Verse Seventy-SevenHumanity grows more and more intelligent, yet there is clearly more trouble and less happiness daily. How can this be so? It is because intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom. When a society misuses partial intelligence and ignores holistic wisdom, its people forget the benefits of a plain and natural life. Seduced by their desires, emotions, and egos, they become slaves to bodily demands, to luxuries, to power and unbalanced religion and psychological excuses. Then the reign of calamity and confusion begins. Nonetheless, superior people can awaken during times of turmoil to lead others out of the mire. But how can the one liberate the many? By first liberating his own being. He does this nor by elevating himself, but by lowering himself. He lowers himself to that which is simple, modest, true; integrating it into himself, he becomes a master of simplicity, modesty, truth...~ Translated by Brian Walker ~
Don't you find it amazing that this sentiment was penned, at least, 1600 years ago? It sounds like an indictment of the current age!
For those of us in the western world, we live during a time of stupendous technological advances. The fields of science and medicine are growing by huge leaps and bounds. In a little over 100 years, we've gone from rudimentary gasoline-powered driving machines to satellites which are reaching farther and farther out into our solar system.
When I was a kid back in the 60s and 70s, we had three TV stations and you changed the channel by getting up, trudging across the room and then turning a knob on the talking box. Today, there are literally hundreds of channel options and you don't even need to get up to sample them all. Heck, you don't even need television to watch any of this stuff either!
Wherever we look, life looks a lot different than it did as little as 20 or 30 years ago. We're awash in information and growing "intelligence"; yet, happiness remains as elusive as ever. Just as it was way back then, we too often confuse intelligence for wisdom.
This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.
For those of us in the western world, we live during a time of stupendous technological advances. The fields of science and medicine are growing by huge leaps and bounds. In a little over 100 years, we've gone from rudimentary gasoline-powered driving machines to satellites which are reaching farther and farther out into our solar system.
When I was a kid back in the 60s and 70s, we had three TV stations and you changed the channel by getting up, trudging across the room and then turning a knob on the talking box. Today, there are literally hundreds of channel options and you don't even need to get up to sample them all. Heck, you don't even need television to watch any of this stuff either!
Wherever we look, life looks a lot different than it did as little as 20 or 30 years ago. We're awash in information and growing "intelligence"; yet, happiness remains as elusive as ever. Just as it was way back then, we too often confuse intelligence for wisdom.
This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.
They cram so much truth into one paragraph.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me a book... The Hare and the Tortoise by D.P. Barash.
ReplyDelete