Be Submissive In Order To Acquire Knowledge
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
22 October
2022
‘Kho Na Jaa Iss Saharo-Shaam Mein Ae Sahib-e-Hosh/Ek
Jahan Aur Bhi Hai Jis Mein Na Farda Hai Na Dosh/Sahib-e-Saaz Ko Laazim Hai Ke
Ghaafil Na Rahe/Gaahe-Gaahe Ghalat Aahang Bhi Hota Hai Sarosh'
(Don't get lost in the moonshine of this mundane world/There'll be a
deathless and timeless realm beyond this/ An instrumentalist mustn't rest on
his laurels /Rather, he must keep practising to perfect the flawed notes)
-Dr
Muhammad Iqbal, Baal-e-Jibreel (Wings of Gabriel/Baal is Wings in Persian and
has 36 different connotations)
Enas Emt Compreha Biblio Ne Enst Nous (
Even a great library is inadequate to provide complete wisdom.
(A Greek
Proverb, attributed to the Greek philosopher Diogenes)
Every moment is a learning moment and every baby step is a gigantic
stride towards attainment of wisdom. This goes on till you breathe your
last..........
Pushkin
A few years
ago, I gifted an ever-relevant book 'How to write and speak flawless English'
to a public-school educated girl on her 20th birthday. She later told me that
her parents took umbrage that I gifted her a book on writing and speaking
better English because being a student of one of the most elite public schools
in the subcontinent, her parents thought that their daughter didn't need to
learn English further!
Needless to
say, being arrogantly proud products of such a famous and Anglicized school,
students and their parents fallaciously think that one has the complete
knowledge of English, needing no further improvement. Luckily, that girl was
not so haughty and accepted the fact wholeheartedly that despite being a
student of that school and knowing tolerably good English, my book helped her a
lot to improve her English. She thankfully told me that now the book was her
Magna Carta and she'd refer to it whenever there was any doubt about a syntax
or word.
Learning is
a continuous process. It never ends. Don't we often quote Hasrat Mohani's Misra
(line), “Hota Hai Izafa Ghayat-e-Ilm Mein, Har Naye Din Ke Saath “(The
vastness of knowledge keeps increasing with every new day)? Now this oft-quoted
line has almost become a maxim in colloquial Urdu. One keeps learning till the
last moment of life. Bee Aamoz Taa
Zindai (there's no end to learning) is a Persian adage that motivates a
learner throughout his/her life.
In our
limited knowledge and understanding, we tend to believe that whatever we've
learnt is enough and we don't require to learn further. This is the biggest
fallacy. The great Iqbal was in the habit of carrying Al-Mouzin's voluminous
Persian-Arabic dictionary wherever he went. Once a professor of Arabic at
Aligarh Muslim University asked Iqbal why on earth he always carried such a
heavy dictionary in spite of having astounding command of both the languages?
Iqbal smiled and said, 'I learn five new words every day and try to assimilate
them in my Urdu/Persian and Arabic poetry.' This is the modesty of a true
seeker of knowledge and his desire to learn something new every day, nay, every
moment.
A day
before drinking the bowl of hemlock, the great Socrates was trying to play a
music instrument which he saw for the first time! Knowledge increases when it's
constantly practised and honed. The rope on the edge of a well leaves one life
is awfully inadequate to master even one subject/language. Only those with
superficial knowledge and a supercilious ego, think that they've learnt
everything and they don't require anything further.
We,
therefore, should never feel slighted when we're encouraged and exhorted to
learn further. Because, learning is life and vice versa. Our existence on earth
has just one purpose: Acquire, amass and accumulate as much knowledge as we
can, because life's short but art's long. Leave no opportunity to augment your
knowledge, regardless of its source and person. A humble approach to acquiring
knowledge always helps the seekers and widens his/her canvas. My own Urdu
couplet encapsulates this: Padta Hai Jhukna Haasil-E-Ilm Ke Liye/Pindaari Se
Zehan Ki Parvaaz Nahin Hoti (One has to bow and be submissive in order to
acquire knowledge/The mind fails to soar because of conceit).
-----
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 world's premier publications in several languages
including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/submissive-acquire-knowledge-/d/128236
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