Wisdom Is Disinterested Involvement and Positive Indifference
By Sumit Paul, New Age
Islam
15 June 2024
“The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of
the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt. The Devil
is grim because he knows where he is going, and, in moving, he always returns
whence he came.”
Umberto Eco, “The Name
of the Rose”
This is a
sequel to Professor Adis Duderija's write up on wisdom as a universal
phenomenon.
Umberto
Eco's statement is certainly not an anti-religious sentiment, far from it. It
embraces spirit, faith, and truth; it simply asks of us that we also embrace
the twin virtues of good humour and scepticism, both of which keep us honest.
This is wisdom which knows that good humour and scepticism are central values
to free inquiry for anyone, whether you identify with the faithful or the
faithless or refuse the need to choose between them.
Too often
our discourse today asks us to fully condemn religion, or to simplify
definitions of what religion is, which can lead to shoddy, anachronistic,
ahistorical understandings of the genealogies of important concepts in our
culture.
Eco once
cheekily claimed that his most famous novel was written because he “wanted to
poison a monk,” and though he was an atheist, Eco still understood how
theological the origin of so much of the humanities was, and the profound debt
that literary study owed to the scriptural hermeneutics that was its precedent.
" To me, theology is not sacred. Scriptures are mere books. Divinity has
no basis and spirituality is just refined religiosity. Yet, all these things
have a civilizational significance and their cumulative contributions to the
enrichment of the human race cannot be repudiated," Eco once opined during
a lecture at Bologna University, Italy, where he taught Semiotics, science of
signs and symbols.
This is
wisdom which is called Pragya in
Sanskrit. It's interesting to know that the etymological root of the Sanskrit
word Pragya is not Gyaan (knowledge) but the denial of Gyaan! This needs further enumeration. Gyaan being limited, it restricts. So,
what restricts must be denied and defied by going beyond it.
In Sanskrit
lexicons, Pragya is defined as the
denial of Gyaan and going beyond Gyaan. True wisdom is acceptance sans
involvement (Anavriti in Sanskrit).
It's a state of dispassionate / disinterested involvement and positive
indifference which can be understood by the words of Aristotle who said
centuries ago, "It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain
a thought without accepting it." Wisdom is never confrontational. An
evolved mind knows that all theological debates, discourses and discussions
lead humans nowhere. They'll remain ever inconclusive. Yet, pooh-poohing them
disdainfully is also an act of ignorance and condescension.
Nagarjuna,
known as The Second Buddha, said in his Middle Path (Madhyam Marg), "Vritham
Eko Ekatram Parivrajyate Dwityem" (Though it's of no use to me, it
could be of use to someone). Wisdom lies in the welfare of all. Though it
(wisdom) is eclectic syncretism, its spirit is all-encompassing. But the
problem with wisdom is that it cannot be developed or acquired. It dawns on
you. That's why it's called Satori (a
Japanese Buddhist term for awakening which strikes like a blitzkrieg).
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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.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism