The importance of the wisdom of the Self

During our last discussion , we talked about wisdom and its kinds. Let’s go further deep into the subject to analyze the importance of the wisdom of the Self.

There is no doubt that mankind has made tremendous progress in gaining the understanding of the outer world and thereby made human life much more easy, comfortable and pleasurable. One needs worldly knowledge to earn the living and to live day to day life. Today, even after gaining all the forms of luxuries and entertainment, man somehow still remain restless and empty from inside.

During past few centuries mankind has focused only on the worldly knowledge and ignored the wisdom of the inner world. The ignorance of the inner world and the exploitation of the outer world is the root cause of restlessness, depression, wars and calamities. Unless and until man remain ignorance of the inner world- the world of mind, intelligence, ego, the soul (aatma or spirit), the Supreme soul (Param-aatma), he or she cannot gain inner peace, fulfillment and blissfulness, which is the true goal of human life.

Focusing on the worldly knowledge is materialism and focusing on the wisdom of the Self is true spirituality. Worldly knowledge can give you comforts and momentary pleasures. The inner wisdom can introduce you to inner peace and ever lasting blissfulness. Worldly knowledge always remain incomplete and in the constant state of flux because the nature itself is ever changing. The inner wisdom can lead the seeker to a state of completeness where there is no more doubt left. The worldly knowledge tends to nourish the ego, whereas the wisdom of the Self dissolves the ego. When you give importance to the outer world, you experience greed, jealousy, fear and attachment, which lead you to restless state of mind. However, when you begin to give importance to the spiritual wisdom, you become fearless, generous, calm and peaceful.

I would not even call worldly knowledge as wisdom. It can just be called as ‘knowledge’. Knowing the outside world is ‘knowledge’ and knowing yourself is true ‘wisdom’. The goal of the wisdom of the Self is to know the impersonal God that is omnipresent and also resides within you. By knowing and realizing that Eternal–Conscious–Blissful energy within, the seeker attains peace and inner happiness.

What are the signs of true wisdom? Keeping a balanced mind in all the situations of life (equanimity) and gaining a state of persistence blissfulness are the signs of true wisdom. Let us all begin to give due importance to the wisdom of the Self and become a true seeker of the inner divinity.