1023. Four quarters of knowledge.....!

Normally when I post a write up on any subject I wait for the responses from my friends. In many occasions a few of my friends have views which could be different from what had been mentioned in the write up. When I read and understand the response I get a new dimension to the thought I had earlier. This is one way of learning.

In Mahabharata, Vidhura while explaining to Yudhisthira about the means of acquiring knowledge says so:

Aacharyat paadamadatte, paadam shiahyah swamedhaya |
Sabrahmacharibhyah paadam, paadam kalakramena cha ||

A seeker acquires a quarter (of the knowledge) from a teacher, a quarter from his own intelligence, a quarter from his fellow seekers; the remaining quarter is taught to him by time in due course.

So as Vidhura says there are different sources by which we can assimilate knowledge. True, if we depend on the teacher alone we have only a portion of the knowledge, and if we try to study by ourselves even then it is just a part of the knowledge. Time in the way of experience pours out its share. Now the one we learn from co-seekers is what is called having a satsang. With the variations in perception about a subject there is a possibility to have a different outlook. Hence many a times while discussing among friends who have the same bandwidth the insight to the topic has diverse angles.

The value and advantage of sharing the known among friends has been highlighted in the third part of the verse by Vidhura. Though we all give more prominence to self-study, exchange of perceptions and appreciation of various aspects of learning jointly with other seekers does have its own contribution to the process of learning. In this type of learning there is a sense of belonging to the one who started the discussion and at the same time all those participating in the discussion will reap the benefits of it. The insight which beams from all direction is gained either from the teacher or from their own self-study. 

When a thought is posted a few want to know if that thought is my own or is it from scriptures? Some also advise me to post something new apart from quoting some stories of Puranas or anecdote from history or a parable from a scripture. I always wondered what a new thought is??? I have questioned is there anything which is unheard??? Even now in this post I have inevitably referred to a verse from the Udhyoga Parva of Mahabharata written by Bhagvan Vyasadeva.

There is a saying “Vyasoochishtam Jagadsarvam,” In Sanskrit Ucchistam is leftover. Whatever a writer or a poet feels and writes in this literary world, it is just the leftover from the mouth of Vyasadeva. There is nothing in this entire literary world relating to spiritual thought that can be termed a new thought. Bhagavan Vyasa already would have made a mention about them in his various works.