By Dr Vinod Raturi
I was recently sitting in a sterile, brightly lit office of my bank, discussing finances with the manager. We had spent the first half of our meeting deeply engaged in the contemporary realities of India’s international trade. Given my keen interest in observing how India fares in the global market- especially regarding its ongoing bilateral agreements, foreign trade policies, and economic shifts – our talk naturally began with the microeconomics of commerce.
The young finance officer was particularly fascinated by the evolving mechanism behind cross-border payments, specifically the Reserve Bank of India’s frameworks facilitating international trade settlements in Indian Rupees (INR). We discussed the tactical setup of Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs), current swap agreements, and how changing payment modes with various partner nations are fundamentally shifting India’s global footprint.
Yet, in a setting completely defined by cold numbers, trade deficits, and monetary systems, the human mind unexpectedly reached for something greater. Knowing that I am currently writing a book on spirituality and the mystical parts of our universe, the manager suddenly paused. He leaned back in his chair, looked past the computer screen, and asked me a question that completely shifted the energy in the room: “What do you think is the actual cause of human existence in this universe?”
I managed to satisfy the curious mind of the finance officer within our limited time together, but the discussion refused to leave me. It kept lingering in my mind long after I left the bank. How could a conversation that started with trade routes, payment modes, and financial systems pivot so naturally into existential mystery? After days of pondering over that unexpected conversation, my thoughts finally crystallised. The final thesis of that mental journey came together in the form of this article.
Unlike other species that live purely on survival instinct, humans possess a unique consciousness that craves purpose. Whether we are managing global money or exploring the cosmos, we all eventually hunger for deeper meaning. To understand why we are here, we must look through three distinct windows – science, philosophy and spirituality.
From a scientific standpoint, human existence is the result of billions of years of cosmic evolution. However, our creation serves a beautiful function. The famous astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” The universe is vast, cold and mostly silent. By evolving consciousness, the universe has finally created a being that can observe it, calculate its laws, and appreciate its beauty. Through our eyes, telescopes and math equations, the universe is no longer blind; it is self-aware or to say it is experiencing itself.
If we look from the spiritual point of view then we find that most major world religions and spiritual traditions suggest that humans were created with a higher responsibility. We are not just accidental visitors; we are chosen caretakers. Spirituality teaches us that we are created to practice compassion, love and kindness, lifting the vibration of the earth, which make us the guardians of creation.
When we glance at the philosophical part of this phenomenon then we realise that we are the creators of our own meaning. Philosophers of existentialism argue that humans were not born with pre-determined destiny. Instead, we are born as a blank canvas. It promulgates that man was created to be an author of meaning. We created purpose through art, music, literature, and technology. We build societies, fight for justice, and care for the weak. In a universe driven by chaotic physics, humans introduce order, morality, and justice.
But when we look closely at contemporary human behaviour, a painful irony emerges. The very traits that define our unique existence- our intelligence, our ability to structure complex global systems, and our deep capacity for consciousness- are often misdirected. If we measure our actions against the three windows of our purpose, a troubling paradox comes to light.
Science suggests we were created to observe, understand and protect the cosmos. Yet our current behaviour reflects a dangerous obsession with short-term consumption. Instead of acting as conscious observers, we are blinding ourselves with screen addiction, superficial metrics, and corporate greed. We are actively destroying the biosphere of the only planet we know to sustain life, failing in our evolutionary duty to preserve the cosmic spark of intelligence. On the spiritual front, also, the situation is not very rosy. Just like the international trade mechanism I discussed with the finance official, we have treated our existential purpose as a purely transactional business. True spirituality asks us to elevate global consciousness through love, compassion and self-realisation. Instead, modern human behaviour is plagued by hyper-individualism, tribalism, and ego. We are busy in building walls, hoarding wealth and fighting over dogmas, completely losing sight of our role as the compassionate caretakers of creation. The principle of existentialism dictates that humans are free to create their own profound meaning. Sadly, mass consumerism has hijacked this freedom. Rather than filling this blank canvas with philosophy, deep human bonds, universal justice, and sensibilities, we are colouring it with superficial trends and synthetic distractions. We have mistaken economic productivity for existential purpose.
As I pondered over my conversation with the young bank manager, the ultimate truth became clear: “Humanity is currently facing a massive spiritual deficit.” We have mastered the mechanics of survival, international trade and digital global networks, but we have bankrupted our inner selves. We are active employees who are so obsessed with the logistics of the workplace that we have entirely forgotten what the business was built to create.
We are not fully serving our purpose because we are trapped in the material layer of existence. However, the fact that a young finance officer – surrounded by spreadsheets, and numbers- still felt the deep, instinctive urge to ask about the cause of human existence proves that our true purpose is not dead. It is simply buried under the noise of the modern world, waiting to be reactivated. As my tête-à-tête with the bank manager reminded me, the search for meaning is universal. It connects the world of trade and finance directly to the cosmic canvas. The answer to the question why humans were created is not a single destination, but a journey. We were created to explore the unknown, to protect our fragile planet, to love one another and to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Our purpose is to leave the universe a little more understood and the earth a little more beautiful, than we found it.
(The author is a geopolitical analyst and an alumnus of School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi, and Moscow State University, Russia. He also has a keen interest in various literary genres. His books, “Multi Colored Rain” (an anthology of English poetry) and “Resuscitation of Experiences: Romancing the Poetics of Leeladhar Jagudi” (A Hindi to English translation work) have been widely discussed.)
