Victor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist in Austria
when Hitler began his extermination programme against the people of Jewish
origin. Frankl and his wife were arrested and sent to the concentration camps
in northern Europe where lakhs of people were killed in cold blood. The forced
manual labor, the bitter cold and the extremely inadequate food hastened the
death of many prisoners. But in spite of such intolerable conditions, thousands
including Frankl came through it all alive. Reflecting later on his experience
he came to the conclusion that those who have survived had something to live
for and especially someone to live for; what was crucial was a deeper meaning
which helped them face cruel and inhuman suffering and come out on top.
It is vital for every human being to have meaning in
life. When it is not existent or superficial, one feels emptiness deep down and
crumbles in the face of suffering and the harsher realities of life. But one
who has ‘WHY’ to live can manage any ‘HOW’. Even adverse circumstances can’t
crush a person who has deep seated reason to live.
What is the meaning of life for people around us? For
many it is money: the constant preoccupation to get more to enhance enjoyment
and suffering. For some it is power and position. Many of our youth are bored
with life and so seek an escape through drugs, alcohol, sex or films. Life for many
older people means inactivity, neglect, loneliness, uncertainty. And for
millions of people life is a daily struggle for food, for work and for other
basic necessities. What does life mean for us?
In prayer and in the light of God’s word, we are
able to look at and understand our life and our experiences. We see and are
grateful for each person whose love and concern have helped us become what we
are today. We appreciate each even, big or small, which ha s facilitated our
growth. We realize that our life becomes meaningful when we forget our own
interests and commit ourselves to the service and liberation of others. We see
how even our suffering and negative experiences have in some real way contributed
positively to our life.
Behind all these happenings and persons I discover a
loving God whose acceptance of me and concern for me is total and
unconditional, in whose eyes I am precious (Is 43)and in whose hand my name is
carved (Is 49, 16). These felt experiences, deeper insights and faith
convictions form to a larger extent my meaning of life – what I live for and
what I am ready to die for. In the final analysis it will be related to and
based on love – love received, love offered, love poured out in service. The life
becomes meaningful when we give than we receive.