Philosophy begins where routines end: while millions breathe, only few truly live, for most remain trapped within a skin deep, humdrum rhythm of predictable habits that veil the deeper, impalpable layers of being-those surreal, often unarticulated dimensions that escape ordinary cognition. In this mechanized landscape, Philosophy emerges as a luminous and liberating force that dismantles delusion, recues us from the manic inertia of un-examined assumptions, and expands our infinitesimal consciousness into a purview no empirical science or technological efficiency can fully grasp.
Human beings, unlike animals bound to primordial instinct, possess the rare capacity to transcend the tangible toward imagination, ethical discernment, parapsychological intuition, and metaphysical foreknowledge; yet this gift is frequent surrendered to blind obedience, yes-manship, fuzzy logic, riff-raff reasoning, and the dormant delirium of uncritical living. Philosophy therefore stands at the zenith of human awakening where reason, intuition, equanimity, and sagacity converge to liberate judgment from utopia, fantasy, pessimistic negation, and the deceptive self-certainty that masquerades as knowledge.
Across history, Philosophy has functioned as perennial treasure-trove of insight: Heraclitus revealed the law of flux, Zeno sharpened paradox as method, Democritus anticipated atomic theory through sheer intellect gumption, and Diogenes cut through casuistry and convention with radical simplicity. Together, they demonstrated that truth demands a circumspect intelligence capable of resisting superficiality, fanaticism, and seductive comfort of ready-made answers.
In an era dominated by Artificial Intelligence-precise in computation yet incapable of comprehending the impalpable mystery of consciousness, philosophy becomes indispensable for safeguarding ethical clarity, existential meaning, and the integrity of human dignity. Without philosophical tutelage, society risks devolving into a civilization of efficient but unwise skivvies governed by data but starved of wisdom, informed by information but estranged from understanding.
Indian Knowledge System, among the world’s most robust philosophical heritages, represents a hallmark of civilization sagacity. It embodies Rta (Cosmic order), Dharma (Moral duty), Satya (Truth beyond the empirical), Atman (inner infinitude), Nyaya (Logic), Yoga (Integeration), and Vedenta (Metaphysics of the infinite). Far from being antiquarian, this tradition remains a living diapason of contemplative, ethical and metaphysical intelligence that shaped consciousness long before other civilizations emerged from their primordial struggles.
In this light, NEP/NEEP 2020 rightfully asserts that education deviod of philosophy becomes progress without purpose, efficiency without ethics, and development without direction. It emphasizes the concomitance of critical thinking, holistic inquiry, ethical reasoning, and the revival of Indian Knowledge System as essential for cultivating an intellectually robust intelligentsia capable of navigating modern complexities with clarity and gumption. A nation that dismisses philosophy weakens its intellectual architecture; one that embraces it moves towards renaissance.
Against this backdrop, it is profoundly strange-and pedagogically disheartening that our state still does not recognize philosophy as a central academic discipline, despite its luminosity, formative power, and un-paralleled relevance. If we seek thinkers instead of mere functionaries, visionaries instead of imitators, and citizens instead of spectators, then philosophy must be integrated across higher institutions as the Queen of all disciplines-animating inquiry, sharpening judgment, and fostering a culture of reasoned engagement.
Ultimately, philosophy remains the elixir of awakened life: it dissolves the evanescence of superficial existence, embosoms the quest of truth, and guides consciousness toward an empyrean understanding where questioning, reflection, and meaning coalesce into a single act of enlightened being. To question is to awaken; to philosophize is to live intentionally.
On this World Philosophy Day, it becomes imperative for those at the helm of academic policymaking to heed this intellectual necessity and ensure the de-facto introduction of this long neglected, orphaned disciplined across institutions, in accordance with the vision of NEP 2020-so that a new generation of thinkers, scholars, and philosophers may emerge from its radiant tutelage.
The writer is M. Phil / Ph.d Philosophy & Representative of Jammu & Kashmir Philosophy Association. dar.ateequllah14@gm
