Asking the "right" questions

As a professor, I am often approached by students wanting some form of career advice-- especially when they plan to take a major leap in their lives, by going abroad for higher studies for their Master's or PhD.

It takes me back to my own times when I took this major leap in my life, and my professor, very strangely, didn't seem very happy. I had expected him to congratulate me when I told him that I had won this prestigious fellowship to study in one of the most prestigious university in Europe. And his lack of enthusiasm, made me hurt and defensive. At that time, I had haughtily and contemptuously believed that he was upset with me because I'd decided to go abroad and build my own life, rather than registering for a PhD under him.

Such was my delusion that his comments had completely missed their significance. Even though he seemed less than enthusiastic, he had discussed at length with me about my plans and I had asked him a lot of questions like: which field of study to take up, what has the most scope, how are European universities ranked vis-a-vis American ones, etc.

And he kept repeatedly telling me, "You're not asking the right questions!"

All these happened more than 20 years ago. Today, I think I'm in a better state to articulate what those "right questions" were, in the hope that the youngsters who come to me for guidance do not make the same old mistake. (They can make newer mistakes, of course!)

As part of our schooling and mainstream education, I realise that we are never taught the following things:

1. What is meant by a sense of identity.
2. How money works. 
3. How cultural persuasion works.
4. What is meant by ownership. 

Instead, we are fed with all kinds of social cues and signals, which we believe as the underlying truth.

Firstly let me set aside the myth of the "prestige" of a university and its effectiveness on our careers. Sure, a prestigious institution name on your CV may open a few doors. But if that is all is your trump card, then the problem is really somewhere else. The way I see it, there is something seriously wrong if someone were to make a higher education choice, based primarily on the prestige of the university. Higher education leading to a Master's degree or a PhD requires achieving mastery or even extending the boundaries of known knowledge. The primary factor that should drive the pursuit for higher education is our strong interest, curiosity, and a willingness to commit in the subject matter that we wish to study.

And what defines this "strong interest and curiosity"? No, it is not how "cool" or "contemporary" is the topic, or what is its future "scope" or something such. The "strong interest and curiosity" is driven by a deep sense of identity. We somehow identify with the problem that we wish to pursue. It is way more relevant to us, and we have a sense of "ownership" towards the problem. We care about it, and even feel responsible for finding answers. At some level, we are saying to ourselves, "I cannot wait for someone else to find answers to these questions.. if I don't answer these questions, who else will?" It is this sense of identification and ownership of the questions that we are pursuing, which is what gives us direction and helps keep our wits together when the going gets tough.

By default, the rapidly industrialising world is geared to view every individual as a resource to be consumed for obtaining greater competitiveness, power, glory or profits (for the company, country, leader, etc.) I'd once remarked that education ought to be an "irrigation" mechanism that nurtures and builds strong roots for the individual; while instead, it is more of a "harvesting" mechanism that injects hormones and steroids (read: latest technological buzzword) and packages the individual to be sold to the highest bidder from the industry. Industry continues this even more, and treats the individual as a billable resource for its clients. Hiring departments are called "Human Resources" for a reason!

This "componentization" of the individual happens in so many subtle ways using a variety of persuasive mechanisms including money, "cultural values", religion, etc. And much of it is not a painful journey at all. In fact, the journey can be downright beautiful, flattering, even "inspiring" and full of pleasant surprises, lasting over several years. You would be praised, awarded, called a "genius," given a lot of freebies, club memberships, business class tickets, and ever so subtly orienteered to a state where the only option you have is to be the resource that is expected of you-- fully and completely.

During the days when slavery was legal, such a thing used to be called, "accepting your chains with joy and gratitude"-- just saying.

A lot of people are in fact, happy being just that. For instance, a lot of IIT graduates are perfectly happy selling soap and toothpaste for multinationals. It is perfectly fine and it is their choice. But really, did they need higher education for that? Wouldn't that seat that they took up might have been better filled by someone else who had a fire in them to really identify with and help solve some pressing problem for the society?

The pain about our life's "meaning" really hits us when age has caught up with us, when our spirit has dwindled, and we are of no use to anyone. By that time we would be deeply entrenched in an economic machine that runs on keeping us perennially in a state of debt and insecurity. It is then that we realise that the big decisions we thought we had made, were not made by us at all. They were made for us by someone else, including people close to us and whom we trusted blindly. These decisions were more of a strategic decision for them, than a meaningful decision for us. And most painfully, they would have taken this decision for us with a genuine belief that it is for our own good. As the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

If we want to really help someone, the best we can do is to help them build their individuality. Individuality is built by understanding principles of self inquiry. If we do not know how to build our individuality and find what is meaningful for us, right where we are, it is unlikely that we will be able to do so by cliched things like "travelling the world to find oneself (in debt)." (parenthetical extension, mine).