The greatest strength of Indian civilization has always been that it has never learned to be afraid of asking questions. In the Upanishads, the disciple asks questions of the Guru without any hesitation. Buddha challenges the beliefs held for centuries. Charvakas question even God and the Vedas. Kabir openly attacks the hypocrisy prevalent in religion and society. The basis of almost every tradition of Indian philosophy has been the rich tradition of dialogue, logic and debate. Man’s greatest power is his mind and the most effective tool is the mind – a good question. The biggest difference between humans and all other living creatures is not just that humans walk on two legs, make tools or build sky-high buildings. The real difference is that the human being asks the question. He doesn’t just watch the sun rise every morning; He wants to know why the sun appears to rise. He does not accept something as true merely because everyone believes it to be true; He asks why is this true, and this curiosity, this restlessness to question, makes a person human. Look at any small child. Within a few years of coming into the world, he becomes a walking machine of questions. What is this? who is that? Why is it like this? Why is it not like that? If we look carefully, we will understand that curiosity is the most natural nature of human being. History is witness that the society which suppressed the questions became stagnant; And the one who welcomed the questions moved ahead. Just think, on what foundation does the entire edifice of science stand? One day this question came to Newton’s mind that why does an apple falling from a tree always come down and not go up? If some questions had never been asked, perhaps we would still be wandering in the jungle of superstitions and misconceptions. Science is born from questions, not answers. Questions do not remain limited to the scope of science only. Adab, fun and philosophy are also born from the womb of questions. When a poet asks why man is sad, what is love, why is there loneliness, what is called justice, then poetry is born. When a writer questions his society, when a filmmaker points his finger at the complications, injustices and inconsistencies of his times, then meaningful cinema is made. The job of art is not to provide ready answers, but to create questions that force us to think something new about ourselves. I worry when people want to silence a movie, book, or idea instead of disagreeing with it. Suppressing a question just because it is inconvenient cannot be a sign of a confident society. If a child asks why there is this rule, he is silenced. If a young man wants to know on what foundation this tradition is built, he is told not to ask too many questions. If any citizen asks the government why this decision was taken, he is considered an opponent. Whereas the truth is that asking questions is not a protest, but a way of playing one’s part in the society. The person asking the question is telling that he is concerned about the society. The same thing applies in matters of religion and faith. Respecting faith does not at all mean that a person should put a lock on his power of thinking and understanding. But asking questions and opposing everything are not the same thing. Some people think that finding faults in everything is a sign of intelligence. It’s not like that. The purpose of asking questions should be to reach the truth. If your intention is only to humiliate the other person, then it is not curiosity, it is egoism, but if your attempt is to understand, to learn, to get a little closer to the truth, then asking your question becomes a constructive concern. The first condition of intellectual honesty is that a person should also ask himself the questions he asks others. We often judge the opinions of others, but do not examine our own beliefs. We should also have the courage to ask ourselves what is the basis for believing what I believe. Could it be that I have adopted an opinion simply because most of the people around me consider it correct? It is not easy to question your own beliefs, but this is the biggest sign of mental maturity. In this day and age, when information comes at us more and faster than ever before, the need to ask questions becomes even greater. Millions of claims are made on the internet every day. There are arguments in favor of every idea as well as against it. In such a situation, it can be dangerous to blindly accept something as true. We have to ask – what is its source? What is the proof of this? What is its argument? This critical thinking saves us from the trap of confusion, rumor and propaganda. Asking questions is not only our right, but also our responsibility. A society that stops asking questions gradually loses its power to think, and a person that stops asking questions also stops learning. (Editing and coordination- Arvind Mandloi)
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सवाल पूछना अधिकार, पर मकसद सच की तलाश होना चाहिए: इंसान की बड़ी क्षमता उसका दिमाग और दिमाग का सबसे असरदार औजार- एक अच्छा सवाल
