Wisdom: A Return to Childhood
Being clever or smart is not everything in life. Compared with those who are dull, slow or unskilled, the people with worldly wisdom may have a better time in this competitive society of ours. That does not however spare them from the inner problems of fear, envy, anxiety etc. A return to childlike innocence, by which we mean a total purity of heart, alone helps us live fully. Without it, we are unhappy even if the whole world is good to us! Our own mind imagines threats and dangers. It looks at certain people as enemies and certain others as all set to deceive us.
Wise people are said to be childlike (not childish). They do not keep any pride or hurt inside them. They do not bring forward things of the past to the present. If we praise or insult them, they may respond appropriately at the moment but there will be no residue in their bosom afterwards. The Vedanta work Viveka-Choodamani compares an enlightened person with a cracked pot. Try to fill the pot; you will not succeed. It leaks and is empty in no time.
Smartness is like a little hill. Its peak is called cleverness. When we climb upon it, we surely get a certain pleasure and a sense of relief. Very soon however we feel lonely and lost.
We climbed this hill from one side, which was called naivety. There was lack of aptitude to handle responsibilities. We were nervous when faced with challenges. We were afraid to meet with opposition. We were insecure. We depended on other people, wealth, status, qualification etc and criticism made us miserable. We looked at the peak of cleverness as the solution to all our problems. And we climbed the peak.
Climbing down back to side one is neither possible nor right. We now need to climb down on the opposite side. This new side is simplicity. It is this psychological simplicity, born of great intelligence, that puts an end to all our anxiety.
Here we have all the necessary knowledge to deal with life’s situations with functional correctness. We have said goodbye to psychological complications like pride, false prestige, grudge etc. Deep inside us, there is now the emptiness of peace and light. There is the fullness of life on one hand, as we are not running away from life at all. There is, on the other, complete washing away of all negativity (therefore this emptiness).
Swami Chidananda
Monday, April 23, 2006