Knowledgeable.....or.... wise....?
Knowledge is one's understanding of facts and information about something or someone and it can be acquired by education and experience. Wisdom means, 'the quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgement'. Knowledge alone is not enough and for that matter neither experience alone will do. The world has seen many wise men in its history. They have taken the right decisions at the right moments. There is a huge difference between having knowledge and being wise.
King Solomon witnessed a case in his court. Two ladies claimed to be the mother of a baby! How could that be? King Solomon ordered the baby to be brought to the court. In a wise move, to find the real mother, he ordered the baby to be cut into two halves and each half given to the two ladies. The court was stunned! One of the ladies stood nonchalantly and the other lady started crying. It was obvious to Solomon that the lady who cried and begged 'not to cut the baby; rather give the baby to the other lady', was the real mother.
In 'Merchant of Venice', a Shakespeare drama, a tricky situation arises. Shylock, the greedy money-lender, by virtue of a contract demands a 'pound of flesh' from the selected part of the body of Antonio (to whom he has lent money), in case of default. The Duke of Venice refers the case to Balthazar, a 'doctor of law' to dispense the case. Balthazar is in fact Portia in disguise! Shylock is directed by Balthazar (Portia) to cut exactly a 'pound of flesh' (not more or less) and also to ensure that not a single drop of blood is shed in the process. Shylock is bewildered and the story goes......
The wise Birbal, a prominent minister in Emperor Akbar's court faced a difficult case once. A butcher and an oilman came to him and both made claim to a bag of coins. There was no witness according to both of them. Birbal sensed that the witness is the bag of coins. He asked his servant to bring a bowl of water. He put the coins in the bowl. Soon, he could see a layer of oil on top of the water surface. Birbal ruled that the bag belonged to the oilman. The butcher confessed to his wrong claim.
A passerby asked a man 'how long it would take to reach a nearby village'. The man directed the passerby to approach an old man sitting nearby. The visitor asked the old man, 'how long it would take to reach the village (mentioning the name of the village)'? The old man did not reply. The visitor repeated the question 2 more times. Still, the old man did not reply. The visitor thought that the old man either did not know or he could be deaf. He started retracing and walked away a distance. The old man called him and said 'it would take 10 minutes to reach the village'. Perplexed, the visitor asked the old man, 'why you did not answer my question, when I asked you'? The old man replied, 'unless I know how fast (the pace) you walk, how could I estimate the time required'?
Once in a country, a severe famine occurred and the grain stock was fast depleting. A stage had reached when there was no grain for sowing even. But an old wise man suggested to his son to plough their field and keep it ready for the next season. Shortly the monsoon rain happened and they could see wheat sprouts in their field. The old man explained that when they were taking the wheat through the field (during earlier harvests), some wheat grains would have fallen onto the field. This was possible through the experience and wisdom of the old man.
In a car factory, a new model car was developed and built by the engineers. When they wanted to take the car out of the factory building, it was noticed that the height of the door (of the factory building) was not enough to allow the passage of the car. The managers and higher ranked officials suggested various methods and nothing worked. Finally a mechanic came forward with a solution. It was suggested to deflate the tyres and that suggestion worked nicely.
Wisdom does not depend on education, age, and knowledge. It depends on sharp and smart thinking, and quality of judgement of the given situation. Experience helps to some extent. Not all experienced persons can give judgement of wisdom.
King Solomon witnessed a case in his court. Two ladies claimed to be the mother of a baby! How could that be? King Solomon ordered the baby to be brought to the court. In a wise move, to find the real mother, he ordered the baby to be cut into two halves and each half given to the two ladies. The court was stunned! One of the ladies stood nonchalantly and the other lady started crying. It was obvious to Solomon that the lady who cried and begged 'not to cut the baby; rather give the baby to the other lady', was the real mother.
In 'Merchant of Venice', a Shakespeare drama, a tricky situation arises. Shylock, the greedy money-lender, by virtue of a contract demands a 'pound of flesh' from the selected part of the body of Antonio (to whom he has lent money), in case of default. The Duke of Venice refers the case to Balthazar, a 'doctor of law' to dispense the case. Balthazar is in fact Portia in disguise! Shylock is directed by Balthazar (Portia) to cut exactly a 'pound of flesh' (not more or less) and also to ensure that not a single drop of blood is shed in the process. Shylock is bewildered and the story goes......
The wise Birbal, a prominent minister in Emperor Akbar's court faced a difficult case once. A butcher and an oilman came to him and both made claim to a bag of coins. There was no witness according to both of them. Birbal sensed that the witness is the bag of coins. He asked his servant to bring a bowl of water. He put the coins in the bowl. Soon, he could see a layer of oil on top of the water surface. Birbal ruled that the bag belonged to the oilman. The butcher confessed to his wrong claim.
A passerby asked a man 'how long it would take to reach a nearby village'. The man directed the passerby to approach an old man sitting nearby. The visitor asked the old man, 'how long it would take to reach the village (mentioning the name of the village)'? The old man did not reply. The visitor repeated the question 2 more times. Still, the old man did not reply. The visitor thought that the old man either did not know or he could be deaf. He started retracing and walked away a distance. The old man called him and said 'it would take 10 minutes to reach the village'. Perplexed, the visitor asked the old man, 'why you did not answer my question, when I asked you'? The old man replied, 'unless I know how fast (the pace) you walk, how could I estimate the time required'?
Once in a country, a severe famine occurred and the grain stock was fast depleting. A stage had reached when there was no grain for sowing even. But an old wise man suggested to his son to plough their field and keep it ready for the next season. Shortly the monsoon rain happened and they could see wheat sprouts in their field. The old man explained that when they were taking the wheat through the field (during earlier harvests), some wheat grains would have fallen onto the field. This was possible through the experience and wisdom of the old man.
In a car factory, a new model car was developed and built by the engineers. When they wanted to take the car out of the factory building, it was noticed that the height of the door (of the factory building) was not enough to allow the passage of the car. The managers and higher ranked officials suggested various methods and nothing worked. Finally a mechanic came forward with a solution. It was suggested to deflate the tyres and that suggestion worked nicely.
Wisdom does not depend on education, age, and knowledge. It depends on sharp and smart thinking, and quality of judgement of the given situation. Experience helps to some extent. Not all experienced persons can give judgement of wisdom.
Good one Theri..Enjoyed reading..
ReplyDeleteNice writeup and worth to read.. can relate to lot of good stories which we studied earlier in school days.. feeling nostalgic.. Keep rocking appa..
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