Asking questions

We live in an age that is enamoured with answers. At the mere click of a gadget, one can gain access to a fund of information that gives instant answers to a variety of questions. Unfortunately, this is often accompanied by an uncritical acceptance of whatever is proffered. Few care to assess and analyse what is said and this often leads to shallow thinking and blind beliefs.

This is not to say that we should avoid asking questions. In fact, this hardly happens, because even the course of a single day, the individual asks both himself and the others around him, numerous questions.

These fall into three categories. In the first one, are those that relate to simple matters. For example, they could be what to wear, what kind of breakfast to have, and the mode of transport to take. The answers to these questions are readily available, and take neither too much time, nor thought.

More important are the questions that lie at the next level. Some of these could be what subjects of study one should take up, the job that would be most suitable and whether the person one wants to settle down with is the right one. When such questions are solved successfully, there is satisfaction and fulfillment. But, things can go wrong and this is when the larger questions of life raise their heads. We begin to ask in earnest then – where did I go wrong, why did this happen to me, why do bad things happen, does God exist and, if this is so, is He fair and just? We realize that our happiness is inexplicably intertwined with hidden and larger questions of meaning.

The search for answers could well begin now but one inevitably finds that they are not easily obtained. Mystery surrounds our existence and the conclusions one arrives at are neither definite nor final. What comes after death, for example, maybe answered in many different ways. However, we cannot abandon this spiritual path once we have glimpsed it. We will have to, as one wise soul put it, hew our own answers.

What is more, it becomes abundantly clear that it is when we stop questioning that we are truly lost. We perceive that the quest taken inwards can provide us with guidelines. One of the greatest scriptural texts, the Bhagavat Gita is a compendium of questions and answers pertaining to the many problems facing humankind. It portrays Arjuna, embroiled in battle with his own loved ones and overcome by dejection. He lays bare his heart and implores Sri Krishna to advise him. What follows is a set of principles that can help us face the numerous problems we confront. The modern-day sage Ramana Maharishi considered the question “Who am I?” to be the beginning and the consummation of understanding. Collective wisdom points out again and again that while answering questions is useful, questioning answers is equally important.