Will our children miss the joy of exploration?

I don't think that there is even an iota of doubt in the mind of anybody that we know very little. We neither know about the quantum world nor about the cosmos. Our understanding of ourselves is also very limited. We still do not know the seat of consciousness in the human brain. Still, almost all of us are so sure of ourselves. We have very well-defined likes and dislikes. We are quite sure of what we want to do in our lives. Even children as young as 10-12 years have decided to take the IIT-JEE and NEET and enrol in coaching institutes.

We are so sure that the acquisition of a piece of land on this planet Earth is the purpose of our lives. Nowadays, it is not even a piece of land; it is just one apartment, with no rights to the land beneath it or the sky above it. That one piece of land on the planet Earth, which is itself hanging in space and rotating around the Sun at an amazing speed. I was just reading an article in the Hindu today that says that if we travel at a constant speed of 100 kilometres per hour, we would take 1000 years to cover the distance Earth travels in one year. Isn't that amazing? But we are just concerned about that one piece of land.

There is no doubt that one piece of land is crucial so that we can have space to lie down, sit, and take rest. However, can the purpose of life be as narrow as that one piece of land? Or, for that matter, can any material wealth ever be the purpose of life? Have we come to this planet just to acquire that piece of land, which, anyhow, we have to leave when we leave this planet? There may be functional needs we need to address. But that can't be the purpose. We work in organisations and have an office or desk to work at. Acquisition of that office can't be the purpose of our job. That's just an enabler.

What else can we do? We have two fundamental tools available to us. This body and this brain. These are just like depreciable products and will anyhow die after their expiry date. They will not necessarily reach their expiry date; in fact, they may catch a disease and expire even earlier. The sole purpose of this gift is to make the best use of them. Life carries the same meaning as we make of it. We may waste the whole of our life just to acquire that one piece of land and a few spikes of neurons here and there, having some fun and parties. On the other hand, we may also use the body and the brain to unravel the mysteries of the universe.

Why would Grigori Perelman decline to take 1 million of award money after solving one of the 7 millenium prize problems and live a very ordinary life? On the other hand, why would two brothers keep fighting in the court for their entire lives just for a piece of land? It's because Mr Perelman understands that the role of money is purely functional, which is why he is unwilling to waste his precious time on something with very limited use. On the other hand, most of us miss the real fun of life and focus on just the enablers all through our lives. It's just like being fixated with the hotel room, staying inside all the time, and missing the beauty of the mountains after going for a pleasure trip. I think it is the most important duty of all parents to instil a drive to explore in their children. Once they start exploring, the piece of land will never be a problem. On the other hand, if they get stuck on that piece of land, they will miss the entire joy of exploration.