THE DESTINATION OF MAN

Dr. Alexis Carrel was born in France in 1873. After receiving higher education in Science (Medicine) in France, he went to the United States in 1905 to join the staff of Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research in New York and remained there for 30 years. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1912 for his contribution to the field of medicine. He died in 1944 in France. Dr. Carrel's book titled, Man the Unknown, which was published in 1935 and reprinted on several occasions, was his most popular work. A commentator aptly says of it: "This book sums up much of his experience of man and his life seen from a purely scientific aspect." But, as we learn from his 312-page book, Dr. Alexis Carrel failed to find the reality of human life. That is why he titled the book, Man the Unknown. A study of 4Ms hop tells us that, so far as man as a scientific entity is concerned, he was, to a--great_ extent, 'discovered' by Dr. Carrel. Then the question arises as to why he gave his book a title of this nature. This apparent confusion stems from the fact that although Dr. Carrel had 'discovered' man, his study did not lead him to any certain knowledge of man's 'destination'. He felt that a 'known' man was heading towards an 'unknown' destination. The truth is that what is unknown is not man, but rather his destination. A more apt title for his book might have been, "Man's Destination, the Unknown." This is not a problem faced by Dr. Carrel alone. The same has been and still is true of all philosophers and thinkers. Although man has appeared to them to be a known entity, they have remained totally ignorant of his ultimate destination. It is this ideological vacuum between man and his 'destination', which shows us how mysterious, indeed, are the ways of God to man, so that, ultimately, nothing but bewilderment awaits him. Man is a perfectionist by birth. By nature, he wants a perfect existence, an eternal life, unlimited" happiness, no obstacles, etc. He wants a world, which is the realization of human dreams. A world that is free from all contradictions. A world where man may lead his life with a sense of total fulfillment. He wants a perfect world, but despite all his efforts, he is fated to realize that finding a perfect world is an impossibility.