Internalising the Knowledge

30 MAR, 2012, 12.01AM IST, DEVDUTT PATTANAIK, 

Wisdom lies in internalising the knowledge

Ravana, king of Rakshasas, was wellversed in the Vedas. He knew so much that he needed ten heads to contain his knowledge. Being a great devotee of Shiva, the supreme hermit, he would travel every day from Lanka in the South, to Kailas, the abode of Shiva, in the North. "Why don't you come with me to my city?" he once asked Shiva. "Why don't you take me with you?" said Shiva. "I will," said Ravana, his eyes gleaming. "Good!" said Shiva, who shut his eyes, and continued meditating. 

Ravana then used his massive strength to uproot Mount Kailas with the intention of carrying it to Lanka. "What is he doing!" screamed Shakti, Shiva's consort, as the mountain shook, terrifying all its residents, "Have you asked him to do this?" she angrily asked her husband. 

Shiva opened his eyes and looked down. "As usual, he misunderstood," said Shiva, pushing down his big toe on the floor. Such was the pressure that Shiva generated, that Ravana buckled under the pressure and found himself trapped under Kailasa's weight. He sang songs in praise of Shiva until Shiva eased the weight, enabling Ravana to slip out. 

Ravana then went back to Lanka sheepishly. As he left, Shiva spoke to Shakti, who was looking at him impatiently for an explanation, "I told him he could take me with him. I meant he could understand and internalise the idea that is Shiva and take me wherever he went, for I would be embedded in his soul. He, however, understood it as possessing Shiva. That is why he is very knowledgeable, but not very wise." There is a lot of difference between 'knowing' something and 'getting' it. 

If Ravana actually 'got' Shiva, he would have understood vairagya or the principle of detachment. But though he was devoted to Shiva, Ravan was the embodiment of attachment, clinging on furiously to things that did not belong to him, like Lanka (built by his brother, Kubera) or Sita (the wife of Ram). Ravana had many heads packed with knowledge, but he never quite got what Shiva, the hermit, was all about. He got an idea intellectually, but it made no impact on his insecurity that craved to possess things. 

As Jaideep went through B-school, he knew the meanings of all the words: strategy, tactics, topline, bottom-line, profit, cash flow, etc. And yet, when it came to striking a deal, he just did not get it. His presentations were perfect, his pitch pack was outstanding, he spoke all that he was told to speak, but he never ever struck the deal. His boss said, "You don't get it at all, do you?" Jaideep went to training classes, did mock sales sessions, went for further education, but still his strike rate remained poor. What was he missing? He had many 'eureka' moments, but still he was not one who could make the deal. 

Something was missing. Jaideep pretended he understood. And everyone around him was fooled by his erudition. But deep down, Jaideep knew he was a Ravan who was carrying Mount Kailasa on his shoulder, but not able to let the idea of Shiva seep into his soul. The day he got it, he would not bother using big words. He would be busy striking deals.