What is wisdom? Is there such a thing as a universal Wisdom or does the meaning change depending upon circumstance? In my poorly considered world-view (for such an apparently important thing, I have given it scant thought), I usually define wisdom as a freedom from fear. Fear of uncertainty, death - that sort of thing. I suppose I shift the burden of definition from wisdom to fear, but I think linking the two focuses the meaning in some measure. But much meaning escapes. For instance, consider wisdom for a non practicing Muslim in a Taliban dominated area versus that of a new mother in drought-stricken Kenya. My description of wisdom as a sublimation of fear is probably going to get the first killed, while the second would probably lose her child since she wouldn't fight for food in front of the first-world food disbursal vehicle.
Not to mention, it doesn't really fit the triggering condition of this bit of writing. My wife is a very good daughter. I mean that in the sense that if I had a daughter I would wish her to be like my wife. She is currently a sponsor for some of the home renovation work undertaken by her parents. An observer of the renovation informed my wife (who is far enough away to not see for herself) that the construction company is doing a bad job and that her parents are getting fleeced. I was upset by this news. My wife's take on this was that her sponsorship was not directed towards the math of rupee per square meter, but rather her parents' peace of mind. If they thought things were going well, that was enough.
Perhaps my formulation of wisdom can still be made to fit my wife's undoubted wisdom (it is to be noted that wisdom is a bit like the Matrix - no one can be told what it is, but everyone knows it when they see it). I only need to categorize my initial reaction of dismay to my wife's money being ill-spent as a form of fear. The wisdom was to find the effect of her efforts not in the installations but in her intent.
But what of the poor soul in Afghanistan or the one battling for scraps in Kenya? Unfortunately it's not my formulation that breaks down here but my motivation for defining wisdom. See, I am motivated to indulge in this thought-making because I hope to establish what wisdom is. Once established, I hope to profit from it in some way. For my formulation to work, wisdom has to become independent of returning a real world profit in its application. Without doing this, I would have to reject my unconscious interpretation of wisdom and I wouldn't know what I would be left with.
Here is what I mean. One of the wisest things I have heard on Television, was an exposition by Pujari Laldas in aftermath of the Ayodhya riots. The documentary is here (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5C10BD7AF7E320B0). I had immediately pegged the Pujari as a wise man. One of the few sane rational voices I heard at the time. Needless to say that he was shot dead shortly after the documentary was filmed.
So. I established that my formulation of wisdom as a sublimation of fear holds up to the small event that started this train of thought. I also found out that my instinctive idea of wisdom might not translate to worldly good fortune in every case (which makes it like any other also-ran panacea).
Not to mention, it doesn't really fit the triggering condition of this bit of writing. My wife is a very good daughter. I mean that in the sense that if I had a daughter I would wish her to be like my wife. She is currently a sponsor for some of the home renovation work undertaken by her parents. An observer of the renovation informed my wife (who is far enough away to not see for herself) that the construction company is doing a bad job and that her parents are getting fleeced. I was upset by this news. My wife's take on this was that her sponsorship was not directed towards the math of rupee per square meter, but rather her parents' peace of mind. If they thought things were going well, that was enough.
Perhaps my formulation of wisdom can still be made to fit my wife's undoubted wisdom (it is to be noted that wisdom is a bit like the Matrix - no one can be told what it is, but everyone knows it when they see it). I only need to categorize my initial reaction of dismay to my wife's money being ill-spent as a form of fear. The wisdom was to find the effect of her efforts not in the installations but in her intent.
But what of the poor soul in Afghanistan or the one battling for scraps in Kenya? Unfortunately it's not my formulation that breaks down here but my motivation for defining wisdom. See, I am motivated to indulge in this thought-making because I hope to establish what wisdom is. Once established, I hope to profit from it in some way. For my formulation to work, wisdom has to become independent of returning a real world profit in its application. Without doing this, I would have to reject my unconscious interpretation of wisdom and I wouldn't know what I would be left with.
Here is what I mean. One of the wisest things I have heard on Television, was an exposition by Pujari Laldas in aftermath of the Ayodhya riots. The documentary is here (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5C10BD7AF7E320B0). I had immediately pegged the Pujari as a wise man. One of the few sane rational voices I heard at the time. Needless to say that he was shot dead shortly after the documentary was filmed.
So. I established that my formulation of wisdom as a sublimation of fear holds up to the small event that started this train of thought. I also found out that my instinctive idea of wisdom might not translate to worldly good fortune in every case (which makes it like any other also-ran panacea).
