KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF & WHEN USED PROPERLY

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF & WHEN USED PROPERLY

The condition of the prehistoric man was wretched

Was like a just born child

Bereft of any power or control

Over the hostile elements of Nature

Wild forest was his place of his habitat

Hunted by wild beasts so ferocious

Despite being hunter himself for his daily subsistence

Till such time he learned a great hidden secret

As to how to use the fire as defence against elements most hostile

For keeping himself warm and keeping the wild animals away.

Then started his quest for more knowledge

About the environs around himself and even beyond

Bit by bit he started storing knowhow in his memory

About Mother Nature and its functioning

Though with trial and error method initially

Ensured that he does not act unethically

Which is not in sync with Nature’s laws and its purity

Lest it may strike back with impunity

Where it hurts the most severely!

The storehouse of knowledge was collated assiduously

With varieties of experiences over a time period most extensively

Spurred the man to his forward march more aggressively

Made use of his faculty optimally

Even spurning the Laws of Nature to the wind with impunity

Which acted as a beginning of sure recipe for self destruction

Then reached a stage where he surge still ahead

In variety of fields – aplenty indeed

Such as science, arts & crafts, medicines et al

Even made expedition to moon

Which earlier on was considered a distant dream

And is making efforts in reaching other planets

Hereinbefore considered just a pipe-dream

But in its zeal for still ‘more’ to his credit

Man forgot his limitations and limits

Started fiddling with Mother Nature

Started cutting forest green cover to quench his greed

Started exploiting the inner crusts of earth without even a second thought

For fuels,  minerals and what it contained so abundantly

For his comforts and more material prosperity

Started industries and comfort zones after destroying lush green woods

Started spewing harmful pollutants in the atmosphere

Polluted the water bodies with poisonous contaminants from industrial units

Thus disturbed the natural balance to the hilt

Increasing global temperatures too

Resulting in melting of snow in Antarctica & Attic regions

Without even realizing that if this goes on unhindered

What consequences it will entail!

It will  result in surge in sea level

The flourishing habitations we today see

May turn into part of sea!

Meaning by our own selfish karma

We are shunning the human dharma

Thus for material prosperity man is playing a cruel drama

In the process of taming Mother Nature, an idea so bizarre

He may be tamed finally himself by not forgiving Nature

That day is not far to see

Lest man realizes his folly

Even now retrieval is not far to be found

If realization downs even now

Knowledge power should not blind us

But should bestow us foresight

To see that our coming generation is secure

Which can only be ensured

When all the Nature’s Laws are fully cared and met

God give us wisdom to introspect on the message and cues

Given by Mother Nature loud and clear

In the forms of tsunamis, wildfires, snow storms and droughts

That knowledge should make us humble

And not egocentric and pompous being.

Is the knowledge power gained by going through
Scriptural texts is of any consequence
Whence power hunger makes some

Like demon king Ravana intoxicated with knowledge power
Which made him egoist, haughty and arrogant to the core

Some like blind King Dhritrashtra of Mahabharta fame

Become totally blind to others needs with power that came
And became a cause of his total ruin.

We’ve to be like Sandalwood plant

On the branches of which poisonous snakes love to entangle

It does not absorb  the traits of these  toxic snakes

And does not give up its essence

Of giving us fragrance

Besides helping us in variety of ways from birth to death.

Finally, some persons with knowledge remain humble and cool

While others with knowledge power hungry act like a fool

That is the exactly the difference between the two.

HARBANS KHAJURIA

 

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF AND WHEN USED PROPERLY.

Knowledge removes ignorance, enlightens us about variety of subjects, inculcate awareness not only about ourselves but also about the environs in which we are living. In other words, knowledge is a driving force which drives the vehicle of our life on the smooth and not so smooth paths of our life’s sojourn. Irrespective of what sort of life we are living, knowledge which is gained through self efforts helps us in traversing on our journey of life with ease since it is gained by our individual efforts, keeping in view the rules and conventions set by the society and most importantly, obeying the Laws of Nature – which sustains us and life giving while we live in accordance with its Laws.

The knowledge could be acquired through Formal and Informal methods

• Formal Knowledge is the one which we get from our schools, colleges, universities or any other technical degrees etc with formal syllabus and after certain fixed period of time we have to appear for examination and subsequently degree is awarded.
  

• Informal knowledge is the knowledge where there is no fixed syllabus or prescribed learning methodoligy or organized way of learning. In other words it could be learned by experience or learning by doing, or self directed learning experiences etc. This includes learning language through interaction with the society, learning social etiquettes through participation and accepting norms of the society, knowledge acquisition from the informal institutions such as churches, mosques, temples etc. or any other religious congregations or takes place in the community. This could be called as self learning. More the knowledge, the more we delve with the people who could render assistance on the subject. And also there is no final examination or test of knowledge that we have learned or unlearned the previous experiences which are not commensurate with the present time and space.

One thing which is most potent in informal knowledge that it is vast and open. There is no inhibition in this. It could be termed as a holistic knowledge. We must have observed that people with less formal knowledge through degrees could have less of knowledge than the ones who gain knowledge through self efforts through trial and error method. 

The condition in which the pre-historic man lived at the mercy of nature is well known. He was both a hunter and also hunted by the wild beasts. Subsequently man started living in harmony with nature and after the discovery of fire and its usage it made things easier for the man to tame the wild animals and started getting help from them in variety of ways.  Thereafter, man started to store information in his mind; analyzing  and rationalizing the new information obtained under different sets of situations and conditions. Acquired and stored knowledge made it possible for him to use the expertise and live in accordance with the prevalent conditions suited to him – discarding the ones found untenable under the circumstances.  

With the use of his faculties man was able to acquire knowhow about the things around him, perceive and assume and after experiencing things practically formed opinion. This gave him confidence and also belief in his capabilities. Slowly but surely the man started considering nature not his adversary but benefactor. Many mysteries of nature were unraveled while living in the midst of nature. Thus nature became a harbinger of hope for better life and well-being for the man. The store house of information / knowledge about nature gave a huge fillip to his own advancement in life.

Subsequently hypothesis, analysis and further experimentation in various branches of science including mathematics gave further boost to knowledge base. But unfortunately with it, a delusion arose in his mind, as to how he could control the forces of nature. An idea fraught with dangers. He started fiddling with the MOTHER NATURE due to his egocentric tendencies. Forgetting in the process that Nature too has a set limit; too much of its exploitation spoils its balance and results in disproportional droughts in some parts of the world and excessive rains, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis  etc in other parts. The incidence of wildfires round the world is just alarming – this again is disturbing the balance of nature.

Knowledge about exploitation of nature to our benefits is ok but knowledge that what repercussions the over exploitation or misusing nature  causes should also be known – that the very bounties of nature that sustains our life are being misused. Use of nature in an irrational manner spoils the very balance of nature. Man is given power by science to use nature but wisdom is required to rationally use it. The melting of snow in the Arctic and Antarctic sea and is a cause of concern due to rise in global warming. What future augurs for us when there is persistent melting of snow is not a rocket science to know. The result would be rise in the sea level and the consequences would be disastrous.

There is no denying the fact, although the scientific temper and know-how in medical field have helped mankind in curing many diseases which were considered incurable and thus increased the lifespan of populace yet new diseases are also sprouting – may be due to excessive use of pesticides on the fruits and vegetables for higher produce, over-dose of medicines or insect bites, for example zika virus due to mosquito bites. Overdose or misuse may also adversely affects immune system. It can conveniently be said that when we fiddle too much with nature then we lose the effectiveness of natural power of healing.

Having more power and pelf – may it be worldly possessions or of acquired knowledge, man has become egocentric. If we have the knowledge, we also should know how to utilize it, it should not make us pompous and fastidious. We have several examples to substantiate: when one does not use the knowledge judiciously he/she may fall prey to his own karma.  Demon king Ravana of Lanka (who had the scriptural knowledge besides being the most loved worshiper of Lord Shiva with all sorts of boons) despite having treasure trove of knowledge did not use it properly and met his end due to his ill-intentions. Here knowledge did not provide him wisdom to make difference.

 We consider science to be all and end all. The religion and spiritualism which teaches us about our self awareness is not being considered seriously by our present generation. It is the spiritual knowledge which gives man to understand the lows and highs in our life and how to maintain a balance between the two. With the use of knowledge as a power, we are losing our moorings and giving more credence to material prosperity thus earning in its wake dissatisfaction, greed, rancor, one-upmanship etc.

Self realization comes when we balance spiritual development with material advancement since material advancement to a degree is required for the substance of self and those dependent on us. Simply to say that spiritual development can quench the hunger of our stomach is an understatement. But those who seek happiness only in material prosperity will meet disillusionment after sometimes. Eternal happiness is attained through SELF AWARENESS or SELF REALIZATION. It is the knowledge of introspection and the ability of an individual to recognize oneself as an individual entity separate from the environment in which that individual is living. The knowledge that religion gives is to motivate ourselves for seeking God – insatiable hunger for Him always pays. Religion is the pathway for connectivity with our Lord. It should not exploit the gullible. In Hinduism, it was the gross misuse and misinterpretation by different priestly classes which provoked Lord Budha and Lord Mahavira to offer their own interpretations which made the common people to understand the true meaning of religion. We should try to understand the knowledge given in scriptures of any religion.

Despite all the knowledge at the command of the man, man cannot have total control over the forces of nature. Natural Laws are permanent and have to be obeyed by all irrespective of power one wields. Man is still at the mercy of his own instincts. Man is certainly can garner knowledge but wisdom to judiciously use is the moot point.