WISDOM
Ability to Sort out the Relevant from the Irrelevant
WISDOM is the greatest human quality, but it is strange that no clear definition of wisdom can be found in the dictionary. The reason is that wisdom is not an independent concept; it is another name for practical wisdom.
As expressed by a scholar, wisdom is the ability to discover the relevant by sorting out the irrelevant. That is, a wise man is one who knows the relative value of things.
It is also noteworthy that information and wisdom are not one and the same thing. If a certain person has a lot of information, it does not necessarily imply that he also possesses wisdom.
Generally people live in a wrong dichotomy, that is, of right and wrong. They take what they think is right and reject that which appears wrong to them. But this is not wisdom.
Wisdom demands one to judge on the basis of result. Experience shows that in this world, one does not have a choice between good or bad. Rather, the choice is between lesser evil and greater evil. Wisdom in such a case is to choose lesser evil over greater evil.
It is also noteworthy that information and wisdom are not one and the same thing. If a certain person has a lot of information, it does not necessarily imply that he also possesses wisdom. Information is related to memory and one who has a good photographic memory can store a lot of information and facts. Wisdom, in truth, is related to the power of analysis of these facts.
It requires wisdom even to differentiate between internal or inner and external or outer knowledge. Someone has very rightly remarked:
Knowing others is wisdom; knowing the self is enlightenment. In this present world, each of us needs to equip ourselves in two ways—one, vis-à-vis our own self, and the other, vis-à-vis others. It is not enough for us to be prepared in only one of these ways and not in the other.
With regard to other people, wisdom lies in expecting only what is realistically possible. Any over-expectation in this regard always leads to harm. While forming our expectations of others we must completely set aside our emotions and establish our expectations on the basis of reality.
But as far as our own selves are concerned, we must have the highest expectation. We must discover ourselves and try to use our abilities to the maximum extent possible. Vis-à-vis others, realism is desirable, while vis-à-vis our own selves it is idealism.
The guiding principle with regard to the above mentioned points is, “Be an idealist in your own home, and as soon as you step out of your home, become practical.” To fulfil both these demands is a difficult task. In this world, only those people are successful who can fulfil them both.
We need to be realist when it comes to others and idealist when it comes to our own selves. One who does the opposite can never be successful in this world.