Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "wisdom"
Letter to the Tech Giants
When fame and abundance kiss somebody's feet before that person is wise enough, he or she is very likely to lose track of what's necessity and what's luxury. And modern society is filled with examples of such intelligent stupidity - stupidity that is carried out by apparently smart humans. Because being smart is not the same as being wise. The world has enough smartness, but not enough wisdom to bring that smartness into proper productive practice - and I mean productive practice not sophisticated practice - there is a difference. A person smart enough to visualize a Falcon rocket engine can easily pinpoint the locations of various organizations that spread terrorism, yet the person chooses to explore the space further instead of prioritizing the technological advantages to first fix real issues of the human society that inflict harm to the humans every walk of the way.
The world is a miserable place not because we have lack of resources, but because those who have an abundances of resources do not have the slightest idea of true human need. The resources needed for colonizing Mars if put to proper practice can fix the world's global warming issues - it can fix the world's climate change issues - it can fix the world's terrorism issues, yet people are more interested in the pompous idea of living in Mars for whatever reason, instead of paying attention to improving human condition on earth. I am not against technological advancement, for I am a scientist, but my soul aches when I see smart people are dumb enough to chase after illusory glory of doing something different and innovative instead of focusing the powers of their soul on cleaning up the misery business on earth. You can, yet you don't. Why?
Smartness without wisdom is stupidity. You are smart - yes indeed - but I am sorry - you are stupid at the same time. How can you dream of having a cheese burger on Mars when your own kind on Earth is suffering! How can you think of taking rich kids into the orbit just so they can admire the beauty of earth from the heavens, when that very earth is infested with the primordial evils of human character! Awaken the human within you my friend, and pay attention. Awaken the human within and let it consume all the miseries from the world that you live in. Say a member of your family falls ill, would you ignore his or her misery completely just because you want to make life more comfortable for others than it already is, or would you first try everything in your capacity in order to heal your loved one!
Be wise my friend, for it is not enough to be smart. You are smart - there is no doubt about that - so utilize that smartness for humanity and heal your own kind. Heal your kind with your capacity my friend. It is wailing for healers - not some delusional faith healers, but real tangible healers. Would you not do anything! Would you not give your soul to fix the broken soul of this world! Arise my friend, Awake my friend and work for humanity, not to make it sophisticated, but to make it peaceful first. Remember, humanity first, then everything else.
Peace first, sophistication later. Harmony first, luxury later.
Your Friend
Abhijit Naskar, Neuroscientist
The world is a miserable place not because we have lack of resources, but because those who have an abundances of resources do not have the slightest idea of true human need. The resources needed for colonizing Mars if put to proper practice can fix the world's global warming issues - it can fix the world's climate change issues - it can fix the world's terrorism issues, yet people are more interested in the pompous idea of living in Mars for whatever reason, instead of paying attention to improving human condition on earth. I am not against technological advancement, for I am a scientist, but my soul aches when I see smart people are dumb enough to chase after illusory glory of doing something different and innovative instead of focusing the powers of their soul on cleaning up the misery business on earth. You can, yet you don't. Why?
Smartness without wisdom is stupidity. You are smart - yes indeed - but I am sorry - you are stupid at the same time. How can you dream of having a cheese burger on Mars when your own kind on Earth is suffering! How can you think of taking rich kids into the orbit just so they can admire the beauty of earth from the heavens, when that very earth is infested with the primordial evils of human character! Awaken the human within you my friend, and pay attention. Awaken the human within and let it consume all the miseries from the world that you live in. Say a member of your family falls ill, would you ignore his or her misery completely just because you want to make life more comfortable for others than it already is, or would you first try everything in your capacity in order to heal your loved one!
Be wise my friend, for it is not enough to be smart. You are smart - there is no doubt about that - so utilize that smartness for humanity and heal your own kind. Heal your kind with your capacity my friend. It is wailing for healers - not some delusional faith healers, but real tangible healers. Would you not do anything! Would you not give your soul to fix the broken soul of this world! Arise my friend, Awake my friend and work for humanity, not to make it sophisticated, but to make it peaceful first. Remember, humanity first, then everything else.
Peace first, sophistication later. Harmony first, luxury later.
Your Friend
Abhijit Naskar, Neuroscientist
What is Wisdom in 21st Century?
The name is Sapiens – Homo Sapiens. That’s what we are called in the scientific circle – in the intellectual circle. Homo Sapiens – the name given by humans to the humans – a name, that by the look of it, exudes a hint of wisdom, because the term sapiens means wise. So here’s the question – are we wise? Are you wise? Is humanity wise? And how do you know that you are being wise at a certain? What kind of behavior would be true measure for wisdom? Perhaps I am asking the wrong questions here.
It is easier to tell when you are not being wise, than to tell what the measures for wisdom are. For example, a fundamentalist who argues about his religious supremacy with a fellow religious person from a different religion, based on simply his own scripture, is as dumb in terms of wisdom, as a scientist who arrogantly boasts about the supremacy of reasoning over all kinds of sentiments and beliefs, both good and bad.
I am a scientist, and an educator of science and reasoning, yet, I do not advocate for the supremacy of reasoning. I advocate for conscience – and conscience is part reasoning and part compassion. To quote from my treatise on parenting, entitled “Human Making is our Mission” :
“Modern society is modern because of its mental cocktail of reasoning and compassion. Turn the compassion network in the brain off, and it will be a society of heartless robots. On the other hand, turn the reasoning network off, and it will be a society of dumb sentimental apes.”
So, being wise means, not talking about what you think is true, whether you are a scientist, a plumber, a trucker, or any kind of professional. A layperson can be a hundred times wiser than a young doctorate at times, because wisdom has less to do with information, and more to do with the ability to see through the information and look at the big picture. A layperson is more likely to be wrong about factual things than a scientist, but a scientist on the other hand, also runs the risk of becoming cognitively more blind than a layperson to the significance of human sentiments in human existence driven by his radically rational mind. Hence, wisdom is not an exclusive possession of the intellectual parts of the society. Being articulate is not the same as being wise. Truth devoid of conscience, is worthless in human existence.
A smart person speaks out the truth. A wise person doesn’t care about speaking it out, as much as he or she cares about utilizing that truth in the society, in a way that brings most progress – in a way that brings most human development. And that’s what wisdom is about. Wisdom is not simply about progress – it is about collective humane progress.
Now the question is – do the definition and characteristics of wisdom itself keep changing through time! Like all other cognitive processes, the mental process of wisdom goes through change as well. And this change is relentless. For example, more than a century ago, a wise man would be the one who would give his wife at home taking care of the household chores and children, the same amount of respect as he’d give himself. But, the norm of that time was that men were superior to women. So at that time even thinking about a housewife to have the same amount of basic dignity as the husband who was the guardian of the family, was a sign of wisdom. But today, we have crossed that boundary of wisdom, and taken wisdom a few steps ahead, by constructing or at least attempting to construct a society of gender equality, where women are equal of men in all aspects of not just private life but also social life.
Likewise, a century ago another wise movement was afoot – the movement of religious toleration, hugely carried out by the Parliament of World Religions. But in this case as well, toleration was the wisdom of the past. Acceptance is the wisdom of today. Nevertheless, “acceptance does not mean accepting those who disregard humans on the basis of race, religion and sexual orientation” (quote from Either Civilized or Phobic: A Treatise on Homosexuality).
So the point is, wisdom evolves, but one core principle in it does not. It is the principle of becoming better, by demolishing the shortcomings of today and building the benefits of tomorrow. And that’s what makes us a wise species. And as long as we are ready to recognize the shortcomings in ourselves, in our culture, in our traditions and in our ancestral heritages, we shall keep on deserving the title of “Sapiens” or “A Wise Species”.
Further Reading
Either Civilized or Phobic: A Treatise on Homosexuality
Human Making is Our Mission: A Treatise on Parenting
It is easier to tell when you are not being wise, than to tell what the measures for wisdom are. For example, a fundamentalist who argues about his religious supremacy with a fellow religious person from a different religion, based on simply his own scripture, is as dumb in terms of wisdom, as a scientist who arrogantly boasts about the supremacy of reasoning over all kinds of sentiments and beliefs, both good and bad.
I am a scientist, and an educator of science and reasoning, yet, I do not advocate for the supremacy of reasoning. I advocate for conscience – and conscience is part reasoning and part compassion. To quote from my treatise on parenting, entitled “Human Making is our Mission” :
“Modern society is modern because of its mental cocktail of reasoning and compassion. Turn the compassion network in the brain off, and it will be a society of heartless robots. On the other hand, turn the reasoning network off, and it will be a society of dumb sentimental apes.”
So, being wise means, not talking about what you think is true, whether you are a scientist, a plumber, a trucker, or any kind of professional. A layperson can be a hundred times wiser than a young doctorate at times, because wisdom has less to do with information, and more to do with the ability to see through the information and look at the big picture. A layperson is more likely to be wrong about factual things than a scientist, but a scientist on the other hand, also runs the risk of becoming cognitively more blind than a layperson to the significance of human sentiments in human existence driven by his radically rational mind. Hence, wisdom is not an exclusive possession of the intellectual parts of the society. Being articulate is not the same as being wise. Truth devoid of conscience, is worthless in human existence.
A smart person speaks out the truth. A wise person doesn’t care about speaking it out, as much as he or she cares about utilizing that truth in the society, in a way that brings most progress – in a way that brings most human development. And that’s what wisdom is about. Wisdom is not simply about progress – it is about collective humane progress.
Now the question is – do the definition and characteristics of wisdom itself keep changing through time! Like all other cognitive processes, the mental process of wisdom goes through change as well. And this change is relentless. For example, more than a century ago, a wise man would be the one who would give his wife at home taking care of the household chores and children, the same amount of respect as he’d give himself. But, the norm of that time was that men were superior to women. So at that time even thinking about a housewife to have the same amount of basic dignity as the husband who was the guardian of the family, was a sign of wisdom. But today, we have crossed that boundary of wisdom, and taken wisdom a few steps ahead, by constructing or at least attempting to construct a society of gender equality, where women are equal of men in all aspects of not just private life but also social life.
Likewise, a century ago another wise movement was afoot – the movement of religious toleration, hugely carried out by the Parliament of World Religions. But in this case as well, toleration was the wisdom of the past. Acceptance is the wisdom of today. Nevertheless, “acceptance does not mean accepting those who disregard humans on the basis of race, religion and sexual orientation” (quote from Either Civilized or Phobic: A Treatise on Homosexuality).
So the point is, wisdom evolves, but one core principle in it does not. It is the principle of becoming better, by demolishing the shortcomings of today and building the benefits of tomorrow. And that’s what makes us a wise species. And as long as we are ready to recognize the shortcomings in ourselves, in our culture, in our traditions and in our ancestral heritages, we shall keep on deserving the title of “Sapiens” or “A Wise Species”.
Further Reading
Either Civilized or Phobic: A Treatise on Homosexuality
Human Making is Our Mission: A Treatise on Parenting
Giants in Jeans Sonnet 97
Age doesn’t make you wise, curiosity does.
Intellect doesn’t make you curious, growth does.
Experience doesn’t make you grow, expansion does.
Travel doesn’t make you expand, self-correction does.
Cynicism doesn’t help correction, awareness does.
Books don’t make you aware, accountability does.
Law cannot make you accountable, humanity does.
Appearance doesn’t make you human, acceptance does.
Wokeness doesn’t make you accepting, character does.
Clothes don’t make character, conduct does.
Etiquettes don’t define conduct, goodness does.
Tradition doesn’t make you good, oneness does.
Oneness is the mother of all civilized behavior.
Without oneness we’re ever headed for disaster.
Intellect doesn’t make you curious, growth does.
Experience doesn’t make you grow, expansion does.
Travel doesn’t make you expand, self-correction does.
Cynicism doesn’t help correction, awareness does.
Books don’t make you aware, accountability does.
Law cannot make you accountable, humanity does.
Appearance doesn’t make you human, acceptance does.
Wokeness doesn’t make you accepting, character does.
Clothes don’t make character, conduct does.
Etiquettes don’t define conduct, goodness does.
Tradition doesn’t make you good, oneness does.
Oneness is the mother of all civilized behavior.
Without oneness we’re ever headed for disaster.
Ancestry is Garbage (The Sonnet) | Abhijit Naskar | Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets
DNA test may reveal your ancestry,
But there is no DNA test for character.
IQ may reveal deficit in logical aptitude,
There’s no IQ test for excellence or genius.
If bloodline dictated destiny,
We’d still be dangling from trees.
Not that we’ve done much better,
But at least there is possibility.
In the end we are all monkeys,
We all come from the jungle.
Question is, have we conquered
the jungle that lurks in our heart,
have we risen yet above the animal!
Ancestry is garbage, IQ is useless,
Living humans don’t rely on such nonsense.
Heart, brain, backbone, these make who we are,
Everything else is mythology of the savages.
But there is no DNA test for character.
IQ may reveal deficit in logical aptitude,
There’s no IQ test for excellence or genius.
If bloodline dictated destiny,
We’d still be dangling from trees.
Not that we’ve done much better,
But at least there is possibility.
In the end we are all monkeys,
We all come from the jungle.
Question is, have we conquered
the jungle that lurks in our heart,
have we risen yet above the animal!
Ancestry is garbage, IQ is useless,
Living humans don’t rely on such nonsense.
Heart, brain, backbone, these make who we are,
Everything else is mythology of the savages.
The Naskar Code (Sonnet) | Abhijit Naskar | Dunya Benim, Sorumluluk Benim: Little Planet on The Prairie
Kainat** is my qaum*,
Universe is my aum.
Carrying **cosmos in my chest,
every *community is my home.
Sat* is my nam-e,
*Honesty, my identity.
I am the one who is,
reflection of all humanity.
Bodhi* and dharma** are key to life,
lifting us high above the animals.
*Awareness wakes us to divine vision,
**Duty is the seed of civilization.
Valley of life is without elite divide,
Science, philosophy, divine, all are one.
Scientist, Poet, Dervish, or Philosopher,
Adjectives though plenty, noun is but one.
Universe is my aum.
Carrying **cosmos in my chest,
every *community is my home.
Sat* is my nam-e,
*Honesty, my identity.
I am the one who is,
reflection of all humanity.
Bodhi* and dharma** are key to life,
lifting us high above the animals.
*Awareness wakes us to divine vision,
**Duty is the seed of civilization.
Valley of life is without elite divide,
Science, philosophy, divine, all are one.
Scientist, Poet, Dervish, or Philosopher,
Adjectives though plenty, noun is but one.
