Doubts can do us good

Doubts can do us good: Doubt and faith are antithetical, especially in the perspective of religion. Faith begins where doubt ends. But, to have faith without a spark of doubt leads to blind faith, often a source of misery and exploitation, as the history of mankind vindicates. The Buddha once visited a small town called Kesaputta whose inhabitants were known as Kalama. When the Kalamas heard about the visit, they met him and told him, “Revered one, we are frequently visited by different religious Gurus who try to impress us with their religious doctrines. While glorifying their own doctrine, they condemn and despise others’ doctrines. These result in doubts of all sorts in our minds. We request you to show us the way so that we get rid of such doubts.” The Budhha gave this advice: “It is always good that we have doubts. To follow  the sermons and teachings blindly without exercising doubts can be very harmful. The next question is what to do. My advice is that be not led by the authority of religious texts as no religious text is infallible; and likewise  the aura around the person  should not make you accept  him or his teachings, without  critically examining what he  taught.  “Further, you should not get influenced by appearances; delight in speculative opinions or visions of heaven which are only in next life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, and have the courage to follow your heart, intuition and intellect. When you are convinced that certain things are wholesome for you and have the potential to make your life happier and better, accept them. Similarly, when you know for yourself that certain things are not good, then do not lose any time in rejecting them. Yes, when you are stuck up and are not able to decide what’s good and what’s not, go to your master”  The Buddha went even furfhér. “A disciple should examine even the master Tathagata(Buddha) before  he embraces his teachings.”