There are several videos/articles or AI overview (nowadays) talking about becoming wise, proven habits to practice everyday to make you wise, what it takes to be wise or becoming wiser than your age.
It is like saying that we need to teach babies how to talk and walk. Do we do that? No, unless there are developmental challenges, we don’t. Babies learn to do these things on their own by imitating the people in their environment.
True wisdom is not something that is acquired from external sources – through reading, knowledge of scripts, textbook studies, concepts in conventional education, theoretical analysis, or memorization- but the knowledge of self is one of the gateways to wisdom, according to Aristotle.
To be wise is moving beyond all the knowledge one has acquired, and conquering one’s inner demons, fear, pain and suffering.
“We can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men’s wisdom. Let us not be ashamed to speak what we shame not to think. The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness.” ~ Michel de Montaigne
How does one identify a wise person? What constitutes a wise person? Can wisdom be known or cultivated? What are the qualities or characteristics of the wise fool?
Let’s dive deeper into the realms of the wise and the fool. Here are 8 Gateways to Wisdom ~
Know thyself
“I hope, to know that honesty is the 1st chapter in the book of wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson
Wisdom comes through life experiences and insights one gains from these experiences; it is not something that can be taught or learnt.
A sure sign of wisdom is to be brutally honest with oneself and others. Honesty, when paired with wisdom, leads to a deeper understanding of the self. When we are aware of ourselves, our intentions, pursuits, thoughts, the more receptive we become to expanding our consciousness and learning from our experiences.
The wise person also consistently speaks the truth, even if he is hated by others. A classic example is Socrates – often described as the wise fool – the Wise Fool is someone who, in their search for wisdom, appears foolish in the eyes of the world.
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” ~ William Shakespeare
His self-proclaimed ignorance made him fool the ones who claimed to be wise and in the process he showed that their claims to wisdom was unjustified – making him the wiser one.
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References:
Yogananda on Intuition
