25. 57. What do we know?
# 57. What do we know?
A Zoroastrian disciple said: My Master is a man of great wisdom.
Pundit asked: What does your Master know?
Zoroastrian disciple said: Whatever he does not know, he will boldly say, 'I don't know.'
As long as the **thought, '**I know everything' is there, nothing can be understood.
He cannot even understand, 'Why am I unable to understand!'
- Its only after the question, 'What do I know?' arises in the mind, it can be understood at least to some extent that, 'I am unable to understand anything at all.'
- You will begin to understand every thing only after the wonder, 'What do I know' sprouts out. You will begin to understand the truth, 'I don't know.'
Nitty showed his doctor friend, who had come to his house after many years, a picture painted by him while he was a student at the arts college. He was waiting eagerly as to what his friend was going to say about the greatness of the picture.
As his friend did not give an answer, Nitty asked very eagerly, 'What do you think about the picture?' His friend simply said, 'It appears that the man in this picture is suffering from some skin disease.' Nitty got upset by the reply!
- Even though the friends' reply was true, it was not a complete one. As long as we have the thought 'I know', we will be caught within this small circle. Growth will be obstructed. We will begin to believe even after we have grown up and that we are doing every thing very correctly. If you get caught within a small circle with the thought, 'what is there which I do not know?!' you will be a person who squeezes and throws away the sweet parts of life.
A meaningful nice historical incident...
George Gurdjef is a gem of the spiritual world. He was an enlightened Master. Oulenski was a mathematics genius and an eminent philosopher.
George Gurdjef was a different type of person. Oulenski had heard that, if whatever problem is taken to him, he would give the most correct solution for it.
On coming to know of this, Oulenski went to meet Gurjief to get answers for his long-standing questions.
Oulenski asked Gurdjef: I wish to get lot of matters clarified from you. Will you kindly reply my questions?
Gurdjef said: Certainly.
Only such people who are well-read and those who possess the thought, 'I know a lot', naturally get lot of doubts and questions.
As far as we are concerned, it is a matter for pride to know lot of things. If one examines as to what extent this is useful for individual development, the truth will be known that it is not at all useful to the extent worth mentioning.
The abundance of knowledge may increase by reading many times, that honey is sweet, mango is tasty, milk will be healthy.
But clarity cannot be obtained, nor any benefits.
This will apply to all knowledge related to medicine, and science.
A drop of honey. A piece of mango.
It will be enough if a drop of milk is tasted, the knowledge of 'sweetness' will have changed to an experience of 'being sweet'.
Clarity would be born. Fruit would be obtained.
Oulenski, with his education had known and accumulated vast knowledge that was not necessary for his life.
Even after knowing so much he did not attain the experience which is the result of knowledge. The result of this knowledge is only doubts! Questions!
The approach of the enlightened persons will always be rather different. It will be such that it will give the correct solution to the problem.
Gurdjef said, 'Mr. Oulenski! Before we begin to talk please complete one small task. Take a paper and make a big list of all that you know.
If we know what all you know, it will be very helpful for both of us. Neither of us will waste time.
I can pay my attention for only those few things which you really don't know and I can give a good solution.'
Oulenski went to the next room, taking with him a white paper and a pen, to list out the things which he really knew.
One minute...
Two minutes...
As the minutes passed, Oulenski began to get nervous. His belief, clarity began to slide down.
As Oulenski started to examine each one of the things about which so far he was thinking he knew with the magnifying glass, 'How many things have I truly understood?' he began to feel nervous.
When this incident happened, it was severe winter time. In such an environment there was no scope for a person to sweat at all. But Oulenski was sweating profusely.
He could not write even a single word on the paper!
For each and every matter about which he was so far believing 'I know this much', the reply he now got was only, 'I don't know. Things I am yet to know are many. I do not know any thing in totality.'
At a stage when 45 minutes had gone, and when he was sweating profusely, at a stage when he was unable to speak even one word, it came to be known definitely to him that, 'I do not know any thing'. With this clear feeling Ousbensky placed the blank paper at the feet of Gurdjef.
George Gurdjef looked at Ousbensky with a soft smile. He said: One thing has been confirmed on account of the change that has happened within you.
Because you have obtained clarity of mind, 'Factually, I do not know any thing at all,' you have obtained the basic qualification to get the particular thing – the wisdom, which will give answers to all your questions, which you were unable to obtain even after searching in many, many places.
In case we also do one small investigation just like Ousbensky, we will be able to know that unknown (unknown is God) which is what each one of us must know certainly.
At the most, what do all of us know?
A few people...
A few matters...
A few places...
Who are all the persons known to us? We can make out a list.
People who know your name and know you by seeing you once – Two thousand persons.
Friends and relatives who know your name, address and your parents also – One thousand persons.
Those who know your nature and activities fully – Ten persons.
In all, it is a big thing if about 300 to 350 persons are directly connected with you. Those who doubt this will understand this truth if they take a paper and make out a list of all they know.
Even though there are so many crores of people, out of them, we know only a few. If you begin to count as to how many among those few have really understood us, the count will not exceed the fingers of one hand for many people.
When our status remains so, what will be the status of the others?
Let us examine!
How many things do we know?
While there are thousands of books in each and every discipline, what do we really know beyond the five or six books we have read each year up to the twelfth standard?
The few books we have read each year in the college; the news papers and stories we read here and there; the few incidents and news we saw in the television.
There may be many streets and houses, which we have not seen even once in our own town itself. When that is the case with our own town, what about the world!?
We move around only keeping a few people, a few matters and a few places as the centre.
In fact, understanding just one man truly is itself a Himalayan achievement. This only is the proof to show that you have not met even a single person who has known and understood you fully.
The concise statement of a Zen Master will enable us to understand this:
Do you wish to understand yourself? Understand the world.
Do you wish to understand the world? Understand yourself.
If the bewilderment about yourself and others begins to be known, it will be understood as to how much we have known about the revelations of the divine power.
It will be known that the difference is the same as that between an ocean and a drop of water. The clarity Ousbensky got, we also would get.
If we have to keep it crisp and short we can say that: At least if we know that we don't know, we will come to know that we don't know.
Until we are aware that we don't even know that we don't know, the matter that we don't know will never be known to us at all till the end.
Section 2
If we get the clarity, first of all, in regard to what we know, like Ousbensky, we will become qualified and suitable to know the essential things, which are to be known. Begin to know...