If we wish to improve the quality of our life, we need to begin by improving the quality of our questions. We may classify the questions we ask into three broad levels:
Casual curiosity: Questions in this category may be like, “What is the latest social media post by this celebrity?” While such questions may help us learn something useful or provide us a break from demanding work, they can easily consume our attention, thereby colossally underusing, if not misusing, our time.
Functional utility: Questions in this category may range from “How can I find the way to my friend’s house?” through “Where can I get the best deal for a new car?” to “If I vote for this politician, will they lower the taxes?” Such questions center on the actions we need to do and the situations in which we need to do them. Though better than questions driven by casual curiosity, even these questions lead to an underutilization of our human intelligence if they are the best questions we ask. Unfortunately, most of our educational system centers on answering questions in these two categories alone.
Existential necessity: Questions in this category may include, “What is the meaning and purpose of life?” or “What makes life worth living?” While such questions may not have easy answers, just seeking those answers can help us better align our life with the things that really matter. Not only that, merely raising such questions can enable us to turn away from things that add little, if any, value to our life. Significantly, the Bhagavad-gita begins with such an existential question: “What is the right thing to do?”
One-sentence summary:
To improve the quality of our life, raise the quality of our questions — ask not just questions pertaining to casual curiosity or functional utility, but also those pertaining to existential necessity.
Think it over:
- What questions pertaining to casual curiosity have inordinately consumed your attention?
- What questions pertaining to functional utility haven’t added much value to your life?
- What questions pertaining to existential necessity do you think are most important for you right now?
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02.07: Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
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