Discovering Inner Vision

Growing up, I was taught that knowledge was key to success.

In school, our worth was measured by how much we could memorize and reproduce on paper. And then we were ranked: First, Second, Third.

So I took this to heart, believing that the path to success was in accumulating more and more information.

In those pre-internet days, it made sense to me that having more information equated to having more knowledge. I would read books, participate in discussions, and constantly sought to add more content to my mind.

But with time I noticed that those who had always been at the top of the class—the ones who came first, second, and third—were often successful in their careers, however they weren't necessarily the wisest ones in my class.

I started to see a distincition between knowledge and wisdom. If unchecked Knowledge without wisdom can be a double-edged sword:

• It grants power, but breeds arrogance.

• It creates wealth, but fuels greed.

• It offers influence, but tempts manipulation.

Wisdom was not just about accumulating facts, but about understanding their context, implications with deep insights and humility.

I began to understand that the seat of wisdom and deeper understanding resides not in the mind, but in the heart.

How does the heart know things that the mind cannot? Let's see through this Sufi Comic:

Art by Charbak Dipta

The heart has the capacity to see the true meaning of things. Here are ways the heart can have insights that are different from the knowledge we receive from our senses.

With eyesight, we see the world is made up of separate things.

With insight, we see we're all connected.

With eyesight, we see the purpose of life is to maximise pleasure

With insight, we see the purpose of life is to express our gifts.

With eyesight, we see life ends when we die.

With insight, we see life as a dream, when we die we wake up.

With eyesight, we see happiness is based on material objects

With insight, we see happiness is based on the thoughts we have.

With eyesight, we see well-being in taking care of ourselves over others

With insight, we see well-being comes from taking care of the whole.

With eyesight, we see peace comes from fixing the world

With insight, we see peace comes from making peace with ourselves.

With eyesight, we see the heart as a blood-pumping organ

With insight, we see the heart as an organ of perception.

With eyesight, we see problems need to be avoided at all cost

With insight, we see problems as opportunities for spiritual growth.

With eyesight, we see faults in other people

With insight, we see the perfection in people.

Unlike mind based knowledge that can be accumlated, wisdom is a gift from the Divine when we prepare our hearts to receive it.

He grants wisdom to whoever He wills. And whoever is granted wisdom is certainly blessed with a great privilege. (Quran 2:269)

In our life, we must strive to cultivate both knowledge and wisdom, understanding that they serve different yet complementary purposes.

While knowledge equips us with information and skills, it is wisdom that guides us in applying that knowledge.