by In modern times, where the most valued personal quality is productivity and efficiency, one might find himself trapped in the repeating cycle of working and barely living. This is when the main question arises – did we abandon our true nature in order to produce material goods? From ancient times, philosophers and religious gurus tried to find what our true self means and which life path is the right one. In this article, we will provide you with possible answers.
Religions Around the World
If we take a look at the statistics (picture below), two major religious groups in the world are Christians and Muslims, and the third place is reserved for non-religious people. So, even a vague look at this pie chart shows us that human beings are mostly believing ones (84%). Furthermore, there is a theory stating that even atheists “believe that they don’t believe”. As we can see, spirituality is an essential part of human nature.
Major Religions around the World. Wordpandit
The Human Need for Divine
Psychologist Carl Jung has said that humans have a basic need to make idols. At an early age, our idols are our parents, and later on in life we attribute divine qualities to gods, ideas, or even science. Jung’s main thesis is that we can’t escape our true nature which is a believing one. For example, even though the communists didn’t believe in God (Marx’s viewed religion as “the opium of the people”), they still believed in an idea of solidarity and fraternity, which basically has Christian origins.
Pursuit of Pleasure
Jung’s forerunner Sigmund Freud saw human nature quite differently: the only motivation for human actions is our basic instincts, and the only reason we don’t give in to our animal urges is because society has rigid punishments in order to keep us controlled. These two ways of regulating person’s behaviour are seen in Freud’s theory as:
- The pleasure principle – wanting to fulfil our needs, no matter what
- The reality principle – following rational conditions in order to satisfy our needs
As we can see, in Freud’s theory, human beings are always torn between pleasure-seeking and reality’s laws that inhibit its accomplishment.
The Spirit vs. the Body
Freud’s simplified conception of the human nature bothered Carl Jung, who saw human beings as much more complex and spiritual. These mutual differences have led to their fallout. This Jungian–Freudian battlefield can be seen throughout human history and remains ongoing to these days. People usually see human beings as either spiritual or materialistic ones. As the old saying goes, the truth is usually somewhere in-between, which we will try to represent through the comparison of different spiritual and non-religious practices that are widespread.
Spiritual Side as Our Finest Form
Christianity, the biggest religion in the world, emphasizes: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return”, pointing out the shortness of our earthly life and its finite nature. Christians believe that only the non-material side of ourselves is the one worth keeping. This viewpoint is based on the Christian belief in the Second coming of Jesus Christ. It states that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, will appear again for the second time, and he will reward good people and punish the bad ones. These final soul’s destinations are known as heaven and hell, although there have been many speculations about whether God, with his endless forgiveness, would ever punish any of his “servants”.
Illusions vs. Reality
The belief that this life is just a shadow of the real one dates from an Ancient Greece and Plato’s myth of the cave. This story basically says that we are trapped in the cave where we only see the shadows of real objects, and only the bravest ones have the courage to step out of it and see the true light of day – the infinite world of ideas. So, in Plato’s philosophy, the world around us is just an illusion that prevents us from seeing the basic reality – non-material eternity in which everything good and truthful is created.
Treat Others How You Wish to Be Treated
Stepping out of the cave in Christian philosophy would mean realising that earthly life is worthless in comparison to eternal, one that awaits us after death. In order to achieve that, one must live an existence filled with virtue, and this is the basic idea of almost all world religions:
- Do to others as what you would have them do to you – Christianity
- Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself – Islam
- Do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you – Hinduism
Golden Rule in Religions. Science and Morality. December 13, 2015.
Kindness as a Universal Law
If we want to find more “scientific” laws of human actions, we may look at the solutions given by Immanuel Kant, one of the main figures in modern philosophy. He is best known as the philosopher who tried to give universal answers to the most important questions about human existence. When it comes to morals, he said: “Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” As we can see, both religion and philosophy offer similar solutions to human dilemmas. Furthermore, they both have many overlapping aspects, which we will prove in the next chapter.
Buddhist Philosophy – Realism or Pessimism?
Buddhism is a religion that represents a rather realistic view of life, which is why it’s often seen more as a spiritual philosophy than religion itself. Buddhists call our reality Maya, a wide range of illusions that keep us from the never-changing eternity. In order to understand our place in the world, we must be aware of the basic truths about reality. The first truth of Buddhism is that life is pain and suffering, which is why many people think of it as a “pessimistic philosophy”. Buddhists believe the main reason behind our suffering is our desires, because they put us in the cycle of constant hopes and disappointments.
Overcoming Life’s Pain and Suffering
However, Buddhism suggests that there is a way out of our suffering. Because desires are responsible for all of our pain, the best way to overcome it is by diminishing our cravings. Everyone can become a Buddha, “The Awakened One”, if they follow “The Eightfold Path”, which includes avoiding extreme lifestyles and consists of different truthful ways of living, all of which can be summed up in one: living a rightful life in all of its aspects.
The Noble Eightfold. Nepal Yoga Home
Questioning Religions
With the growth of science, people have started putting their hopes and dreams in its power, even believing that it will solve all of world’s mysteries. Natural consequence of reduced religious authority has been that more and more people became atheists or non-believers. Over time, human doubt escalated very quickly, and the turning point was the “death of God”, presented in the works of Friedrich Nietzsche.
Good or Bad, Who Decides?
Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, reconsidered the established view of morality and human nature. Nietzsche represented the idea that all moral values in Western culture were put out there based on Christianity, and that they don’t inherently have good or bad values by themselves. This moral skepticism’s produced today’s postmodern atmosphere – lost human beings without any solid belief in the purpose of life.
One’s Own Moral Compass
However, the destruction of all the human “idols” didn’t put an end to many unsolved questions – why would so many scientists, though atheists, contribute to humankind through their work, if they really didn’t believe in anything? Because they’ve put an effort into improving humanity, we could assume that they believed in something after all – maybe not life after death, but surely kindness and truthfulness.
Empathy and Kindness
Even after becoming free of religious “chains”, human beings remained human: all around the world the most welcomed traits are tolerance and acceptance, and if we start from our own surroundings, we can see that the most admired people are usually the most empathetic and altruistic ones. So as Bill Bulard said: “The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world.”
Human Nature as a Believing One
After all this comparison, we may say that despite what different religious practices individually represent, the “golden rule” in all of them stays the same: in order to achieve true happiness, one must live a life full of virtue and kindness. Even the world’s biggest inventors, who declared themselves as atheists, made a contribution to humanity and therefore accomplished high moral values which are globally seen as good.
Respecting Life and Lifting Others
It is said that if one truly loves life and appreciates it as a miracle, he will therefore act righteously and with a full respect for all other living beings. Furthermore, he will cherish even the most ordinary phenomenon, because every aspect of reality is a mystery which remains unsolved. Additionally, if we look around the world today, with all of its wars and misunderstandings, we can say that now is more relevant than ever Dalai Lama’s saying: “The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.”
At its core, the long journey of religion, philosophy, and human thought reveals a simple and enduring truth about how we are meant to live.
- Across religions, philosophies, and even secular thought, the central message remains the same: true fulfillment comes from virtue, empathy, and responsibility toward others.
- Human beings are naturally inclined to believe—whether in God, moral laws, or human values—and this belief shapes our actions and sense of purpose.
- Material progress alone cannot satisfy the human spirit; balance between inner awareness and outward action is essential for a meaningful life.
Looking forward, in a world increasingly divided by ideology and speed, rediscovering this shared ethical foundation can help humanity move toward greater understanding, compassion, and lasting peace.
