Artificial World

I have made quite liberal references to the artificiality of our world thus far in this book, so it’s important that I elaborate a bit on this term. In fact, I won't just share my views but will tell you the secret of seeing through this artificiality to the truth.

The secret to uncovering the truth is this: every time you encounter any process, belief, system, or ideology in this world while you navigate the journey of your life, always ask one simple question:

Why?

Just by asking why and using your calm, rational, and logical mind to provide an answer, you will start to unlock the flaws in many worldly systems. And once you start seeing things differently than the rest of the herd, you will understand how and why humans have created an artificial world around them.

Let’s look at some of the major systems humans have created. Allow me to share how I view them, though I hope that you will come to your own conclusions and judgments about them.

The Modern-Day Education System

In the last hundred years or so, we have created a pattern which we can even call a norm at this point: Every kid has to go to school, then high school, then college. Parents believe this is the default way of life for their children and they never question why it is perpetuated.

In fact, people give you a blank face if you ask them why kids must undergo so many years of schooling. If they do provide an answer, they probably say that “Everyone does it” or “It’s just the way it is.”

Pushing them further, you might ask why again. But why?

They will answer so that they can get good grades, get into the right college, and get a good job. So that they make a living as their parents do, and then they can repeat the same process for their children.

I find this thinking very difficult to digest. Does a person really need a certificate from some external source like a college to tell them that they are all of a sudden capable of doing something? As if immediately following the graduation ceremony, they are able to read and write at some arbitrarily specific level and perform at some arbitrarily specific job? Why not before the graduation ceremony?

People can learn anything they set their hearts and mind to. For example, if I want to write a book, I do not need a 4-year diploma in English literature to do so. If I want to learn about engineering, I can volunteer my time at an engineering firm, or I can study online. With the invention of the internet, it has become laughably easy to acquire knowledge in any subject. You are in full control of how you want to design your life, including your education. You need no approval from any external source to verify your capabilities. You have all the tools, as well as the self-awareness that you need to make yourself capable enough. Great minds in the world like Elon Musk didn’t get a master’s in aero science or mechanical engineering before founding his company SpaceX—he read books and taught himself. It's so simple.

You might be wondering how I came to this realization. Well, I too am a product of our modern education system and its biggest joke. I have a B.E. in electronics and a master’s in engineering management. I possess a certificate so that if anyone questions me, I can prove my credentials. It even easily got me a job in my field. Another big joke is, according to the modern class ranking system, I was named a distinctive student of electronics and engineering management with a 3.5 GPA, not because I was good at the subject but only because I was good at memorizing without understanding. What a joke! I hardly remember any theory I was taught, as I wasn’t interested in that stuff. Yes, I was fascinated with the electronics and internet revolution happening around me, but I was more interested in practical application than in the actual science. As long as I was able to connect two wires and see a light bulb glow, I was happy.

Okay, I understand your point, but I really want to go after this one-year master’s program at this prestigious university. I think this is my passion, my calling. Should I do it?

Do it—if you answer this question in the affirmative: If I were to tell you that you had only one year left to live, would you still go and get this degree?

If yes, by all means, go and get it. But if you have the slightest doubt, rethink and reevaluate the true intentions behind your calling.

My advice for you is, don't fall into the trap of this broken education system. The world is your university and life is your teacher. Explore other, creative ways to gain experience and knowledge. Seek knowledge for the right reason—seek it out of love and passion for it, and not because society has made it a norm. Just follow your heart, your passion and your dreams, fearlessly, to learn and experience the vastness out there.

The Modern-Day Global Economic System

Looking at the entire global economic system, I seriously doubt the true intentions of the collective human race. It looks like we have picked up the hammer and thrown it on our own feet.

Let me explain what I mean by asking some why questions.

Why is the salary of a manager, a VP, or a CEO of a soda pop manufacturing company higher than that of a trash collector or a nurse practitioner who cares for the sick in a hospital? I mean, what greater social impact do high-salary corporate executives have on society and the lives of the millions of people around them?

Let’s compare two scenarios and their impact on society.

Which scenario would have a more negative impact on society and other individuals’ lives?

The answer is most likely Scenario 2. In fact, Scenario 1 might actually benefit society as there would be less of the unhealthy soda pop products consumed.

Let’s ask some more why questions to find some more anomalies in our economy.

Why does following a noble profession such as medicine come with a huge price tag? The most important action a person can conduct here on Earth is to save someone else’s life. Despite knowing the value of human life, this world has put a heavy financial burden on anyone who wants to pursue the profession of a doctor. Today doctors are in constant worry about paying off their substantial student loans. Imagine the state of mind of a doctor who is carrying out his duties not out of passion and love for his patients but under the weight of the loan which he has to repay to this world. In fact, this is true for most of the modern day professions requiring a higher degree that anyone wants to pursue.

The way our world has designed the modern incentive system is encouraging people to work towards personal gain and not towards helping society and moving the human race forward. Because of this culture, people wake up each day with the thought in mind of how I can compete with my peers and get ahead in this rat race? How can I crush my competition so that I can maximize my personal gain?

Alternatively thinking, how about we design a world where people are incentivized based upon the social impact they bring to society? Imagine people getting paid for helping others or improving others’ living conditions. Imagine people waking up every day with the only thought, how I can help my fellow human beings so that I improve my own life and self as well? Surely we could have built a paradise here on the earth; instead, just look around what we have done to this world.

The Modern-Day Concept of Living

This is another modern-day madness that we humans have made our lives’ default. Get a job, make a living, buy a house, and save for retirement. Nothing but another crazy yet normalized invention of this world.

Let’s ask why again. Why should I get a job? Why buy a house? Why save for retirement? Why retire at age sixty-five?

Let's look at this concept from an alternate angle and answer the inverted question: why not structure your life differently?

Job

Why not earn a living by working for yourself? Why doesn't the education system teach us how to be self-sufficient and earn a living by doing something all by yourself? Why is there so little focus in classes on how to make money, invest money, and grow one’s money using your own talents? You are paying educators to teach you how to get a degree so that you can work for someone else and make money for them.

House

The way I see the modern-day concept of buying a house is that it’s a prison. Let me ask, how would you feel if I were to take away your freedom and imprison you for 30 years? Not only would I put you in prison, but I’d also charge you for living in it. But wait, we humans take this one level higher. We build a prison around ourselves. We pay someone else in order to put ourselves behind bars, and then we keep paying them for thirty years so that they don't kick us out of our own prison. For most people, this is the case. They buy small condos or apartments with expensive mortgages and keep paying someone else for 30 years so that they don’t lose their living space.

Mankind seems to have forgotten that nature has provided us the whole planet to live on and roam freely. Sure, having a house for yourself and your family as your own sanctuary is a wonderful thing. But modern society has taken this concept of owning a house to the extreme.

We don't see that we have 15.77 billion acres of habitable land available for 7.7 billion people, which gives us each approximately 2 acres, which is 87,120 square feet to live on. Yet we are satisfied by a mere fraction of it; the typical house size is 3000 square feet or even less, which is next to nothing compared to the total habitable land on earth. The cramped spaces have restricted our freedom, not only our physical freedom but our minds and hearts as well. We have created borders around our lands, cities, states and countries, but the main underlying problem is that we have created borders around our minds. We have blocked our minds from thinking differently.

Retirement

Why should I retire only once I am sixty-five? Why not now? Why not live an entire life as if I am retired and free?

What is the definition of retirement, according to today’s standards? Well, after you slog for more than two-thirds of your life, you finally get to enjoy the fruits of your hard work through the savings you (hopefully?) have built. The people who act and think this way exist in an illusion. They live in some alternate reality where life will be magically perfect once they punch out for the final time. They don't live in the present but instead in a distant future reality where they believe their real life, love, and freedom will happen and they can finally live peacefully. If owning a house is a prison, the concept of retirement is like slavery. Refer back to Chapter 1 to refresh the simple concept that we must live moment to moment to enjoy our lives.

“To enjoy life, enjoy this moment, to live life, live this moment.”

There is nothing more precious, more real, more abundant and more readily available to you than this moment. If you want to travel, do it now. If you want to move to a tropical place, do it now. If you want to feel at peace, feel it now. Don’t wait for later when you are older. Your time on this Earth is not guaranteed. Again, if I told you, you have one year to live, would you still save for retirement or would you enjoy the fruits of your life now? If you enjoy them now, more will come. More will always come. You will always be supported by life as long as you are rooted in your purpose, talents, and all the goodness in your heart. Nature wants to work with you, not against you. Only the world tells you that nature is against you and that you have to fight for your survival and hoard or save money for later years. It is an illusion. Have faith that nature will provide and work on the things that make you happy. This way, you will feel “retired” your whole life. And more than that, you will be free.

The Modern-Day Religions

Ask anyone this question: Why do you adhere to the tenets of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or whichever religious system you hold to?

The most common answer you’ll get: Because I was born into a family that practiced it.

Poor humans, they never had any choice, and now they’re trapped for the rest of their lives. Let's take this topic lightly, as it seems that most get emotional when addressing their religion.

So, why follow any specific religion? When you examine them, you realize that, despite their differences, one thing they generally have in common is the idea of an afterlife and going to heaven. Over our entire history, mankind has never come to a logical conclusion about whose god is the actual god. So far, I haven’t met a single person who died and came back to confirm which set of beliefs allows you entrance into heaven.

I sometimes jokingly ask myself: when there is a buffet of religions out there, why settle for only one? Follow everything or whichever components of all that makes the most logical sense. At least after I die, I can be 100% sure of gaining an entry pass from one of the gods who actually rules the kingdom of heaven.

Here is one practical tip: ask any person living on this earth if he wants to go to heaven. He will jump for joy and say, “Hell yeah!” Then ask him if he wants to die in order to get there. You will receive a different answer.

Well, don't take anything very seriously in this world. Just observe, experience, smile, have fun, and keep following your heart, your passions, and your dreams, fearlessly. If you want to follow any religion or practice out of love for it, do it. Keep a check on your feelings, though. Don't subscribe to any mindset out of fear of social pressure or any religious authority. Follow whatever you would like, but by your own free will and because you wish to and not because you have to.