In an age of instant answers and endless information feeds, philosopher and author Mukunda Rao is urging readers to slow down, pause and ask themselves the oldest questions in the world. His latest work, I Think, Therefore I Ask, released this month, is a gentle but provocative guide to honest self-reflection and questioning the assumptions that shape our lives.

At first glance, the book’s subtitle — “an open-ended exploration of life’s biggest questions” — might sound abstract. Yet Rao’s style is anything but. In clear, unpretentious prose, he asks readers to examine the roots of their beliefs about love, death, politics and purpose. Why do you think the way you do? What events, ideas or inherited notions have formed your worldview? And how might understanding them lead you to a more peaceful and fulfilling life?

“These are not puzzles to be solved,” Rao writes. “They are doors to be opened.” The book’s chapters combine age-old philosophical inquiries — Who am I? Why am I here? Does anything matter? — with practical suggestions for cultivating introspection, kindness and awareness in daily life. The result is a work that feels as much like a companion as a manual, inviting readers from all walks of life to think deeply without feeling intimidated.

Rao is no stranger to big ideas. Over a career spanning decades, he has written six novels, two acclaimed plays — one on Mahatma Gandhi and another on B. R. Ambedkar, both staged to appreciative audiences across Karnataka — and six philosophical works, including The Buddha, Sky-Clad, Belief and Beyond and The Biology of Enlightenment. These titles have become touchstones among spiritual seekers for their accessible yet probing approach.

Since retiring from teaching in 2010, Rao has been living quietly with his wife on a farm outside Bengaluru. But his retreat from the classroom hasn’t meant retreating from inquiry. I Think, Therefore I Ask is perhaps his most direct appeal yet for readers to undertake their own exploration of meaning.

For centuries, religious and philosophical traditions have offered competing answers to life’s big questions. Rao doesn’t promise definitive conclusions. Instead, he offers what many today might need more urgently: a process. By encouraging people to pause, question and examine themselves with honesty, he believes we can build not only wiser individuals but a kinder, more accepting society.

In a world full of noise and certainty, I Think, Therefore I Ask stands out as an invitation — not to agree, but to reflect. And in doing so, Mukunda Rao gives readers a rare gift: the chance to meet themselves anew.