the lost art

The art of questioning has become a lost art today. We are being taught not to ask questions. It begins from childhood. a young child begins to understand its environment. It's mind is filled with curiosities about its surroundings. What it learns forms how it will act in the future. The child is told by its parents that this is good and this is bad. It accepts that as realities. It also learns a lot from its own experinces like hunger can make you cry and falling down hurts. It grows older. Our young lad/lass goes to school. Its mind is filled with premonitions about the school and the teachers there. S/he takes time to adjust to the new environment. S/he learns that there are a lot of children like her. S/he likes some and dislikes some. It cannot understand why. Soon a couple of years pass. S/he is now five years old, learning quite a lot of things in school and home. The mind is now more inquisitive now. Lots of questions arise in thier minds, but no one can answer them. Parents and teachers now unable to cope up with the flurry of questions adopt a new approach. They tell the child that it is wrong to question everything. They tell that the child will understand why some things are the way they are when they grow up. The child accepts this. It knows that if it asks questions, they may not be answered or worse, it might be admonished. Our lad/lass is now entering its pre-teen years. It understands that questioning things might lead into trouble and that it is better to accept or keep quiet. Inwardly looking, the child is like a pot, brimming and boiling with questions. But poor soul, what can it do? It accepts what it has been told or comes to its own conclusions. Teen years - the wonder years. The child is now aware of many things. It is now becoming increasingly aware of changes, both physically and mentally. It is still hard to find answers and questioning at this age is dangerous. Unable to find answers from the people it has known for years, it turns to other avenues for information. Some turn out wonderful guides and some turn out rotten. The teen years end, moving through college, work, marriage and finally, even at the deathbed, the child ponders on the questions left unanswered. The child could be you... Like I said, the art of questioning is lost, buried under fear, prejudices and pure stupidity. And people who question are treated as if they are some rebels. Kicha had pointed out instances where questioning led to eminence and improvement of society. Yet it has been drummed into our minds that questioning is wrong. It means you are not trusting what people say; It means that you do not respect your elders; it means that you are not grown up. I could go on with a similar list. I remember an anectode I read. An outgoing teacher tells his new young replacement the following words. "In every class, you might find that there is someone who is eager to question your every statement. Your first impulse would be silence him. But before that, consider this. He might be the only person who is listening to your words." Interesting, if only teachers listened to this advice. This does not mean that nor do I endorse that you should question everything. I say that if you don't know something or don't understand something, question. And never let go till you find out the answer. And that requires courage and tenacity. A Norse proverb says, "It's better to ask twice than to lose your way once."