Meaning of True Knowledge

What is true knowledge?

The term ‘True knowledge‘ is hard to define. The explanation by a philosopher,  a sage, and a businessman will be different from each other. This really adds to the complication and confusion.

The most harmonious definition that I have encountered so far is that the true knowledge is one which can be applied and helps a person to reduce the distance between him and his objective.

The Practicality and applicability are the two main ingredients of it, without which the type of knowledge cannot be considered as true.

A verse from Chanakya Neeti says that “ Money in the hand of others is of no use. Same is the case with a person whose knowledge is only confined to books.” The line clearly tells us about the significance of true knowledge.

More On True Knowledge:

• Knowledge is nothing but the acquisition of facts and figures. When this knowledge is applied for a better cause then it turns into True-Knowledge.
• We know about a lot of things in life, but majority of our activities remain bounded within few fields of interest.
• If a student of physics is not aware about DOB of Newton, but has a good understanding (not just the bookish definitions) for all laws of motions then his knowledge will be considered as true knowledge for this particular topic.
• If a sage has not read the religious scriptures, but knows the trick to remain calm and focused in adverse conditions then his knowledge will be considers as true.
• If a businessman is not a MBA, but understands the market very well then he is truly knowledgeable.

Hopefully, you got the point.

A Few more Chanakya Quotes on knowledge:

• Among all possessions knowledge is the supreme.
• The best way to sabotage knowledge is to remain idle.
• A student who continuously thinks about comforts of home (homesick) will not be able to gain knowledge.
• It is no surprise that a person with incomplete knowledge will try to debate and argue the man with true knowledge. This can be understood from example of a tribal woman who rejects precious gems and selects cheap beads for decoration.
•  One must be satisfied with whatever he has as wife, wealth, and income. Anyhow one must never get satisfied with the knowledge and act of charity.
• The power of a king lies in his sword, the power of a scholar lies in his knowledge and that of a woman lies in her beauty.
• The tail of a dog cannot protect its shame nor offers any effective protection against ticks and flies. So is the condition of a man with little knowledge.
•  Like there is no profit in raising a barren cow; a son without knowledge or devotion is also useless.

Summary:

It does not matters that you are an encyclopedia, but the real trick lies in implementing the known facts into something productive and useful.