Words From The Master: 20 Jan 2008

Transform your knowledge into Wisdom

Long time ago in China, a metal worker fashioned a mirror for the first time ever. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, this man said: Oh, my God! My father has descended from the heavens.

On seeing her husband talking to himself, his wife peeped into the mirror. She saw her own face and screamed: why are you talking to another woman?

The husband replied: I was not talking to a woman, I was talking to my father!

His wife was furious. She shouted: Not only are you talking with other women behind my back, but you are also lying about it. You must be having an affair!

A preacher, who was passing by, heard the noise, stopped and looked at the mirror which started the quarrel. On looking at the mirror he was shocked. He shouted with fury: I am the only preacher in this area. Where did this monk come from?

He flung the mirror on the ground and it broke into many pieces.

If he were a wise man, this would not have happened.

What is wisdom?

Wisdom is not Knowledge.

Knowledge is accumulated information. Wisdom is knowledge processed through experience and found to be true. Knowledge is mere fact; wisdom is truth.

Fireflies emit light so that the male and female fireflies can locate each other, mate and multiply. That is the truth and wisdom. If someone observes fireflies emitting light, and from that observation concludes that the purpose is to light the way in the night, it is useless and misleading knowledge, as most of our knowledge is.

It is easy to gather knowledge. We fill our mind with knowledge by reading, watching TV, and listening to people. It is so easy. Most of such knowledge and information is useless. They only add to your ego.

Experience is born out of real hard labor. We cannot change knowledge into experience, as there is no connection between worldly knowledge and life experience! Knowledge is merely the map; experience is the territory. You cannot reach your destination by reading a map!

Understand that the accumulation of knowledge only increases the ego. Instead, internalize the knowledge of information and relate it to experiential wisdom. Let the breeze of joy blow in your life.

Meditation helps us to internalize our experience, and process that into wisdom. It is an alchemy that happens internally, an alchemy that can transform our lives.

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This article was earlier published in the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.