DOUBT v/s FAITH

Doubt and faith are always at loggerheads. Faith instills confidence in unseen reality and implies leading a life based on values that are not experienced in the past. Doubt, on the other hand, makes on continuously suspicious about the unseen future, urging one to move forward slowly or hampering his movement.

One may feel that the two can never reconcile. But when doubt transforms into inquiry, faith becomes reasonable, logical and scientific.

Faith, without reason and logic, is dangerously violent. It gives rise to fanaticism and bigotry. Dharmik scriptures teach us to have deep faith. It is called so because it is very logical. Apart from being logical, it gives us experiences of how it is beyond logic.

Arjuna was doubtful about his involvement in the war. He had difficulties reasoning the occurrence of the war and the bloodshed it would cause. He had many reasons against fighting. His doubts produced reservations about the outcome of the war. But instead of making his destiny bound to doubt, he chose to use them as tools of enlightenment. When presented faithfully to Lord Krishna, his doubts turned into profound inquiries, which were real, compassionate and practical. And it was these doubts of Arjuna that secured an immortal place in historical legacies because it paved the way for the Bhagavad Gita.

The Gita begins with doubt but concludes in faith. So this combination is not conflicting but cooperative, when doubters are like Arjuna and the answers are provided by Krishna.

Vedic scriptures are, therefore, full of inquires, which is why they are a dialogue and not a monologue.

When doubt haunted Yudhishthira with regards to the effects of the war, they choked his existence. Lord Krishna took him to grand old man Bhishma deva, who was lying on the bed of arrows, regretful and grateful at the same. His regret was for the mistakes he made and gratitude for the kindness of the Lord for allowing him to watch Dharma being established by letting the Pandavas win.

How Bhishma deva dispelled the doubtful Yudhishthira to take the reigns of Hastinapura is simply amazing. It forms some of the important parts of the Mahabharata. Doubts of Yudhishthira quickly took the shape of inquiries towards Bhishma and that dialogue became a great knowledge bank. It was faith giving not only to Yudhishthira but to all those who wish to do the same.

Are we ready to make turn out doubts into inquiries so that we become faithful? Or are we stuck in the darkness of doubt? The choice is ours.