Burst Nineteen (For Youth):
Spiritual Growth and Books
What role do books play in our inner growth? On one hand, we hear much praise of scriptures – books of wisdom – to such an extent that anybody who does not study them is declared blind. These holy books are called the eyes of a man so he can see what is right and what is wrong. The Geeta, the Bible, the Dhammapada or the Koran reveals to us what our eyes cannot see. The mystic revelations in these works show to us the truth that is beyond sense perception and beyond reason. The utterances of many truly pious people are in fine agreement with the words in these books.
On the other hand, however, we find thousands of well-read people – scholars in religious philosophies – who are no different from those who have not read much. Their selfishness is no less than what we find in others. They crave for pleasure, position or power just as the illiterate do. They are insecure like anybody else is.
Where has the knowledge gone wrong? Will reading one more book convert their bookish knowledge to real knowledge?
Does sincerity or honesty rise from glittering scholarship that makes one an impressive speaker, writer or even a teacher?
The clever man uses scriptural knowledge also, as he does with many other things, to protect and nourish his ego. Religious erudition also comes handy in impressing people, creating a false comfort zone for oneself and actually living a life tethered to self-interest. True wisdom slips through one’s fingers when the least amount of caring for one’s image intrudes in one’s perception of problems. The very books that talk of the highest good then become one’s shield with which one protects one’s false sense of separateness from the rest of life.
Since the Self is to be inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for it in books. – Sri Ramana Maharshi in the little classic Who am I?
Swami Chidananda
Monday,September 22, 2003