youth and old age are two facets of a complete cycle of life. Every one destined to live a complete life goes through these two stages. In the youth of life, a misconception every young man or woman conceives in his/her mind that whole through the prospective period of life he/she will always be harnessed with the present physical strength, courage and agility. Why this ides get conceived in mind? The reason behind is “rash and wishful thinking!” When there exists a continuous flow of extra-energy, it makes man buoyant and utmost optimistic. This wishful thinking originates from this optimist-ism.
This rash and wishful thinking transforms a man in his youth into a courageous and daring entity. It’s a common scenario that in a risky situation a man in his full youth often dares to jump in and rescues the trapped people. This he does by putting his own life on stake. This is the example of his being brimmed with extra energy of youth he has obtained in shape of physical strength. A man in his full youth can brace up with inclement weather (i.e. wintry season) in minimum bare clothes. On the other hand, an old man needs sufficient number of woolly clothes to protect himself from the same cold weather.
In our youth, we are full of physical strength, our blood is hot. But this physical strength and fitness is also destined to ebb away with the lapse of time. Though, in old age, Nature compensates us in another way for this loss. When it takes away our physical strength, it transforms an ageing person into a mentally matured person. That is named as “wisdom.” Now a question strikes, whether a youthful person is supposed not to be a wise man! Certainly, he is! But here he can not be designated as a wisdomful man. He is an intelligent being one!
Intelligence is an element in which some one is anxious to gain some kinds of knowledge in shape of information. With the passing of time when the arena of this information becomes wider and wider and man begins to synthesize that, he transforms into a man full of wisdom. Prior to that, occasionally he is given to “analyse” the knowledge occasionally. Intelligence is an element which is purposeful or goal oriented. It can be focused to one single subject as well, as by becoming expertise to that field only.
But wisdom is a comprehensive and conscious oriented element. Wisdom is a conclusive; it contains many aspects like empathy, human psychology, the experiences obtained by passing through some harsh incidences in life. Even these experiences might have been gathered by perceiving the incidences occurred in the life of others. We try to comprehend it through a paradigm of a doctor. A person can become a doctor by holding the degree in that field by virtue of his intelligence and diligence.
But after becoming a doctor when he practices for long years and gains different kind of experiences in that field, it helps generate a wisdom into him. It’s now in a conclusive and comprehensive form. As a doctor he realizes that his intelligence had given him an ability to cure a patient by prescribing medicines only. On the contrary he also realizes that some ailments could easily be cured by psychotherapy and without administering drugs. This later condition is full of wisdom.
Now we again try to understand this by another example of doctor either. A patient is brought before a doctor and is at a critical stage. Doctor checks him up and diagnoses that patient is infested with two serious diseases which are anti in nature to one another. It’s a complicated case. Meant, the administration of drugs for one disease may be harmful to the treatment for another parallel disease. But the treatment of drugs of second disease may not be so harmful for the treatment of first type of disease, but can be. This is his intelligent conclusion.
Now he relates his result of diagnoses to the attendants of patient, but along with advises them a wise advice (wisdom.) If immediate treatment is not initiated, patient may succumb to diseases. But, if he is administered with medicines in proportionate ratio for both the complications, the chances of survival is expected by thirty percents. This is a wise advice. Along with he suggests, ” If you wish, you can take the second opinion of another doctor, but whatever you intend to do, do that urgently.”
Here, attendants of patient get confused. In being late in taking decision, the life of patient be lost. But amid attendants, there is an old sagacious man present who at once understands the gravity of the situation. He realizes, ” no treatment means loss of life. But if risk is taken, thirty percent of survival is in hands.” He quickly advises his other fellows, ” if we get late in finding another doctor for second opinion? And what if he also suggested the same treatment? Then? In that period of time we can loos the life of the patient!”
This is an outcome of the wisdom of old man and doctor is given a free hand to initiate the treatment and the life of the patient made secured. Wisdom is a grown up perception that contains many types of factors. This wisdom, older people often try to share with youth but they are not inclined to receive that in the spree of their animation. The wisdom is not a special perk of educated people only; even an illiterate person can be full of wisdom. Just look behind some generations of ours. How much educated our forefathers were? They all were illiterate people, but even in their life they took so many sagacious decisions based on their wisdom.
Now we come back to youth. They to play a major role in construction of a social system. Youth means courage and daring. They are essential part and parcel of society. If they become incline to receive the wise advice of old people full of wisdom, they ably can change the format of the system. Generally, they are not prone to wise advice but whenever they readily agree and ponder over that and follow that, they bring the enormous changes by transforming the system. Here, wisdom plays the significant role. Penned by– Vinay Pharasi —