The Break School

Hello and Welcome,

I’m Sanjay Khandelwal and this is the Break School, A Podcast to enable you to do what you love, Everyday!

On Oct 28th 2019, an IIT Hyderabad student killed himself by jumping of his hostel. This is the 3rd suicide at IIT Hyderabad this year. Before taking the extreme step, the student wrote to his friends that he did not find life interesting and his courses were not going great.

Have you ever wondered,

Why do we do what we do? Why do we chase marks, money and comfort? What is really the purpose of our lives?

I often ask these questions.

Very often, I feel lost, I see no direction. I don’t know why but especially on Sunday evenings, I’m filled with a lot of questions, a lot of negativity. I often sit in my balcony, look at highway and wonder, why am’ I not happy? What do I really want to do in life?

Sometimes, I think I should work hard, earn more money. That would bring more comfort and prestige. Sometimes I feel I should get into a top Business School, That would bring more money and prestige. Sometime I want to become a social activist and some other times I just want to leave everything and become a nomad.

But to cut the long story short. I never find any of the answer exciting. Be it chasing money, or prestige or comfort, I would find a problem with each one of them. I had reached a stage where I saw everything as meaningless.

One Sunday evening I was sitting in my balcony, as usual, looking at the highway. For some strange reason, I was reminded of the 1st student from IIT Hyderabad who committed suicide. In his suicide note he wrote and I quote “The decision to end my life is purely logical, based on my estimation of what the future contains. Life holds no intrigue anymore and the daily grind is becoming more difficult with time.”

In other words, he did not find life interesting. My emotions were similar. I never thought of suicide but I often found life to be boring and meaningless. I wondered if my life really had a purpose?

This question reminded me of another incident. An incident that answered my question.

In January 2018, I was at a book fair in New Delhi. I stopped at one of the stores and picked up a small philosophy book. I did not buy the book and I don’t remember its name. I just remember reading a sentence on its cover. It made no difference to me then, but on that Sunday evening when I recalled that sentence, it liberated me. The book said and I quote “There is no purpose to life. So give it whatever purpose you want”

Absorb that slowly….“There is no purpose to life. So give it whatever purpose you want”

Just think for a second, did Gandhiji’s parents think “Let’s give birth to a child who will free India from British rule” or Lata Mangeshkar’s parents saying “Let’s give birth to a girl who will become one of the greatest singers in India” or my parents saying “Lets give birth to a child who will do nothing productive & rant on a podcast”… No! None of us were born for any specific purpose. We are born because of a biological process. that’s it. Period!

Now that we are born, We need to something with our lives.

The question is “Is this Something” predefined? Does our life have some hidden purpose? My honest submission is, No. There is none. You cannot discover your purpose. You can only choose your purpose.

I don’t have to chase a billion dollars. I can be a tour guide if that’s what excites me and if I can earn a living of it. I don’t have be an engineering or to go a business school, if cooking and fitness is what excites me. I don’t have to be a social activist, if being an entrepreneur and creating wealth is what drives me.

I’m not saying aspiring to be a billionaire, going to a B school or wanting to be the topper is wrong. All I’m saying is they don’t necessarily have to be your purpose. I’m not saying life will be easy when you choose your purpose but I’m sure life won’t be boring. You will not loose interest in living. And if you do get bored, you can always change your purpose.

I have a friend, who completed his CA, but then got interested in manufacturing process and automation. So he worked in a manufacturing plant. There, he then got interested in Behavioral Science, so he studied Psychology and now works with one of world’s leading Behavioral Science firm. He is also interested in history and heritage, so he conducts heritage walks. You can check out his Facebook page “Bylanes of Bengaluru”

Now, you may ask me, what purpose do I want give my life? Honestly, I don’t know. But I can tell you, I want to live a life where I feel happy on a Sunday evening, I want to live a life where I master a few things that I love, I want to live a life where I go to bed feeling satisfied. Since I started the Break School, I’m able to so that in some measure. If I get bored or find something more exciting, I’ll change my direction. I’ll change my purpose.

There is a beautiful quote by the physicist Richard Feynman. He said and I quote “Fall in love with some activity and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter?”

I don’t what you are chasing. Money, Marks, Comfort, Prestige etc. dose not matter. We are all chasing something. But stop for a moment and ask, What is your purpose in life? Ooops.. rather what purpose do you want to give your life? What do you want to learn ? What do you want to master? Remember, life is meaningless. It has no hidden purpose. That is why it is beautiful. Because you can choose the purpose of your life.