It is easy as an old man to sit back and pontificate about life, work and freedom. You find yourself very promptly marginalized because the question is succinctly posed: “At almost sixty, what can you possibly know about my life at twenty or twenty-five?” The truth is straightforward: “Nothing!” One of the harshest realizations in life is that you are forced to follow Socrates dictum – to paraphrase: “I know that I know nothing!”
This is Socrates speaking at his trail as noted in the Apology (1): “I do not know, my fellow Athenians, how you were affected by my accusers whom you just heard. But they spoke so persuasively they almost made me forget who I was. Yet they hardly uttered a word of truth.
But many of you are thinking, ‘Then what is the origin of these accusations, Socrates?’ That is a fair question. Let me explain their origins — some of you know my good friend Chaerephon. Before he died he went to Delphi (2) and asked the religious oracle there to tell him who the wisest man in the world was. The oracle answered that there was no man wiser than Socrates.
When I learned this, I asked myself, ‘What can the god’s oracle mean?’ For I knew I had no wisdom. After thinking it over for a long time, I decided that I had to find a man wiser than myself so I could go back to the god’s oracle with this evidence. So I went to see a politician who was famous for his wisdom. But when I questioned him, I realized he really was not wise, although many people — he especially — thought he was. So I tried to explain to him that although he thought himself wise, he really was not. But all that happened was that he came to hate me. And so did many of his supporters who overheard us. So I left him, thinking to myself as I left that although neither of us really knew anything about what is noble and good, still I was better off. For he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows, while I neither know nor think that I know. And in this I think I have a slight advantage. …
My hearers imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find lacking in others. But the truth is, Men of Athens, that only god is wise. And by his oracle he wanted to show us that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing. It is as if he was telling us, ‘The wisest man is the one who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing.’’’
What this means fundamentally is that you must be prepared to learn, and conversely to share, at any age. It is this sharing, potentially, that has value for others. What you must impart is that firstly, you must respect yourself. You may go forward in life and, at times, be “experimental.” You must, must, however, always come back to your image of yourself and you must like this image: “your personal brand.” (3) Secondly, you must be a bit brave and find your calling: what you want to do with your life or in your life. Now we often hear: “But, I don’t know what I want to do.” This is quite alright. Ben Franklin (1705-1790) in his Poor Richards Almanack (4) intimates that we should make a list of our positive and negative attributes or gifts. Then we must choose one and focus on it. “I am good at playing the cello and I also like to write.” If your attempt to be successful by securing a position in a major orchestra, does not occur after many years, then perhaps it is time to write your first novel. The key is to not give up trying to find your niche. Thirdly, you must remember that life is exciting. It is not given to you to plod blindly forward, stumbling through a meaningless life, focusing on saving money, thus retiring unto death: this is not your reality. Finally, and most importantly – have some fun! Existence is meant to be mostly pleasurable: the failures overcome with a desire to succeed.
The great mystic, philosopher and yogi, Sadhguru (b. 1957) leaves us with a thought: To be on the spiritual path means that you have not made a conclusion about anything, you are seeking. To be a seeker means you want to know. One can seek only when one does not know. If he assumes that the end is God or mukti or this or that, there is no seeking. Unfortunately, most seekers in the world have made their conclusion about what is the end, and then they seek. That means you are seeking something that you have created. If you want to seek what you have created, there is no need to seek. It is very simple. Just create whatever you want. This kind of false spiritual seeking is going on in the world on a massive scale. It has become such a huge affair that if you as much as utter a word against it, it amounts to blasphemy or atheism. No true seeking can happen if one assumes what is at the other end. Only when one realizes he or she does not know, is seeking genuine. It then becomes possible to take the next step and see what is happening with oneself.
A small joke: A family had a daughter that was very intelligent. As with life there are “tradeoffs.” The girl was smart, but not very attractive. One day a maiden aunt came for a visit. When she say the child she said to her niece, “She looks very healthy, but she is not very a-t-t-r-a-c-t-i-v-e, is she?” spelling out the word. The young child turned a sharp eye to her great aunt and said “No, but she is very c-l-e-v-e-r.
This week, please contemplate your path in the universe.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: When you realize that you truly know nothing, you can slowly begin your quest for knowledge.
Footnotes:
2) The oracle of Delphi is one of the best-documented religious institutions of the classical Greeks. The oracle was the name of any priestess throughout the history of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, which was located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, beneath the Castalian Spring on the north shore of the Corinthian Gulf in Greece. It was closed in 395 AD when Roman Emperor Theodosius I(347-395) decreed all pagan temples to cease religious services.
3) Your “Personal Brand” is how you define yourself in the world, how you are perceived by others: intelligent, hardworking, ambitious, etc.