Intellectual Hollowness

The environment is not conducive enough to enrich our thought process in academia. We can not read all the books, articles, papers, nor can listen to all the lectures, podcasts, albums, nor even watch all the movies and nor can travel all the world. We are limited to human capacity and untimely death. We are horribly limited. To enlighten our thought we need to collaborate our peer learners at large scale. To broaden our perspectives and to tear off our inability to respect other’s perspective, we need to continuously augment our learning by exchanging the knowledge.

Owing to inconsistent degradation of reading culture in the academia and development of fast-paced entertainment industry people are very reluctant to participate in intellectual discussion. No doubt about it that every one is carrying a high grade degree but everyone is not skilled. “I am skilled but not certified” is better than “I am certified but not skilled.” It’s pathetic situation. When someone holding a graduate degree in English asks me to draft an application to the higher authority, I certainly sympathise with their poor condition.

As a student of a university carrying a brand name, we have a lot of societal expectations on us. We are expected to deliver a lecture at any point in time. We are expected to write, respond, lead as a member of a society. Our activism and scholarly intervention is needed in the society.

The more you learn, the more you realise you know nothing in proportion to what is yet to be explored. There are many more, miles to go. New horizons of knowledge attract you to go a bit more. The commencement speech of any university reminds us that this is not the final day of your class, this is the beginning of further studies. Knowledge never ends; only begins.

I feel hollowness everywhere, ‘Intellectual hollowness’. Whenever I see around myself, I see stuffs to provoke our desires-not intellectual desires, not spiritual desires but physical desires. I see around myself spiritually and intellectually unhygienic environment. I see it everywhere ‘intellectual hollowness’.

Sometimes, I feel what if I am asked to take a responsibility which I am not capable of, what if I am misunderstood for being an intellectual person, what if I am invited as a guest to local places, as I hold a university degree, for mentoring young students. I am very fearful about all these situations. Of course, I did, whenever I was asked but it is not always easy to hide behind my pseudo intellectuality. I really want to learn and learn and learn before my untimely departure from this planet. I want to grow above and beyond because we exist on this planet once for a while.