“Just obey, don’t ask why!” This is how elders usually admonish children when they ask questions. “Obey your guru“, the scriptures say. Do not question, do not hesitate to do as you are told. The rule of obedience may hold good in certain specific contexts but to blindly follow such strictures will be to our own peril. To impose the rule of obedience on small children who are unable to discern between right and wrong, who have no experiences to learn from is correct. If a child asked not to cross the street on its own disobeys, it may prove fatal for the child. But to prohibit them from asking questions is wrong. Indian tradition expects the rule of obedience to be followed without questioning, even from adults.
By questioning the tenet of obedience, I do not mean any disrespect to the elders. They are after all senior in age and from their vast repertoire of experiences, are wise to the ways of the world. But we cannot live our lives, build our principles, take up professions or even marry, blindly based on what they say, irrespective of whether they are right or not. Also, what was right for them need not be right for us.
As to ‘obedience to the guru’, the moral calibre of our teachers today cannot be compared to that of sages and seers of yesteryears. Even otherwise, I personally feel that instead of blind obedience to the guru, people should be encouraged to question him. After all, it was by seeking, that the sages of yore were able to find the truth, Brahman, Nirvana, whatever name you call it. So it is not unquestioning compliance but a teacher’s guidance when sought, which will aid our quest, spiritual or otherwise.
By simply obeying, we will never learn to make our own decisions. Not only that, a stronger argument is that man has been given the power of reasoning, a trait not possessed by other animals. To develop the mind, one needs to reason, to question, not blindly follow what has been handed down over generations. True, we have to learn from others’ experiences and mistakes as much as ours but seeking answers on our own instead of always trying to benefit from second-hand knowledge will facilitate our intellectual development.
A child told not to touch a vessel of hot milk will not realize why, unless he makes the mistake of touching it himself. The policy should be to listen to all, to collect information from all sources but to make your own decisions. And never hesitate to ask why. Asking questions will enhance the thinking capacity of children and add to their knowledge. However, parents as well as teachers do not encourage the questioning habit either because they are unable to give convincing answers or they do not want to take the trouble of giving a credible reply.
Without asking the questions ‘why’ and ‘why not’, inventions and discoveries would have been impossible. This imposition of obedience –“Ours not to question why” rule is an impediment to mankind’s progress. If all our children were to just obey and never question, you can imagine the quality of our future citizens. As it is, the Indian education system encourages studying ‘by rote’, where the reasoning ability required is almost nil.
In certain matters of course, the individual has to compulsorily obey and not exercise his freewill. One has to follow the laws of the land whatever one feels about them. If one is against a particular law, one must oppose it using the right channels. Also, one must not use one’s freewill to harm others. One has to use one’s reasoning powers, decide when obeying is necessary and when obeying will be wrong, and tread the optimal path.
Author: Pratibha Shenoy (Bangalore)
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One of the best factor “Obeying” ,,great and an intellectual theme,,,,