We have so many books that begin with a ‘tell me why’? Why is the sky blue? Why is the ocean having waves? Why does the earth get hot and how does the sun’s rays heat it up? Excellent questions, but they never end. A mind that is full of questions all the time knows no rest. A mind that knows no rest can never settle down to do something useful in life, because one question follows the next like a wave and by the time you have solved a problem the next one crops up.
Yes, a questioning mind is, of course, good to achieve things in this world. Discoveries and inventions are not possible if you do not question. But there is some time when we need peace, if you may agree with me. A questioning and anxious mind is never going to give a peaceful sleep at night. When do all the questions stop? When I probe deep and find out who the questioner is, then there are no questions. There may be answers to the questions of others though.
A question or a doubt is like a worm. This worm is pretty dangerous, because if you go on giving it attention, it becomes a snake. Snake is a beautiful symbology used in the ancient traditions to represent venom, slithering movement that can never be grasped, the source of fear even for an army, the now here now gone appearance that it can make. It also represents never-ending desires. You know how worms can reproduce in the intestine in large numbers and take your tummy for a ride, gobbling up all the nutrition that you eat. Doubts gobble up all your mental energy, leaving you weak and tired for anything constructive that you may wish to do.
The best way out is not to resolve a doubt—remember always its reproductive capacity is very strong. The best way is to ask who this doubting Thomas is. Find out who the questioner is. When you get an answer for the person who is asking the question, the question ceases to exist as it has no attention given. It vanishes into nowhere and only the questioner, who is actually the self in you where there are no questions, remains. Being there gives you peace, gives you contentment, helps you to experience the joy of life, being where you are, not wanting one thing more to make you happier than what you are right now.
Nevertheless, to get things right with the world, ask the right questions. Use your logical abilities to arrive at the right answers, smart answers—and that is the only way you may succeed in this world. When it comes to your own self, when you relax on your couch, ruminating about the purpose of your existence, dabbling with doubts will only help increase its content in your head. Take a deep breath and know that you are the one behind the questioner, who has no questions. You are the one behind the doubt, who has no doubts. You are like that sky behind the clouds and around it too, untouched by the clouds, its shape, its water content or colour.
—Swahilya Shambhavi (swahilya.blogspot.com)