Water Flows Only to Lower Fields !

During school days, we used to learn our mother tongue Malayalam as a language. The Malayalam language teachers used to teach us the higher levels of the language and its grammatical rules that the ordinary folks never understood or needed for normal verbal interactions.

One of the things that the teachers tried hard to drive home was the use of metaphors, a phrase or a sentence which literally meant something but conveyed some deeper meanings for those who could understand it.

One of these used to be pronounced in Malayalam like this : Thana nilatthe' neerodoo ! [ താണ നിലത്തേ നീരോടൂ !} Literally translated it meant the title of this blog above.

While we were learning these in the lower classes, it appeared as a difficult thing to understand. We were required to write a page or so to explain its hidden meanings in an explicit manner.

Water flows to low lying fields. It is a universal truth observed by humans over the centuries. One can check its scientific validity by conducting experiments.

But the metaphor conveyed a deeper meaning that cannot be so easily proved by experimentation or casual observation.

So this metaphor has some thing more to understand, we were told. Only those who are low in their egos (self importance) can learn new knowledge from those who have already acquired it. In other words, only humble fellows desirous to know more only can enhance their knowledge. Here water is equated to knowledge and lower fields are equated to the ego-less minds.

My life observations for the last many years have made me to realize this much better.

The biggest self realization is the realization of one's own ignorance. If we do not feel the emptiness of some knowledge in our minds, then we are not going to feel the desire to fill that void with additional knowledge.

When our stomachs are full, we do not feel hungry to eat further.

When our mind is full, we cease to have the curiosity and desire to learn more. Our minds then get bloated with the so called high feeling or ego.

Such a situation sets in when a person completes some so-called high qualification degrees or gets in to some higher posts of authority.

At that juncture the mind gets saturated to accept further knowledge due to a self induced mind limit switch.

This kind of a situation not only happens to those of high formal education and those so called high achievers, but also to ordinary beings, students, housewives, workers and just any one.

Then such persons land into the I-know-all syndrome.

When the majority of people are inflicted with this mind disorder the society suffers. This society cannot be taught to discard its foolish preconceived ideas. It ceases to learn from the history and the experiences of others.

The progressive nature of society ceases.

Are we Indians developing such a syndrome ?