constitutes man's happiness?"

I answer that, it is impossible for any created good to constitute man's

happiness. For happiness is the perfect good, which lulls the appetite altogether;
else it would not be the last end, if something yet remained to be desired. Now
the object of the will, i.e., of man's appetite, is the universal good; just the object
of the intellect is the universal truth. Hence it is evident that naught can lull man's
will, save the universal good. This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God
alone; because every creature has goodness by participation. Wherefore God alone
can satisfy the will of man, according to the words of Ps.cii.5: Who satisfieth thy
desire with good things. Therefore God alone constitutes man's happiness.

From the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas,

Part I-II, Question 3, Article 1: "Whether happiness
is something uncreated?"

I answer that, as stated above, our end is twofold. First, there is the thing
itself which we desire to attain; thus for the miser, the end is money. Secondly,
there is the attainment or possession, the use or enjoyment of the thing desired;
thus we may say that the end of the miser is the possession of money; and the
end of the intemperate man is to enjoy something pleasurable.
In the first sense, then, man's last end is the uncreated good, namely God,
Who alone by His infinite goodness can perfectly satisfy man's will. But in the
second way, man's last end is something created, existing in him, and this is
nothing else than the attainment or enjoyment of the last end. Now the last end
is called happiness. If, therefore, we consider man's happiness in its cause or
object, then it is something uncreated; but if we consider it as to the very essence
of happiness, then it is something created.

From the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas

Aquinas, Part I-II, Question 5, Article 3 "Whether
one can be happy in this life?"

I answer that. A certain participation of happiness can be had in this life:

but perfect and true happiness cannot be had in this life. This may be seen from
a twofold consideration.
First, from the general notion of happiness. For since happiness is a perfect
and sufficient good, it excludes every evil, and fulfills every desire. But in this
life every evil cannot be excluded. For this present life is subject to many
unavoidable evils; to ignorance on the part of the intellect; to inordinate affection
on the part of the appetite, and to many penalties on the part of the body; as
Augustine sets forth in the De Civitate Dei, xix. 4. Likewise neither can the
desire for good be satiated in this life, for man naturally desires the good, which
he has, to be abiding. Now the goods of the present life pass away; since life
itself passes away, which we naturally desire to have, and would wish to hold
abidingly, for man naturally shrinks from death. Whereof it is impossible to
have true happiness in this life.
Secondly, from a consideration of the specific nature of happiness, viz.,
the vision of the Divine Essence, which man cannot obtain in this life. Hence it
is evident that none can attain true and perfect happiness in this life.

*From the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle, Book I

The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth

is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake
of something else. And so one might rather take the aforenamed objects to be
ends; for they are loved for themselves. But it is evident that not even these are
ones; yet many arguments have been thrown away in support of them. Let us
leave this subject, then.
We had perhaps better consider the universal good and discuss thoroughly
what is meant by it, although such an inquiry is made an uphill one by the fact that
the Forms have been introduced by friends of our own. Yet it would perhaps be
thought to be better, indeed to be our duty, for the sake of maintaining the truth
even to destroy what touches us closely, especially as we are philosophers or
lovers of wisdom; for while both are dear, piety requires us to honor truth above
our friends.
But what then do we mean by the good? It is surely not like the things that
only chance to have the same name. Are goods one, then, by being derived from
one good or by all contributing to one good, or are they rather one by analogy?
Certainly as sight is in the body, so is reason in the soul, and so on in other cases.
But perhaps these subjects had better be dismissed for the present; for perfect
precision about them would be more appropiate to another branch of philosophy.
And similarly with regard to the Idea; even if there is some one good which is
universally predictable of goods or is capable of separate and independent
existence, clearly it could not be achieved or attained by man; but we are now
seeking something attainable. Perhaps, however, some one might think it
worthwhile to recognize this with a view to the goods that are attainable and
achievable; for having this as a sort of pattern we shall know better the goods
that are good for us, and if we know them shall attain them. This argument has
some plausibility, but seems to clash with the procedure of the sciences; for all
of these, though they aim at some good and seek to supply the deficiency of it,
leave on one side the knowledge of the good. Yet that all the exponents of the
arts should be ignorant of and should not even seek, so great an aid is not probable.
It is hard, too, to see how a weaver or a carpenter will be benefitted in regard to
his own craft by knowing this "good itself," or how the man who has viewed the
Idea itself will be a better doctor or general thereby. For a doctor seems not even
to study health in this way, but the health of man, or perhaps rather the health of
a particular man; it is individuals that he is healing. But enough of these topics.
 Let us again return to the good we are seeking, and ask what it can be. It
seems different in different actions and arts; it is different in medicine, in strategy,
and in the other arts likewise. What then is the good of each? Surely that for
whose sake everything else is done. In medicine this is health; in strategy, victory;
in architecture, a house; in any other sphere something else, and in every action
and pursuit, the end; for it is for the sake of this that all men do whatever else
they do. Therefore, if there is an end for all that we do, this will be the good
achievable by action, and if there are more than one, these will be the good
achievable by action.
Now such a thing happiness, above all else, is held to be; for this we choose
always for itself and never for the sake of something else, but honor, pleasure,
reason, and every virtue we choose indeed for themselves (for if nothing resulted
from them we should still choose each of them), but we choose them also for the
sake of happiness, judging that by means of them we shall be happy. Happiness,
on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, nor, in general, for
anything other than itself.
From the point of view of self-sufficiency the same result seems to follow;
for the final good is thought to be self-sufficient. Now by self-sufficient we do
not mean that which is sufficient for a man by himself, for one who lives a solitary
life, but also for parents, children, wife, and in general for his friends and fellow
citizens, since man is born for citizenship. But some limit must be set to this; for
if we extend our requirement to ancestors and descendants and friends' friends
we are in for an infinite series. Let us examine this question, however, on another
occasion; the self-sufficient we now define as that which when isolated makes
life desirable and lacking in nothing; and such we think happiness to be; and
further we think it most desirable of all things, without being counted as one
good thing among others—if it were so counted it would clearly be made more
desirable by the addition of even the least of goods; for that which is added
becomes an excess of goods, and of goods the greater is always more desirable.
Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action.
Presumably, however, to say that happiness is the chief good seems a platitude,
and a clearer account of what it is still desired. This might perhaps be given, if we could
first ascertain the function of man. For just as for a flute-
 player, a sculptor, or any artist, and, in general, for things that have a function
of activity, the good and the 'well' is thought to reside in the function, so would
it seem to be for man if he has a function. Have the carpenter, then, and the tanner
certain functions or activities, and has man none? Is he born without a function?
Or as eye, hand, foot, and in general each of the parts evidently has a function,
may one lay it down that man similarly has a function apart from all these? What
then can this be? Life seems to be common even to plants, but we are seeking
what is peculiar to man. Let us exclude, therefore, the life of nutrition and growth.
Next there would be a life of perception, but it also seems to be common even to
the horse, the ox, and every animal. There remains, then, an active life of the
element that has a rational principle; of this, one part has such a principle in the
sense of being obedient to one, the other in virtues, in conformity with the best
and most perfect among them.
Moreover, to be happy takes a complete lifetime. For one swallow does not make
summer, nor does one fine day; and similarly one day or a brief period of happiness
does not make a man supremely blessed and happy.
Now we stated that happiness is not a certain disposition of character; since
if it were it might be possessed by a man who passed the whole of his life
asleep, living the life of a vegetable, or by one who was plunged in the deepest
misfortune. If then we reject this as unsatisfactory and feel bound to class
happiness rather as some form of activity, as has been said in the earlier part of
this treatise, and if activities are of two kinds, some merely necessary means
and desirable only for the sake of something else, others desirable in themselves,
it is clear that happiness is to be classified among activities desirable in
themselves, and not among those desirable as a means to something else; since
happiness lacks nothing, and is self-sufficient.
But if happiness consists an activity in accordance with virtue, it is
reasonable that it should be activity in accordance with the highest virtue; and
this will be the virtue of the best part of us. Whether then this be the intellect,
or whatever else it be that is thought to rule and lead us by nature, and to have
cognizance of what is noble and divine, either as being itself also actually divine,
or as being relatively the divinest part of us, it is the activity of this part of us
 in accordance with the virtue proper to it that will constitute perfect happiness; and
it has been stated already that this activity is the activity of contemplation.
And that happiness consists in contemplation may be accepted as agreeing
both with the results already reached and with the truth. For contemplation is at
once the highest form of activity, since the intellect is the highest thing in us,
and the objects with which the intellect deals are the highest things that can be
known; and also it is the most continuous, for we can reflect more continuously
than we can carry on any form of action. And again we suppose that happiness
must contain an element of pleasure; now activity in accordance with wisdom is
admittedly the most pleasant of the activity in accordance with virtue: at all
events it is held that philosophy or the pursuit of wisdom contains pleasures of
marvelous purity and permanence, and it is reasonable to suppose that the
enjoyment of knowledge is a still pleasanter occupation than the pursuit of it.
Also the activity of contemplation will be found to possess in the highest degree
the quality that is termed self-sufficiency; for while it is true that the wise man
equals with the just man and the rest require the necessaries of life, yet these
being adequately supplied, whereas the just man needs other persons towards
whom or with whose aid he may act justly, and so likewise do the temperate man
and the brave man and the others, the wise man on the contrary can also
contemplate by himself, and the more so the wiser he is; no doubt he will study
better with th aid of fellow-workers, but still he is the most self-sufficient of
men. Also the activity of contemplation may be held to be the only activity that
is loved for its own sake: it produces no result beyond the actual act of
contemplation, whereas from practical pursuits we look to secure some advantage,
greater or smaller, beyond the action itself. Also happiness is thought to involve
leisure: for we do business in order that we may have leisure, and carry on war in
order that we may have peace.

From The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Paragraphs 11-25:

"Devotion to the Supreme brings its great reward: lesser
devotions bring lesser rewards"
1. The deluded despise Me clad in human body, not knowing the My
higher nature as Lord of all existences.
2. Partaking of the deceptive nature of friends and demons, their
aspirations are vain, their actions vain, and their knowledge vain, and
they are devoid of judgment.
3. The great-souled, O Arjuna, who abides in the divine nature, knowing
(Me as) the imperishable source of all beings, worship Me with an
undistracted mind.
4. Always glorifying Me, strenuous and steadfast in vows, bowing down
to Me in devotion, they worship Me, ever disciplined.
5. Others, again, sacrifice with the sacrifice of wisdom and worship Me
as the one, as the distinct and as the manifold, facing in all directions.
6. I am the ritual action, I am the sacrifice, I am the ancestral oblation, I
am the medicinal herb, I am the sacred hymn, I am also the melted
butter, I am the fire, and I am the offering.a
7. I am the father of this world, the mother, the supporter, and the
grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier. I am the syllable
Aum, and I am the rik, the sama and the yajus as well.
(N.B. The Sanskrit word aum stands for the letters a and m which are
the first and last letters respectively of the Sanskrit alphabet, similar
to what Jesus Christ said of Himself, "I am the alpha and omega"
which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This means
that the Lord in both cases is the beginning and the end of the universe.
The last Sanskrit words are the names of three of the four ancient
Vedas: the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and the Artharva Veda.
The Indian faith accepted pantheism or the identity of God with
everything.
8. I am the goal, the upholder, the lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge,
and the friend. I am the origin and the dissolution, the ground, the
resting place, and the imperishable seed.
9. I give heat; I withhold and send forth the rain. I am immortality and
also death; I am being as well as non-being, to Arjuna.
10. The knowers of the three Vedas who drank the soma juice and are
cleansed of sin, worshipping Me with sacrifices, pray for the way to
heaven. They reach the holy word Indra (the Lord of heaven) and enjoy
in heaven the pleasures of the gods.(N.B. The word soma is the
Sanskrit word for the liquid used in offering sacrifices to the Indian
gods).
11. Having enjoyed the spacious world of heaven, they enter (return to)
the world of mortals, when their merit is exhausted; thus
conforming to the doctrine enjoined in the three Vedas and desirous
of enjoyments, they obtain the changeable (what is subject to birth
and death).
(N.B. The concept of rebirth or reincarnation is alluded to).
12. But those who worship Me, meditating on Me alone—to them
whoever persevere, I bring attainment of what they have not, and
security in what they have.
13. Even those who are devotees of other gods, worship them with faith—
they also sacrifice to Me alone, O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), though not
according to the true law.
14. For I am the enjoyer and lord of all sacrifices. But these men do not
know Me in My true nature, and so they fall.
15. Worshippers of the gods go to the gods, worshippers of the ancestors
go to the ancestors, sacrificers to the spirits go to the spirits, and those
who sacrifice to Me come to Me.
Module I
Lesson 3

SELF-PROGRESS CHECK TEST

On the blank before each number, write the word that completes the given
statement.

_______________1. The Bible is for the Christians as the________is for the

Muslims.
_______________2. The philosopher who says man is born for citizenship
is________.
_______________3. The Supreme Being for Islam religion is________.
_______________4. The over-all purpose of human life is________.
_______________5. What make men distinctly men are his faculties of
_______________6. ___(5) _____ and __(6) _____.
_______________7. What wields religions together is the common
aspirations they share towards a________Being whether
He is called God, Allah or Brahman.
_______________8. The universal truth is the object of the ______
_______________9. as the univesal good is the object of the________.
______________10. The three imperatives of ethics in order are________,