Beliefs about the Meaning of Life in American and Indian College Students: Similar or Different?

The top ten themes regarding beliefs about the meaning of life were obtained from archival research by Kinnier et al. (J Humanist Psychol 48:196–202, 2003 ) from quotes of eminent people like Einstein, Gandhi, Nietzsche, and the Dalai Lama. These themes included the following: “To enjoy or experience life, enjoy the moment, the journey,” “to love, help, or serve others; to show or experience compassion,” “life is meaningless,” “to serve or worship God and/or prepare for the next (or after-) life,” “to become self-actualized,” and “life is absurd or a joke.” The present study compared American ( N = 108) and Indian ( N = 110) college students’ degree of agreement or disagreement with these themes. Both American and Indian participants reported the most agreement with these two themes: “Main aim of life is to love, help, or serve others; to show or experience compassion,” and “main aim of life is to enjoy or experience it.” Similarly, both American and Indian participants reported the least agreement with the following two themes: “Life is meaningless” and “life is absurd or a joke.”