Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:09 am Post subject: Concept of Knowledge Revisited
As this forum is about sharing and exchanging views, ideas and opinions on various issues, I would like to greet you NAVROZ MUBARAK with an invitation to reflect upon the importance of relevant knowledge in our Tariqah. The following are my humble thoughts on this important issue facing us. Please share your thoughts on this.
CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE
Mowlana Hazar Imam on numerous occasions both within the Jamat and without has expressed concern about the volume of information that we are exposed to and it's quality and relevance. In the following extract from the speech He made in Cape Town, South Africa at the Commonwealth Press Union Conference on October 17, 1996, he said:
We live in a time when the quantity of information has exploded in incalculable ways. Data flows in greater volumes, at higher speeds, over greater distances to larger audiences than ever before. And yet the result has not been greater understanding or enlightenment. In fact, it has often been just the reverse.
One is reminded of T S Eliot's haunting question: Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
Responding to these concerns, in His Speech at the Opening Session of Word of God, Art of Man: The Quran and its Creative Expressions; at the Ismaili Center London, Mowlana HazarImam elaborates on the concept of knowledge and it's purpose when talking about Sayyedna Nasir Khusraw as:
"Poetising the Prophets teaching, Nasir Khusraw, the 11th century Iranian poet-philosopher, also extols the virtue of knowledge. For him, true jihad is the war that must be waged against the perpetrators of bigotry, through spreading knowledge that dispels the darkness of ignorance and nourishes the seed of peace that is innately embedded in the human soul".
From the above statement, we can see that the purpose of knowledge is two fold. First to 'dispel darkness of ignorance' and secondly, to 'nourish the seed of peace that is innately embedded in the human soul'. When disseminating knowledge through our institutions in the form of waezes, lectures, seminars or write-ups, we must ask ourselves whether we are fulfilling the purpose of knowledge above. The discussion on the concept of knowledge is not a new idea. It has been a perennial issue and has been discussed over and over by great thinkers since time immemorial. Our Ismaili thinkers have also been engaged in this endeavour. For example, Hamiduddin Kirmani who was an important dai during the Fatimid period composed an important work 'Rahat-al-Aqal' which conveys a sense of 'Peace of mind' that is derived from knowledge. For more information on this important work please refer to the following address: http://www.iis.ac.uk/library_iis/gallery/kirmani/kirmani_gallery.htm .
This concept needs re-examination or re-evaluation in light of the sheer volume of information that we encounter. To raise awareness on this issue, I will attempt to give a classification of knowledge that would satisfy the epistemology alluded to above. I realise that this is a vast field and what I will be proposing is perhaps a drop in the ocean. The intent is not to articulate or propound this epistemology in a greater detail, but rather to point to good and relevant knowledge as opposed to mere information especially within the context of our Tariqah. The following are my thoughts on what is relevant knowledge.
1. It should address the fundamental questions about our existence such as: What is the purpose of life? Who is the creator? What is the purpose behind creation? What are space, time and causation, the criteria by which we perceive reality? Is there a hereafter? If so, what is its purpose? What are the heavens?
2. It should include a coherent system of beliefs which are internally consistent and accord with reason in response to the existential questions alluded to above. This category would include theology and religious sciences, which are based on the premise that Allah is the creator. Our concepts of Tawheed, Adl, Imamat, Nabuwaah, Qiyama, and other related concepts would be included in this category as well as the correct interpretation of history. Knowledge on these matters that is derived from sources that do not accord with our interpretation of faith or are not based on theistic premises at all should be excluded generally. An example of an exclusion would be a translation of Holy Quran based on Sunni interpretation of faith.
3. It should provide guidance and wisdom to live a life consistent with the purpose defined above. For the sake of peace and assurance, this should be based on trusted authority such as the Imam of the time, great thinkers, mystics etc. Knowledge sources that would fall under this category would include the firmans, speeches and interviews of HazarImam, poetry including ginans and qasidas, scriptures and general ethics which will include the notions of sharia within the context of our Tariqah.
4.It should reinforce the correct responses to the existential questions alluded above and therefore provide a constant source of solace, comfort and strength in adversity as well as providing a renewed sense of identity. This criteria would include work of art i.e. poetry, painting, calligraphy and architecture and correct interpretation of our traditions - rites and ceremonies being the backbone. Autobiographies of important personalities can provide roles models of correct personification of values and principles of life and thereby serve as sources of inspiration.
5.It should promote the understanding of the world around us. This would include all aspects of science, mathematics and logic, geography, history, sociology, information technology, etc. It is not possible to know everything about our external circumstances. However, Hazar Imam by virtue of his responsibilities has involved himself in all aspects involving the material conditions of His murids. Through his institutions he has dealt with a wide spectrum of issues ranging from development and business to matters of faith. Therefore, from the material point of view, he has acquired a great deal of experience, wisdom and knowledge and has expressed his views on many issues. In this regard, his speeches and interviews give useful authoritative insights into present conditions and indeed should serve as basis to discuss many of the issues that we face in our daily lives be they of material or spiritual nature.
6. It should promote the understanding of the internal world. This would include psychology and the science of consciousness, which provide the basis for understanding esotericism or sufism. The science of revelation and the relationship between matter and spirit would fall under this category. In this regard, the late Prince Sadruddin in one of his speeches, which can be referenced at: http://ismaili.net/sadru/960926.html stated:
And yet, is it not self-evident that, beyond the mere symbolic dimension, organized religion, together with science, has an enormous potential to spark an alternate or deeper consciousness?
7.It should promote and serve the general interest of peace and pluralism. It should recognise that there are different interpretations of life based on different responses to the existential issues alluded to above and different linguistic and cultural contexts. Yet, there are common values and shared principles that are reinforced when encounters happen between different faiths or cultures. In this regard knowledge that encourages hatred and obscurantism should be avoided.
Finally, there should be an appropriate ethos for knowledge. Its sources must be verified scrupulously for veracity and accuracy. It should also be conducted within the ethical framework, otherwise it can lead to intellectual vanity and greed. Good knowledge being the nourishment of the seed of peace in individual soul is not alien to it. A good indication of it is that there is an immediate response from the soul in the form of joy and ecstasy. Pir Sadardeen expresses this in the following verse of the Ginan "Ginan Bolore Nit Noore Bhariyaa" as:
ejee geenaan bolo re neet noore bhariyaa evo haidde tamaare harakh na maye ji.........................1
meaning: O momins! Recite (sing) Ginans which are full
of divine knowledge. Knowledge, so that your hearts will have boundless joy. ...1
I will end this post with a saying of Holy Prophet Muhammad, which summarises the purpose and importance of knowledge in Islam.
ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE
It enabled its possessor to distinguish right from wrong;
It lighteth the way to heaven;
It is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, and our companion when friendless;
It guideth us to happiness;
It sustaineth us in misery;
It is an ornament amongst friends, and armour against enemies.
Just wanted to add some sayings by Iman Ali (A.S) <BR><BR>1.That knowledge which remains o­nly o­n your tongue is very superficial. The intrinsic value of knowledge is that you act upon it. <BR><BR>2. There are many educated people who have ruined their future o­n account of their ignorance of religion. Their knowledge did not prove of any avail to them.
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:52 am Post subject: More thoughts on knowledge
Wonder, rather than doubt, is the root of knowledge.
- Heschel, "Man Is Not Alone"
Man is wise only while in search of wisdom; when he imagines he has attained it, he is a fool.
- Ibn Gabirol, "Mibhar HaPeninim"
It is but few who hear about the Self
Fewer still dedicate their lives to its
Realization. Wonderful is the one
Who speaks about the Self; rare are they
Who make it the supreme goal of their lives.
-Katha Upanishad
Judge the nature of your listeners and speak accordingly.
There is nothing more virtuous or valuable than this.
-Tirukkural 65:644
Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you dont.
-Pete Seeger
He who, for the sake of learning, lowers himself by exposing his ignorance, will ultimately be elevated.
- Ben Azzai, Talmud: Berakot, 63b
Better than a thousand useless words is one word that gives peace.
-Buddha Sayings of the Buddha: Reflections
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
-Marie Curie
I know that the more I humble myself to others, the broader my understanding of God has actually become.
-Francis Frangipane
In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you.
-Mortimer J. Adler
To speak so listeners long to hear more and to listen
So others' meaning is grasped are the ideals of the impeccably great.
We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.
-R.C. Sproul
***
Do not say, "When I have leisure, I will study." Perhaps you will have no leisure.
- Pirkei Avot 2:4
***
A common opinion of philosophers is that higher angels understand things with fewer, more far-reaching ideas than lower angels, who need many more less inclusive ideas to comprehend.
- John Ronner,
"Know Your Angels"
Those who argue and discuss without understanding the truth are lost amid all the forms of relative knowledge, running about here and there and trying to justify their view of the substance of ego.
If you realize the self in your inmost consciousness, it will appear in its purity. This is the womb of wonder, which is not the realm of those who live only by reason.
Pure in its own nature and free from the categories of finite and infinite, Universal Mind is the undefiled wonder, which is wrongly apprehended by many.
-Lankavatara Sutra
From "Buddha Speaks," edited by Anne Bancroft, 2000
Should we study Ismailism, its history, its evolution, its influence upon Islamic civilization? Different answers may be received, but there are two varieties of these which will predominate.
The conservative people say: our fathers and grandfathers carried on their business, and were quite happy without special inquiries into what our ancestors did or said. Why should we waste our time and labor on all such studies which do not promise to bring us any practical advantage?
The "modernist" would say: all these old books and ideas were quite good, perhaps, at their own time when conditions in the world were quite different. Now they have become quite useless. What matters is prosperity, the rest is of secondary importance.
Both these trends, which exist not only amongst the Ismailis but also among the followers of other religions, are fundamentally wrong. They are based on personal and selfish standpoint, centered around one's own advantages, and are hopelessly shortsighted.
Man alone is nothing, that is why there are communities, organizations, nations, etc. The Ismaili community has attained prosperity only because they were an organized body guided by their Imams. This helped them to survive the terrible catastrophes which overtook them in the course of history.
Such organization, with such long tradition, is a priceless heritage, and it would be simply stupid to underestimate it, or speak about it slightingly. It is the duty of every intelligent member to guard it and to contribute to its strengthening.
The world as it is at present, with the untold hardships of economical and political strain, demands desperate struggle for survival. This can be achieved only by arming oneself with education. Specialization, intellectual superiority over one's competitors. The main stream of the world's progress is technical advancement. Various religions which could withstand centuries of strain, now become finally powerless to exercise any influence upon the life of the society, nation, humanity. If they are still preserving some meaning, it is only in the backward strata of the nation, where religion is almost indistinguishable from bare superstition.
But, as it happens in many religions, education not only adds to qualifications but also greatly broadens the outlook of the individual. Questions inevitably arise in the minds of young educated men and women, about which their religious literature is unable to answer. This inevitably leads to its greater and greater depreciation, so that in the eyes of some it may become something quite useless and superfluous. Thus the situation automatically becomes created—that exactly those better educated and therefore useful members, become the less steady in the community, and often simply abandon it.
This development is quite well-known and causes great anxiety to the responsible and thoughtful leaders. But in reality there is no sound reason that such an undesirable development should not be combated and even prevented, at least from taking the form of a regular process. And it seems that the best means would be exactly the proper, serious, honest study of Ismailism, its history and philosophy.
Ismailism, as it developed a thousand years ago was not only a religion, i.e., a system of organized inner life of an individual, but also an ideology, a system of social organization. Its great ideal was surprisingly modern: equality in what is now called a classless society, based on a thorough and effective system of cooperation. Stagnation which is inseparable from many great religions which preach "eternity" and unchangeability of their eternal principles, works as a powerful brake on every form of advance in all aspects of life. The priceless advantage of the Ismaili system is its doctrine of Imamat and ta'wil. Both these together imply an ample means of what resembles automatic regulation. The doctrine of the obligatoriness of the ta'wil authorized by the Imam removes the effect of obsolescing, of lagging behind the progressing life. In many other religions every "innovation", however legitimate, is bound to be the source of fierce accusations of "altering the eternal law given by God"; this leads to dissensions, fights, hereticism, etc. In Ismaillsm, if properly used,the system of authorized ta'wil explains the application of the basic religious principles to the everchanging forms of life in the society, and guides the community in its attitude to all that is of advantage for its progress.
But the proper use of the organized functioning of the principle of ta'wil demands a broad religious education, of one being conscious of the life of his community in the course of its whole history. Only this may show that various changes which the Imam introduced through ta'wil are not incidental and haphazard, but form a part of a long tradition.
A proper guidance of the community depends on the Imam, but the Imam has to have suitable, reliable, responsible, dependable and intelligent assistants who could convey the Imam's will and guidance to the community, who may assist it to apply the principle of ta'wil as authorized by the Imam. This demands well-trained and well-educated people. And these may be of great help in seeing that serious questions of educated members of the community may receive intelligent and honest answers, not merely consisting of sophisms and manipulations or misinterpretation of verses of the Quran or hadiths.
Ismaili philosophy did not develop in a vacuum—the student must also know the historical background of its evolution. Only this may give its study firm and solid foundation which would make it a reality, not a series of theorizings. Ismailism must be studied as a whole as regards time and also as regards its different schools and divisions.
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NOTE FROM ADMIN - This needs an original reference of the book it was published in... not a pointer to the site that has copied from another site. In any case, outside pointers are not allowed on this forum except in rare case [one being pointers to akdn or iis web site, these are allowed].
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NOTE FROM ADMIN - This needs an original reference of the book it was published in... not a pointer to the site that has copied from another site. In any case, outside pointers are not allowed on this forum except in rare case [one being pointers to akdn or iis web site, these are allowed].
Admin,
You seem to have overlooked a link to a hostile site posted by unnalhaq under Doctrines -> Religion of Hazir Imam's children???, and have deleted a link to a friendly site. What kind of attitude and absurdity is this?
Last edited by kmaherali on Sat Aug 20, 2005 7:40 am, edited 1 time in total
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