Introduction

Anyone studying man from a historical perspective, will find that man"s life has been characteristic of numerous of hardship and vicissitudes. He has always been wondering as to the root cause of these sufferings and misery as well as the solutions to them. If he realized that his suffering originated in something, he would take action to do away with it and if it were not within his means to do so, he would have to put up with it. But it appears that in this battle he has not hitherto been able to find a way to victory. The question arises as to why man has failed to achieve victory in this battle. Has he not been able to find the origin of his sufferings, or he has identified it but he has not found a solution to it? It seems that he has neither found the origin nor has he chosen an appropriate solution. 

The main emphasis in this lesson shall be on presenting not only the cause of the suffering and the way to prosperity but also on showing how knowledge of such facts relates to anthropology. In essence, what is the goal of anthropology?  

EDUCATIONAL CONTENT

Common profound questions

We come across lots of enigmas and mysteries after we open our eyes to this immense world which is full of wonders and surprises. There are questions for which we find appropriate answers but many of them keep our mind busy for a long time and we may not be able to find any concrete answers to them through ordinary avenues.

If we take a cursory look at the questions which we just raised, we would differentiate between two sets of questions: Question which are superficial and ephemeral and which get wiped out from our mind with the passage of time, though we may not have found any answers to them, and questions which are profound and are not easily resolved, should they arise. They are questions that overshadow other activities and insofar as they are not answered, they continue to agitate man"s mind. The second set of questions is also divided into two general and professional (technical) categories.

Professional or technical questions are ones which preoccupy a particular group of people and are perhaps not so important for others. For instance, Einstein"s theory of relativity preoccupied him for a long time but, at the same time, there are millions of people to whom this physics problem appears insignificant or is not a concern to be bothered with. On the other hand, there are questions in the category of profound questions which do not concern a particular individual or group of people. In fact, they intrigue all human beings and all wise men and women. Among them are questions relating to mankind such as: Where was man before he set foot on earth? Did he come into this world of his own accord or was he compelled by a superior force? What is that superior power and where is it? Is man made up of body only or he also consists of non-material elements? Is death the end of man"s existence? Does death terminate man"s entire brilliant hopes, ambitions and what he may be entitled to? Why did man come into this world? There are many such questions which continue to dominate our mind.

Man"s Treasures and Sufferings

Imam Ali, peace be upon him, says in a poem attributed to him[1]: Your cure is within you, if only you can feel, and your sickness is from you, if only you can be patient; you might think that you are a small body in this world, but in fact the immense world is hidden inside of you.

On the one hand, man has a treasure contained in him which is comparable to the great world; on the other hand, he endures a pain which outweighs every other pain. The question is: What is that treasure? What is the cause of his suffering? How can man get that treasure? How can he get rid of the pain that rises from within himself?

The only way to find the treasure and to know the suffering as well as its curing method is to know man as a creature who incorporates both the pain and suffering. This is where anthropology comes in. In other words, anthropology helps man identify his capabilities which are his real treasure and real prosperity and which enable him to rid himself of the endless of suffering which is his very everlasting woe.

A problem of such significance has made man to make praiseworthy efforts to solve it. A sign of this endeavor could be seen in the Ancient Greek motto "Know yourself" which is inscribed above the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. [2] Also, the Holy Messenger of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his descendants, has been reported as having said: "One who knows himself knows his Lord."[3]

In short, knowledge of man is the most important factor in awakening and activating his dormant potentialities. It is befitting for an individual to pay attention, in the first step, to such knowledge in order for him to take a step towards becoming a human being. We also take the first step in discussing the importance of this subject-matter.

Summary

1. The inquiries which every individual may come across are classified into two sets: superficial and transient; profound and everlasting.

2. Some questions relate to a special group of people i.e. those questions which are technical in nature.

3. The issues concerning all human beings are common and profound including queries regarding man"s existence, Creator, his material and spiritual aspects, man"s destiny after death, why man set foot onto this world and so forth.

4. All the pains and sufferings which man suffers from originate in man himself. Identification of the pain and sufferings depends squarely on proper knowledge of man himself.