BHASKAR JYOTI BORAH “A man without knowledge, a world without light.” - Baltasar Gracian Without knowledge our...
BHASKAR JYOTI
BORAH
“A man without
knowledge, a world without light.”
- Baltasar
Gracian
Without
knowledge our life is like a world without light. A person with knowledge
therefore, accomplishes more. Nothing is impossible for a wise person to
achieve and everything is impossible for the ignorant. We are not born perfect.
But life has given us a wonderful opportunity to make ourselves perfect and to
achieve surmountable heights. We waste our lives miserably not because that we
don’t have dreams but because we don’t know how to transcend our dreams into
reality. The gap between dreams and realities can be minimised only with the
help of knowledge. We need to have strong belief system with a workable action
plan to materialize our desired outcome. The foundation or infra-structure
should be strong enough to uphold the super-structure – the desired outcome
i.e. success. To create that belief system and working plan we need knowledge.
Here in this writing I am going to share with you the knowledge that will help
you to create a strong belief system and working plan which is the essential foundation
of every success.
Baltasar Gracian and The Art of Worldly Wisdom:
Baltasar Gracian y Morales, SJ
(1601-1658), better known as Baltasar Gracian, was a Spanish Jesuit and baroque
prose writer and philosopher. The Art of Worldly Wisdom is a book written in 1647 by Baltasar Gracian (originally
written in Spanish). It is a collection of 300 maxims, each with a commentary,
on various topics giving advice and guidance on how to live fully, advance
socially, and be a better person, that become popular throughout Europe. It was
translated from the Spanish into English by Joseph Jacobs. [1] Here in this
writing I want to share with you some of my selected maxims or aphorisms that
will help you to transform your life to a higher level.
Aphorism
no. 4 - “Knowledge and Courage are the elements of Greatness”:
Knowledge
acquires greatness with courage. Knowledge without courage is futile. The wise
can do anything, achieve anything whatever they desire. It is not because they
know how to do things but they possess the courage to translate their ideas
into action. We have dreams in our eyes but to manifest it into reality we need
to take actions and to take actions we need the requisite courage. With only
knowledge we can’t attain perfection. To attain perfection and to become an
achiever we need courage. Therefore both knowledge and courage supplements each
other. To quote Baltasar Gracian, “Wisdom and strength, eyes and hands.”
Aphorism
no. 6 - “A Man at his Highest Point”:
As Baltasar
Gracian said, “We are not born perfect”. But we have the capacity to make
ourselves perfect. Day by day we must work to transform ourselves to make us
capable to achieve excellence. Our thoughts must be crystal clear, our judgment
must become mature and our will must be firm to achieve goals in our life. With
perfection anything worthy can be achieved. Our accomplishments should also be
all round. But some people can never become complete and reach perfection; in
some people there is always a want and some others accomplishes late. To quote
Gracian, “Some never arrive at being complete; somewhat is always awanting:
others ripen late. The complete man, wise in speech, prudent in act, is
admitted to the familiar intimacy of discreet persons, is even sought for by
them.”
Aphorism
no. 7 – “Avoid Victories over Superiors”:
Seeking
victories over superiors is a foolish idea. He says, “ All victories breed
hate, and that over your superior is foolish or fatal.” Superiors will allow a
man to help them but not to surpass them. Gracian quotes very nicely, “The
stars teach us this finesse with happy tact; though they are his children and
brilliant like him, they never rival the brilliancy of the sun.” In our day to
day life we always want to establish our superiority; superiority in terms of
skills, judgments, decision making or in any other aspects. Most of us want to
prove the fact that there is no one in my comparison in relation to the skill
or competence that is mastered. We used to find opportunities to prove that we
are no less than a superior. But to prove that if we target the superiors we
may invite our misfortune. It may obstruct our growth in the workplace,
organisation or society. The superior may be the boss in the working place or
leaders of an organisation or society; we have to keep the fact in mind not to
surpass them but to help them as a guide to something they can’t find.
Aphorism
no. 14 – “The Thing Itself and the Way it is done”:
How
things are done, plays a significant role in affairs; substance or the thing
alone is not enough. Gracian quotes, “Fine behaviour is a joy in life, and a
pleasant expression helps out of a difficulty in a remarkable way.” Whereas bad
manner spoils everything even reason and justice and makes difficult situations
more complex to come out. Good manner adds a touch of beauty to everything; it steals
affections. Good manner is the root of prosperity.
We seek happiness in
life. No one in this world wants to be treated badly. But the irony is that at
times we become so tempted that we don’t even bother how we hurt others by our
manners. Sometimes misbehaviour to a wrong person may ruin our life. To the
contrary fine behaviour has the potentialities of a joyful life and promotes
growth and perfection. The ‘means’ is equally important as the ‘end’.
Aphorism
no. 16 – “Knowledge and Good Intentions together ensure continuance of success”:
Knowledge like courage should also be
accompanied by good intentions. Knowledge with good intentions will become an
asset and with wicked will becomes liability. Knowledge without good intentions
will result in ruin.
Now-a-days
knowledge is used to manipulate things. Knowledge is interpreted by people in
different ways. Purity is convinced and humanity frustrated. Knowledge is used
to promote gains or profits. Gracian quotes, “A fine intellect wedded to a
wicked will was always an unnatural monster. A wicked will envenoms all
excellences: helped by knowledge it only ruins with greater subtlety.”
Aphorism
no. 24 – “Keep the Imagination under Control”:
Imagination is
important for knowledge. But if the content of our imagination is not good then
we may become discontented with ourselves. Whenever our imagination runs in a
wrong direction we must learn to exercise control over it. A mind with controlled
imagination becomes powerful but imaginations if get free wings will bewilder
us from our path. Wrong imaginations are harmful. Therefore we must learn to
practice control over our wrong imaginations as soon as they springs up. Sometimes
we need to correct our imaginations and sometimes assist. This all is important
for our happiness.
Aphorism
no. 31 – “Select the Lucky and avoid the Unlucky”:
Choose good over bad. Select lucky and
avoid unlucky. Ill luck is generated by lack of good sense. Swami Vivekananda
also said, “Ignorance is the root of all evils.” To select good over bad,
fortune over misfortune we need to become conscious about our choices. When in
doubt we must follow the precepts of the wise to win. The reverse will lead to
our downfall.
We must not
degrade ourselves by self-will. To upgrade ourselves consciously we need
knowledge and wisdom. If we do not possess the required knowledge then we must
follow the wise and the prudent. We must master the art of avoiding
misfortunes. We must learn properly where to begin and where to stop. We must
learn to prioritize good over bad; sense over nonsense. We must make our life a
meaningful one and not waste it by inviting misfortunes.
Aphorism
no. 33 – “Know how to Withdraw”:
To say ‘no’ gracefully is an art. If we
learn the art of saying no artfully, the good will and self-esteem can be
preserved. To quote Gracian, “There are extraneous occupations which eat away
precious time. To be occupied in what does not concern you is worse than doing
nothing.” Hence we need to master the art of saying no modestly to preserve
good will of people upon us. If we don’t take control over the oar, the current
of illusion will carry the life boat out of our track. We should not interfere
with the affairs of other people and at the same time we must not allow them to
interfere in our own affairs. Therefore we have to very careful in our personal
intercourse.
Aphorism
no. 34 – “Know your strongest Point - your pre-eminent gift”:
What is your
single most strong point? What is that area or skill that if you cultivate will
surpass others? Everyone can excel in
life if they can discover their strong point. Most people ruin their life
acting in violence to their natural aptitude. If we violate our natural aptitude,
we can attain superiority in nothing. This is one of the most important messages
to all of us. This is the greatest open secret. Many of us are getting
bewildered regarding the direction in our lives to follow! But the answer is
already within us and we need to find it out. List down all your strong points
and find out the single one which, if you can excel will make surpassing others
effortless.
Aphorism
no. 49 - “Observation and Judgment”:
A
Person of observation and judgment can understand people and their inmost
nature. To comprehend everything, keen observation, subtle insight and
judicious inference is required. We need to develop these faculties among us. A
person with these faculties rule things and things can’t rule over them.
References:
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