Those Who Respect The Elderly, Pave Their Own Road Toward Success
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
30 January
2023
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Knowledge
Is Always Superficial, Whereas Wisdom Is Unfathomable. That's Why, The Latter
Is So Calm, Cool And Collected And Doesn't Lose Its Moorings. Knowledge Thinks
That It Knows Everything. Wisdom Says That It Has Just Started To Know And
There's Still So Much To Learn.
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“Those Who
Respect The Elderly Pave Their Own Road Toward Success.”
– African Proverb
Photo: Dawat e Islam.com
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I may sound
pontificating, even exasperatingly sermonising, but I must say that the
arrogance (at times, bordering on being ad hominem) of two over-active and
fanatic young men on this forum and the mellowed refinement of a venerable
gentleman can be cited as a metaphor or a template for youthful superciliousness
vis-a-vis old age wisdom.
There's a
beautiful saying in the Bible: By insolence comes nothing but strife, but
with those who take advice is wisdom (Proverbs 13: 10).
These two
haughty young men erroneously think that the knowledge of the whole universe is
at their disposal but the elderly gentleman is always so serene in his wisdom
and temperate replies. It's like a fight between knowledge and wisdom;
knowledge of the youth and wisdom of the gentleman in the US.
Knowledge
is always superficial, whereas wisdom is unfathomable. That's why, the latter
is so calm, cool and collected and doesn't lose its moorings. Knowledge thinks
that it knows everything. Wisdom says that it has just started to know and
there's still so much to learn. So, it's naturally mellowed down.
In his last
and unfinished Masnavi, Maulana Rumi described his equation with his soul-mate
Shams-e-Tabriz. Shams was much older than Rumi. There was a gap of more than
two decades between their age as the former was born in 1185 AD and the latter
in 1207. Rumi, though universally regarded as a greater poet than Shams,
conceded that when he met Shams for the first time on November 15, 1244 AD, he
(Rumi) was full of youthful arrogance of knowing a lot. But the tranquil wisdom
of Shams (he was 60-yr-old) bedazzled (Khunamat in Pahlavi) Rumi so much
that he called Shams his Qutub (Perfect Guide). Rumi became Shams' Mureed
(disciple). To cut the matter short, the hubristic arrogance of a little
knowledge one gains at a young age cannot be pitted against the fully bloomed (Shagufta-e-Kaamil)
wisdom of old age.
Wisdom that
comes with greying hair is light years ahead of the knowledge one acquires by
reading a few books, referring to Wikipedia or blindly following dubious
sources, teachers and people.
Remember,
wisdom is always distilled, whereas knowledge is often diluted. Sooner one
learns this, the better it's for those who strive to tread on the path of
self-enlightenment. One, therefore, must show respect to the wise and elderly
people whose firmament of learning is boundless and the cornucopia of wisdom is
inexhaustible.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam,
Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to
Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in
several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/respect-elderly-success/d/128990
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