Of Knowledge And Power

Human beings, since recorded history and maybe before, have always acknowledged the value of knowledge and its potential to break down barriers. Scriptures count the knowledgeable as wealthy and not the moneyed. However, the flip side of the coin: knowledge has also always been equated with power.

More so in today’s times when mankind is busy milking knowledge to accumulate power. Parents and teachers are emphasizing the value of knowledge as a tool to make money and gain power through knowledge. Nothing wrong in that, except excess of even nectar is poison.

Students graduate with starry money dreams. In the quest for money and through it power, the very basic of knowledge dispelling darkness and helping people look beyond self has been limited to books. I don’t think this truth of life is even taught anymore. If anything, this fact is so well hidden that it is being considered more of a vice than virtue.

It’s perfectly alright to utilize knowledge to make money and assume leadership roles. But I am not so sure of using knowledge to unleash a vicious cycle of power and greed.

Politicians implore people to rise above the petty for the betterment of mankind. Unfortunately, they fail to practice what they preach and rise above self and the chair and work for the benefit of their fellow beings. Businessmen talk of corporate social responsibility, but most use it more as a marketing tool. We, the commons, eagerly point out the ills of others, but commit the very same mistakes. And when I commit it, the reason is necessity and not greed.

The very essence of acquiring knowledge is to help not so fortunate fellow beings bridge the gap and rise up the social ladder. If we believe in God, then Knowledge according to that God is supposed to be the elixir of life and not the poison that it has become today.

In the power crazy times that we live today, we have forgotten that when social and class divides narrow, discord will reduce. When differences are not so stark, satisfaction will become the rule and not the exception. It’s then that peace will reign supreme.

But with every passing day we are moving further away from this truth. We have learnt that to get work done, to be heard, Power is essential. And how does one get power? How else but through having more of the precious commodity called Money. And the vicious cycle continues to play out every day.

Our main problem is the need to own everything. That knowing well that we bring nothing and take nothing amazes me. All of us know this truth, but do not wish to acknowledge. The reason: that’s the way we are conditioned from birth. It’s for us to break this thought process. It’s never too late to realize the potential of knowledge to bring positive change.

So let’s use learning to bring down established walls, help people, and eliminate limiting barriers. Let’s act on what we have always known: using knowledge for the betterment of mankind over personal gains. In that process, if there are personal gains, so be it. And such gains according to me will be more in terms of self satisfaction, peace, and happiness at having helped others. Let us use knowledge to facilitate peace, eliminate barriers, and narrow the gap between the have and have not. If we don’t, then trust will be an extinct commodity. People will live in isolated prisons, and destruction will be the order of the day.

It’s for us to decide whether we want to live in heaven or hell, for it’s all here.