Wisdom is a Practitioner’s Art!

Wisdom is primarily a practitioner’s art: In order to ascertain the truth of the

distilled wisdom of the sages, we have to put their insights into practice. Through mere
intellection we cannot really determine whether their teachings will work or not.

Let’s take a statement, for example, by J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986), an Indian

sage, who lived most of his life in Ojai, CA, and is considered by many a modern
Buddha:

‘If you do the right thing, right things will happen to you.’

Now, if we want to determine the truth of this statement, we will have to first do
the right thing. Perhaps even before that, we have to first know what the right thing is. It
is not a case of circular logic. What Krishnamurti is asking in effect is that we need to
first find out what is the right thing to do, and then do it! If we conclude impatiently,
upon hearing the foregoing statement, that it does not work, our plight will not be unlike
the person who bought a copy of the Bible on Sunday and brought it back to return it on
Monday, saying, ‘It does not work!’

The Greek Sage par excellence, Aristotle, in the middle of his classic, called
Nichomachean Ethics, clarifies that the purpose of this inquiry into ethics is not to find out
what is good life, but to live one. Interpreted in this light, the following epigraph on Karl
Marx tomb really makes perfect sense: ‘Philosophy has only interpreted the world. The
real challenge is to change it.’ Woe to the philosophy that merely philosophizes and
does not lead to real change.

Now, let’s consider the findings of science and technology. Take for example the
case of electric bulb. We all know that Edison discovered the light bulb. For anyone to
benefit from Edison’s discovery, all s/he has to do is to go to the store and buy it.
Nothing more needs to be done beyond this to immediately benefit from Edison’s labor.
But this is not so with the insights—the discoveries—of the sages of humanity. In order
to benefit from their insights/findings, we have to undertake to walk along with them—so
to speak—and practice what they practiced in order to arrive at those insights. We have
to examine our beliefs, our assumptions, and the assumptions behind those
assumptions. We cannot benefit from the ready-made discoveries of others in the realm
of ethics and spirituality without some inner work on our part. In short, we have to put
the teachings into practice.

This then seems to be the basic difference between the findings of

wisdom/spirituality and science/technology. Spirituality calls for a fundamental shift in
perspective, a metanoia—a transformative change of mind and heart. That is perhaps
why such a transformation is rare because it is difficult. On the other hand, the gifts of
science and technology are relatively easily available. This easy accessibility is also the
reason for the popularity of science and technology in the material world. But we need
both: we need science and technology that provides us with myriad choices. But we
also need wisdom to decide among these choices. Only then we can pursue that which
the sages have called the Highest Good.

Wisdom is the art of viewing things from all possible angles, seeing reality from
multiple frames. There are thousand ways, says Rumi, to kneel and kiss the ground.
There is no one way to woo the wisdom. For every sign that says, One Way; there are a
hundred that proclaim, Another way! In the mythical story of the elephant and blind men,
four blind men gave four altogether contradictory descriptions of an elephant because
one had been able to touch only its tail, the other its legs, the third its belly and the
fourth its ears only. When we have understood the secret, we stop insisting on our own,
one right way and start respecting the wisdom of all existence around us!

Gurdjieff used to say that we are 'cookies' in the Great Kitchen of life, but in the
different stages of what is called 'being done.'

So, we need to strive on diligently…until, shall we say, fully done!