The “why,” or the cause of things, is more fundamental, because it comes first. Yet, if we continue to ask why, we will end up with many unanswerable questions. We can ask, “Why is the sky blue?”.
The “how” is about what action do you need to perform to accomplish a desired goal. It comes after the “why.” First you need to know “why” you want to accomplish something. Then you go about “how” to do it. The why is, “I’m, hungry.” The how is, “I put together some food to make lunch.”
But if you ask me more fundamental questions about our lives, such as, “Why are people so cruel to each other and why is life so painful?” I would have to go on for days to explain all the why’s.
If you ask me, “How do I go about living a happy life, in spite of people’s cruelty and all the pain?” I will be able to give you some actions that have helped me achieve happiness. And I might even give some blanket statement about the human mind being hard-wired to survive at all costs. But then, you could keep asking, “Why, Why, Why?” Why survive at all costs if it is so painful?
Therefore, “why,” the ultimate Great Unknown, is like the Source Energy of the Universe. It can never be completely explained in a way that takes all the factors involved and is fundamentally unknowable. But a step-by-step process of how to do something is within our grasp and a secondary part of an intention.
- A scientist will tell you the sky is not really blue. It depends on how light is refracted and reflected, and how it is dealt with by your optic nerve.
- A mother might say the sky is blue, “Because I said so, now go and clean your room.”
- A religious devotee might say the sky is blue because God ordained it to be that way.
The “how” is about what action do you need to perform to accomplish a desired goal. It comes after the “why.” First you need to know “why” you want to accomplish something. Then you go about “how” to do it. The why is, “I’m, hungry.” The how is, “I put together some food to make lunch.”
But if you ask me more fundamental questions about our lives, such as, “Why are people so cruel to each other and why is life so painful?” I would have to go on for days to explain all the why’s.
If you ask me, “How do I go about living a happy life, in spite of people’s cruelty and all the pain?” I will be able to give you some actions that have helped me achieve happiness. And I might even give some blanket statement about the human mind being hard-wired to survive at all costs. But then, you could keep asking, “Why, Why, Why?” Why survive at all costs if it is so painful?
Therefore, “why,” the ultimate Great Unknown, is like the Source Energy of the Universe. It can never be completely explained in a way that takes all the factors involved and is fundamentally unknowable. But a step-by-step process of how to do something is within our grasp and a secondary part of an intention.
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