Thinker or Feeder?

Are you a free thinker? Or are you a slave of newsfeeds that tell you how to think?

Our world is a combination of different cultures, religions, practices, and beliefs. Everyone needs to accept and respect each other irrespective of their beliefs and practices. Though the diversified society has many benefits, sometimes these different practices make life complicated.

A thousand years back when Lord Buddha was alive in India, there was a region called ‘Kesaputta’ and the people who lived there were named as ‘Kalamas’. As a habit, Lord Buddha used to meet people in faraway regions and one day reached the village of ‘Kalamas’. Upon the arrival of Buddha, most of the villages came to see him and one of them asked a very valid question which is even relevant today.

During that period, many religious leaders used to come to their village. Almost all of them preached their thoughts, beliefs, and practices. On top of that, they always never forget to mention that, “Our teachings are superior, all the other teachings in the world are inferior. All the other teachings are not true and only what we teach is true”. Almost all the teachers highlighted the importance of their beliefs. They also requested all the people to accept their beliefs and discard other teachings completely. ‘Kalamas’ were confused by this constant religious preaching which denies others and promotes theirs. They couldn’t understand what to believe and what to disregard.

As Lord Buddha came to their village, ‘Kalamas’ decided to put forward their burning question. They asked, “What should we believe and what shouldn’t? How to identify the best teaching and disregard others?”. The solution given by the Buddha to this question is considered the utmost important teaching in Buddhism which is valid even many years apart.

Lord Buddha said, “Kalamas, when you know these things are good, these things are not blamable, these things are praised by the wise, undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness, enter on and abide in them.” As per this answer, Buddha asked us to accept and believe the facts, information, or teachings, only if we believe in them. We do not want to accept anything if that isn’t in line with our thoughts. If it doesn’t fit the purpose, no matter how important the person who tells it, we can disregard it.

This teaching gives them ownership of their thoughts and ideas. In a technologically savvy world, the information is limitless. Similarly, the ideas, thoughts, and concepts are enormous. People in the world are connected. Something that happens on the other side of the world will reach every corner of the planet within a few seconds. The development of technology undoubtedly has eased the lives of individuals. Contrary to this, it has also made their lives much more complicated.

In this complex world with a plethora of information, many have been trapped in myths, false beliefs, and superstitions. One reason for this is their inability to distinguish the truth from the lies.

Why it’s difficult for them to filter truth from the myth? People believe information, facts, and concepts to be true if they fall into one category out of below. Let’s have a look at it;

1. We hear it repeatedly (from TV, the internet, or from people)
2. It comes from the tradition (grandparent and their parents have told it)
3. It’s a popular rumor (everyone knows it, but no one knows whether it’s true)
4. It is written in the books (for so many years it was in the books)
5. The person who tells is a great teacher (as a person he/she is respectable)
6. It’s logical (it can be logically proven)

What is the last time you think about a fact critically? When was the last time you accepted some fact or information?

Before believing in a person or information, commonly, we don’t think about it thoroughly. Most of the time why we believe something mainly because it falls under one category of the above list.

Every human being can think and have the ability to understand. But most of the time we blame others for spreading false information. We shouldn’t encourage misguiding information. However, if every one of us can spend some time on productive thinking, most of the rumors can be revealed. This ability may vary from person to person, but every human is born with the inherent ability to think. Hence, it’s our responsibility to accept or reject what we hear from people around us. By practicing thinking we can obtain many benefits and a few of them can be mentioned;

• You won’t be trapped in myths and superstitions
• Your thinking ability will improve and your brain capacity will enhance
• Your ability to explain, analyze, and interpret will improve
• You will make well-thought decisions
• You will begin to understand the ideas rather than the people

In sum, you will become the definition of a human being. In some languages, the meaning of ‘human’ is having a superior mind. The importance of having a superior mind is to make decisions that will help all the living beings in the world. Hence, what we accept and reject is important in terms of creating a better world.

We have the authority over our own lives and the ability to alter the way we are thinking. If someone can think independently without external biases, quality decisions can be made. The freedom of thinking is essential to abstain from false information. The best way to live as a responsible human being is to think on your own and act as per your will.

So always take a few minutes to think, before you act, and don’t trapped in others’ thoughts and become a blind feeder.