What is LIFE

Socrates has said, “Unexamined life is not worth living.” This statement of million –dollar importance, which provides inputs to a scientific way of life. Life sans scientific approach of stupidity and absurdity. Scientific approach means to have doubt and when doubt creeps in , one automatically proceeds to explore the truth. Doubt is the means and the search and exploration of truth is the end.

Lord Buddha has also laid emphasis on the very term ‘doubt’ and it’s doubt which propels one to be on the way of search i.e. shodh (Research/Analysis). It is search or shodh, which makes a man arrive at truth, this is what scientists do. Science cannot be based on belief.

Research and experiments are the very basis of science and after undergoing several researches, scientists arrive at a particular conclusion. This is the sutra which Socrates and Buddha gives regarding life and thus, wants to save the humanity from being turned into humanoid. A humanoid is a human being that is incapable of knowing him and all his ideas are borrowed, nothing original. A humanoid lives in a state of unconsciousness-no awareness, no awakening anything at all. And without awakening, which is the main sutra of life, life is chaos and nothing else.

Belief and truth are poles apart-they are two separate entities. Belief enslaves the mind whereas truth liberates the mind. So, belief should not be taken as truth.

Buddha forbids to believe anything and to go by the experience of others. Belief means total acceptance-acceptance of the prevalent views without examining it and when one believes the particular thing, how can he know the truthfulness of that particular thing?

Believing means the end of possibility of knowing the truth. So, ‘doubt’ is the first step. That’s why, Buddha says to create doubt. He says, “Don’t believe the thing just because they have been written in scriptures. Don’t go by the experience of others, even by the experience of mine. It should be your own experience. And if through the process of examination and search, it the true, then it’s fine.” Mind should not be filled with prejudices and beliefs, otherwise life would become burden there would be no ecstasy or any bliss. Belief symbolizes slavery-a mental slavery. Belief is a way of escape-to escape from search and ultimately an escape from truth.

Belief means a borrowed concept. How can one believe if he has not known? Buddha and Socrates suggest dropping all beliefs and borrowed concept and starting searching. When one sets on the path of searching, he gets enlightened with awareness and Vivekananda says that this is the awareness fills a man with truth.