Riddle Of The Sphinx

I was speaking to an associate the other day whose grandmother had just died. Understandably, he was rather distraught. He kept saying, "Where do we all fit into the scheme of life.? What does it all mean? Are we just living to die?"

Those questions sparked a memory for me. When I worked at a magazine, I had my share of celebrity interviews. One question I used to ask them was,

"What's the meaning of life?"

That question would almost always floor them. They would either sit there in silence, look up in the air, stare into space, have me ask an easy question or completely shut down and end the interview.

Whatever their reaction was, the question always shook them up a bit. Although I didn't do it to shake them up, it was an interesting experiment in the human psyche.

Life has a different meaning to everyone because our experiences differ greatly. Can most people answer the meaning of life question? Can you answer it? Can I answer it?

We're not living to die, although that is the end result. I think we are here to evolve. Evolution, not revolution is key. How do we evolve? Certain experiences causes some of us to want to evolve, other experiences forces some of us to evolve.

Although we may fight the urge to evolve, I think that when it comes down it, everyone truly wants to evolve.

In Greek mythology, the Sphinx sat outside of Thebes and asked this riddle of all travelers who passed by. If the traveler failed to solve the riddle, the Sphinx killed the traveler. If the traveler answered the riddle, the Sphinx would destroy itself.

Can you answer the riddle? What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?

Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx destroyed itself. The answer is man. Man crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age. Morning, noon, and night are metaphors for the times in a person's life.

My take is that answering the riddle meant that one was at a certain consciousness. If one were killed, one would have to start another life. This cycle would repeat itself until one understood the karmic principles.

By answering the riddle, one is thus killing an old consciousness and proceeding to God consciousness. We are constantly faced with riddles. When you an answer the question, "What's the meaning of life?," you will know why you are here and you will have solved the riddle of the sphinx in your own way.