Sometimes I stumble upon a thought that feels both unsettling and fascinating at the same time. This one began as a casual reflection on how often we trust what we’ve been told — and how rarely we verify ourselves. What followed surprised even me when I finished writing it.
We all know from self-experience or by observing others that not all of the beliefs people hold are true. Sometime ago we may have believed in something and taken it for truth. But later, some experience taught us that we were actually wrong.
If this is true for the past, then it is possible that what we believe as true now may prove to be false in the future, when we had a corrected realization. So this profess I am making now could also be just a belief, and subject to the test of time.
When someone says something with a lot of conviction, I remind myself with this philosophy . I say to myself that the person has not seen for a fact what he/she is saying, and therefore I need not take the statement for a fact.
Lot of learned people had once said the earth was flat. And it did appear so for others. Every mountain that went up has a downhill too, eventually to almost as flat as it was before the mountain. But now we know the earth is not flat. It is the gravity that holds us to the spherical ground and the ultra-large surface just makes us feel it to be flat.
But wait… do you know for sure the earth is spherical? Have you seen it by yourself as spherical? You only believed what some so-called wise men said. And you “believe” those who said to be wise. Do you know for sure that they are actually wise?
Because this belief is what held people to believe that earth was flat. There are several people even today who believe that earth is flat.
Hold on — are you saying you have seen pictures of earth being a blue planet, and that he earth is spherical? But do you know for sure that the pictures you saw were actually of earth and you were not fooled by some cameramen?
Yes, I agree we cannot check everything for ourselves to know for sure.
I remember this amazing Bollywood movie called “Ankhon Dekhi”. It was one of the most self realizing movies I had watched. However hilarious the movie may appear on the periphery, the climax in the movie is the question and the dilemma I have. I draw inspiration from this movie a lot. I suggest you watch it even if for the entertainment sake.
Yes, we cannot check out everything ourselves directly. We have to believe in what elders had said. We have to believe that they being older, must be wise. A long-lived civilization that it is, Hinduism will likely be right on many things. Yet, it is a belief. My grandma never believed that there was a hell where ill people are fried in hot boiling oil, or beaten to death (God! The person is already dead) for their wrong doings when alive. If there was no body, how could there be pain? If there is no brain how can thoughts appear? If there is no heart and brain, how could there be emotions of regret? And if he did not carry his brain from there to the next life, how could he carry forward his lessons to not repeat ill doings? I read the epic, Garuda Purana when my father passed away couple of years back. And for a change, I read this time within a short period (I guess 3-4 days) something I rarely do with books. I read it thoroughly word by word, and often referred back to what was said in a previous chapter on similar topic. I have to say after finishing that legendary book, I lost whatever confidence I had in that book till then, and the whole concept of heaven and hell. And also of the types of charity activities we are advised to do for the deceased person at least then if the deceased person did not do himself/herself or to repeat.
I think many assumptions and beliefs we take for granter have to be questioned and confirmed. at every opportunity. Some of us would have noticed in management most failures occur from assumptions. Assumptions are those that are 'believed' to be true and we take decisions based on the rest of inputs we have. I for myself have learned long ago while in active career that making assumptions is a very dangerous thing. Of course that did avoid me from all the perils making assumptions not knowing I was making one.
We do not know many things passed in our culture for a fact. Not just about heaven and hell of how they were passed on in Hinduism, but of several practices which not spiritual or religion based. Beliefs are just what they are! Question them? Every time. Every time you can.
Comments