The Greeks knew a thing or two about philosophy. Sophia (Greek for wisdom) is a central tenet of their religion and philosophy.
Wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance (or self-restraint) were the key virtues which the Greeks considered essential for the development of human character. Of these, wisdom was felt to be the master virtue, because without it, the other virtues could not be channeled properly.
Education
It is commonly felt that education is the most important thing in life. It is not. Wisdom is.
Theodore Roosevelt on education
“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
“A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.”
Add and remove
“To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”
-Lao Tzu
Knowledge versus wisdom
For both Plato and Socrates, philosophy was philo-sophia, or “a friend of wisdom.”
It is important to acquire knowledge, but it is not sufficient to do so.
After all, leading a satisfying life requires lots of skills, many of which have to be learned. Our forefathers had to learn how to make fire, how to make clothes, how to make a wheel, how to make weapons to hunt animals, and also to protect themselves from predators.
When and how to use those skills requires judgment, wisdom.
Einstein
“Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
Knowledge
“If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?”
-Thomas Henry Huxley
We have a lot of information available to us. All the literature of the world is now readily accessible. We are drowning in facts. We are surrounded by knowledge.
Then why is mankind still struggling with unhappiness?
Why do we still have war, famine, poverty, human bondage?
Judgment
Applying our knowledge judiciously is perhaps the foundation of wisdom.
Facts and figures by themselves are often not helpful. We need to organize them. Then we need to process them.
And finally, we need to ponder their meaning. To put them in perspective.
If this perspective and meaning can be channeled into helpful and healthy behavior, to benefit society, we can have the beginnings of wisdom.
Confucius
Why do we need wisdom?
Human history is a tale of misery.
It highlights accounts of people, of societies, making the same mistakes, over, and over, and over again.
Why do we never learn the lessons of history?
That requires wisdom.
Improve, grow, and evolve
Even bacteria evolve.
If you keep throwing antibiotics at them, they get smart, and find ways to resist those antibiotics, and then pass on their genes to their offspring. That is how we get antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
A species needs to acquire information, put it together, analyze it, reflect on it, and put it to good use, for the betterment of the individuals as well as the entire group.
That is called learning, and acquiring wisdom.
A group which does not learn, does not become wise, keeps repeating its mistakes, and then dies off.
History tells us of groups which were successful for a while, and then were wiped out. Remember the Mayans?
Problems?
We have plenty of them, as a race.
Not too many people are very happy, or very satisfied with their lives. We wear smiles, but hide an emptiness which seems to fill our hearts and souls.
We are connected to the internet, but have trouble connecting with hearts and souls.
A large part of the world is awash in the latest gadgetry, and fancy, high-end consumer goods, which, till just a hundred years ago, would have been the envy of kings and royals.
And yet, significant numbers of people struggle with war, poverty, sickness, sexual trafficking.
Do we have the wisdom to solve these problems, or even address them seriously?
Where to find wisdom
The Greeks suggested teachers.
And, before them, so did the Indians, who then went a step further.
Look inside
The path to wisdom begins with self-analysis and self-discovery. What is right, and what is wrong: that is the initial judgment we need to be able to make. And for that, we should not need the expert opinion of scholars.
Most of us know innately what is right, and what is not. Does an adult need a legal scholar to tell him that cheating is wrong, lying is wrong, stealing is wrong?
So why don’t we do it?
We are so wrapped up in the matters of this world that we do not want to spend time to step back a little, retire to a peaceful spot, and indulge in some reflection, some soul-searching. If we did, we would surprise ourselves by the answers we discover on our own.
The Gita and wisdom
This book of ancient wisdom from India, written about 5000 years ago, emphasizes that wisdom lives within all of us. Each of us has a body, and within that resides a soul, which is nothing but a small part of God himself. And with this inbuilt wisdom, we are able to tell right from wrong, if only we do not let our thinking get muddled.
Avritam jnanam etena jnanino nity-vairina
Kama-rupena Kaunteya dushapurenanalenacha (Gita 3:39)
In this verse, Lord Krishna, a Hindu God, tells his disciple Arjuna that we have an innate wisdom, but that is covered by our ever-present enemy, namely desire, or lust. This enemy is like a roaring fire, which can never be satisfied.
We become so wrapped up in seeking the objects of our ever-expanding desires that we smother the spark of wisdom inside us under layers of ignorance.
So what to do?
Step away for a moment from the hustle and bustle, the noise and the chaos of daily life. Take a deep breath in. Think with an uncluttered mind. And look inward. You will find enlightenment. You will find pure wisdom. You might also find your soul.
Want to read more?
The Gita is an epic with more than 700 verses, offering solutions for the age-old problems of mankind, which are as bothersome today as they were 1000 years ago.
If you would like a synopsis of how the universal lessons from the Gita can lead to a satisfying life today, you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5TGM1U.
Some people are survivors, they are wise enough to do so, but of course if there is a formal education ( formal knowledge) is also part of their lives they make better choices facing and solving the problems. Really liked this one. Thanks for writing it 🙂
Thanks for your comments!
Wisdom is not something you learn like education.wisdom is acquired through everyday events and how we handle them whether good or bad. Good write up.
Thanks, Emily. You are so right!