Knowledge: Air in Balloon or Ball, A Checkpoint in Knowing

“Knowledge is power”, the words of Francis Bacon are still afresh even today. Power, in terms of present day context, is no more to be of weapon but of information, in other words, knowledge. The whistle blower of today’s society is not the one who plants bomb or wins over by physical force but the one who provides information as in the case of Snowdown. It is applicable to any field that a knowledgeable person is esteemed despite of his or her social background.

However, a simple question that triggers me is, “What is the use of this knowledge?” In fact, all my endeavors are always in search of knowledge which gives me satisfaction. It is even on of my puruṣarthās, ultimate goals of life. Yet, the question remains with the same vigour. The recent attitudes encountered the present scenario regarding knowledge in terms of its misuse, are some what like these: “violence of knowledge” in the words of Immanuel Levinas, a Jewish philosopher; “arrogance of Knowledge” as Daya Krishna, an Indian Thinker, calls it. Thus our attitude with regard to the role of knowledge needs to take another form. How it would be to imagine this situation?

Knowledge is like the air in different forms, found everywhere in the earth like mild breeze, strong wind, storm, etc and sometimes inevitable for life too. This is channelized through different forms and is made use as well. If a balloon is inflated with air, it raises itself high and it is admired by many and enjoyed by many, mostly by children, however it is less useful in practical application. On the other hand, if the same air fills a football, for example, it is used better. It helps people to target and achieve their goal. I choose the imagery of football because it is not only used in a gentle way but even be kicked to fulfill one’s purpose.

This would be the right attitude regarding knowledge also. If knowledge is used for one’s own glory by taking him or her high, of course, it is admired by others. However, it is used less and useless to have such as one’s life purpose. On the other hand, if knowledge acts as a tool to celebrate the achievement of one’s goal, which seems to be hard but worth doing, knowledge gets meaning for its existence.

Thus knowledge is also a way when it is properly channelized through which one can serve one another. It is not a private property to be held nor just a fact about the past in the present since the present knowledge always enhances the future. Let us have a check on our knowledge and its purpose. 

The Eclipse of God: In the lives of Theists and Athiests

Looking at the tabernacle of our seminary chapel (Divyadaan, Nashik, India) in the dark I am reminded of the solar eclipse as you can see the picture above. “Is it the eclipse of God?” I chuckled. The first thought that came into my mind about the eclipse of God was the hymn of St. Thomas Aquinas where he admires at the simplicity of God who on the cross He has hidden His divinity but in the Holy Bread He has hidden both His divinity and humanity.

The concept of the eclipse of God, if meditated upon deeply, may bring to our notice the different dimensions of faith in the current situation of faith in the society. It is true that God’s presence is not evidently felt in today’s world, no matter whether He hides Himself or is hidden. However, it is interesting to realize that mostly God is hidden in the lives of both, those who believe in God as well as those who don’t. It is obvious in the case of the latter, the atheists, as this artificial eclipse is made by human persons with so many reasons to hide God like the natural calamities, imperfections in creation, and so on. And it is also evident that this is an artificial eclipse that human beings have created for there are various ways in which the presence of God can be perceived within one’s ownself and in others.

However, there is also a possibility of this ‘eclipse of God’ among those (the faithful), who believe in the existence of God. The ‘eclipse’ in their lives is that they (feel that they dedicate themselves in) are searching for God which is tangible in rituals and images at the pilgrim centers and charismatic conventions. This too, is (too) an artificial eclipse of God. The object that they use to hide God is their own selves. On the contrary, the reality is that God is in search of His creatures, a powerful thought that I have learnt from the post-critical philosophy of God. It is an eclipse when I keep myself before God that I take the initiative of searching for Him through multifarious ways like prayers, rituals, pilgrimages, charities, etc. There is nothing wrong in doing all these. In fact, they have profound meaning as they are means to respond to God who is in search of human beings. Rather,  what is important is the attitude or motivation in carrying them out. Just as the eclipse does not last for a long period of time so does this eclipse of God when we realize that we should respond to the God in search of us as our project of life. May we look at God in the darkness of faith to encounter this eclipse and discover that in fact, He is in search of us.