It is said, the first sign of intelligence isn’t to say anything. The second sign of intelligence is not to say anything unless a question is asked. So in this country, almost all scriptures begin with a question. Take the example of Bhagavad Gita, Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. All the knowledge from the scriptures have started with a genuine spirit of enquiry, through questions.
Someone puts forward a question and then someone else answers. It could be a dialogue between a master and his disciple, husband and wife, or between a group of seekers and a wise man. It has always begun with a question.
The essence of religion is spirituality. When all religions aim to bring spirituality, their goal becomes to make you understand the self through asking right questions, uplift yourself and others, only to facilitate your journey towards infinity.
There are six types of people who ask questions. The first type of person who asks questions is the one who is sad or unhappy. The second type of person who asks questions is the one who is angry. The third type of person who asks questions is the one who enquires just to make their presence felt. The fourth type of person who asks questions is the one who thinks they know the answer but they just come to test whether you know the answer or not. The fifth type of person who asks questions is the one who has a deep experience and they want to understand that. The sixth type of person who asks questions is the one called Jigyasu. There is a burning desire deep in their mind to know the truth, to know the reality, and they have faith that to whom they are asking questions, has the answers.
All our Shastras, all our scriptures in India have begun with a question.
Which type of question? It is the sixth type of question, “I do not know, I want to know.” And there is full trust that this person knows and so we ask the question. Unlike elsewhere in the world, in India, wisemen have always encouraged the spirit of enquiry.
Science and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. ‘What is this?’ is Science and ‘Who am I?’ is spirituality. Deepening the mystery of creation is science and deepening the mystery of the Self is spirituality.
