Intelligent but not wise?

The problem with elitism is that, if you do not have the proper degrees, being intelligent does not beget you respect. It is your pedigree that matters - if not by birth, by way of the schools/colleges you studied in - when it comes to getting respect from Society. THAT, perhaps, is understandable. Most people cannot understand what you say and, so, they peg their judgment to what they can understand: your pedigree.

But when Tiru says this...

Kallaadhaan otpam kazhiyanan draayinum koLLaar arivudai yaar - Tirukkural

Even when the ignorant utter intelligent words, the wise will not take as true knowledge - Loose Translation

Does not one expect the wise to understand what is said? Then why do they judge the person by pedigree? THIS is why we consider it elitist - this idea that when someone has not studied from the high institutions we studied in, he cannot be truly knowledgeable. Carry it a step further and you conclude that is the person cannot speak in your lingo, your jargon, then what he has to say is not worth listening to. AND Tiru supports this sort of elitism?

Let us take a different example. Your friend - an accountant - walks into the hospital where you are admitted for a cardiac problem. He is able to tell exactly what your heart issue is (perhaps, basis, his having gone through it himself). Do you expect the hospital to go with any further advice by him on the course of treatment? Would you? Or would you go with the cardiologist?

Native intelligence only carries you so far. Having extraordinary analytical ability is useless if you lack the context and information that needs to be analysed. Or even the frameworks to be used to analyse the situation. (What co-morbidities should you check for? What should you look for in the blood-work? Do you need to check for nutrient deficiencies? and so on.) Intelligence cannot translate into knowledge. For that you need to put in the hard yards of learning the subject first AND understanding the situation in the light of your conceptual knowledge. Now THAT is what Tiru is talking of and it probably is not elitism.

But, yeah, you can mouth off all you want about politics and economics. After all, most of those who talk the most about it all actually know the least!

Silence is wisdom?

There are times when you really realise the gulf between the society that was and the society we live in. Ah, no, no, no! I am not about to wax eloquent on what AI is going to do to us. (I couldn't even if I wanted to, considering how little I know about AI? So?) THAT's for another day and for other generations (Z, AA, AB, whatever). Me, I'm still stuck on what social media has done to society.

AND how Tiru has become dated merely because he lived in times when Social media did not exist. Take this for example...

Kallaadhavarum naninallar katraarmun sollaa dhirukkap perin - Tirukkural

Even the ignorant can appear worthy if they keep silent in the presence of the wise - Loose Translation

Well, first of all, we live in times when we do not entertain such elitist ideas as being 'wise'. I mean, what is more elitist than knowing more than others? AND, for Heaven's sake, I am not allowed to share my opinions, loud and clear, merely because the other guy knows the subject and I don't? THAT is precisely the sort of thing that we are fighting against. What about Freedom of Expression, then?

AND what is this 'in the presence of the wise'? I mean, it all depends on which echo chamber you are in, right? You can always find an echo chamber where YOU count as the 'wise', even if you are vehemently propounding the flat earth theory, no? AND, to keep silent on the frivolous grounds of being ignorant will ensure that you never find the right echo chamber and, thus, can never be considered wise. What rubbish.

But, maybe, Tiru's advice has a limited application. In the organisation where you are working, for example, you are not always free to find your own echo chamber. After all, it is your boss/peers who you have to impress and, alas, they are not always cooperative in fitting into your echo chamber. That still does not translate to the company of the 'wise' necessarily. How many of you consider your boss and your peers wise?

True, Tiru probably was well in advance of the chap who said, "It is best to keep your mouth shut and be taken for a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.' THAT chap, too, did not account for Social Media, did he?

Thoughtful remembrance

Did I mention earlier about forgetting people? One of the greatest wonders of the world is how everyone, but everyone, will go gaga about how the most important thing in the world is relationships. AND relationships automatically means people. (Yeah, yeah, I know, but not everyone can create a Microsoft or Twitter OR rename the latter as X, you know. OUR jobs do take second place to relationships...eventually (when you chuck us out) if not now.) AND then, on the heels of sharing twenty memes about relationships, you snap at your significant other about being disturbed when you are answering an oh-so-important email.

Tiru, while on the subject of forgetfulness, has this to say...

Izhukkaamai yaarmaattum endrum vazhukkaamai vaayin adhuvoppadhu il - Tirukkural

Nothing yields as much good as unfailing thoughtfulness towards all people at all times - Loose translation

THAT is what Tiru says. To remember all the people you have interacted with and what they have done for you; to remember what they need and what they care for; and to remember to TELL them that you remember them...THAT yields the greatest of good to you, as per Tiru.

For example, nothing breeds loyalty as much as the 'big man' remembering you and wishing you on your birthday. No? Nothing makes a person as joyous as to have his past achievements mentioned and lauded when he leasts expects it. I can go on and on about how remembering people in a thoughtful manner makes them enthusiastic supporters. (Oh! HR sending out birthday emails is not exactly the same thing. Sorry!)

The point is that when you display that you see them as PEOPLE (and not resources!) and also see them as special in their own way, you cause them to feel that YOU are human, after all, and not just the 'boss'. THAT's when you develop a strong relationship. Two cogs in a wheel only develop friction; it's only two humans who can develop a relationship.

So, yes, Tiru does talk specifically about thoughtfully remembering people. AND calls it the greatest good.

HR, of course, will call it EQ.

Forgetful fame

There are times when I really do not want to write on a topic. I mean, like, if you loved sweets what would you feel about writing about the 'devil sugar'? Or, when you have always boasted about how you are the world's greatest procrastinator, how would it suit for you to be waxing eloquent about a stitch in time saving nine? It is times like that when you feel you missed out on the greatest of human characteristics - Hypocrisy!

What set off that diatribe is coming across this kural from Tiru...

Pochchaappuk kollum pughazhai arivinai nichcha nirappukkon draangu - Tirukkural

Just as poverty destroys knowledge, forgetfulness will destroy one's fame - Loose Translation

You can understand how a person who opens the refrigerator and keeps wondering about what he intended taking out from it...such a person wondering about whether he has a right to be talking about how bad forgetfulness is.

By the way, Tiru is not against the poor. Rather, he makes the point that living in continuing poverty is what keeps them concentrating on the getting of food to the exclusion of any acquisition/retention of knowledge. AND, just as poverty destroys knowledge, forgetfulness will destroy your fame in his opinion.

Actually, elsewhere in these pages, I have mentioned how fame itself may cause forgetfulness. To win fame is to achieve a significant amount of success. THAT success can cause you to forget a lot of things. You may forget those who supported you in your dark times till you achieved this success; you may forget those who were also instrumental in the achievement of this success; you may forget to do the things necessary to KEEP the success once you achieved it. (Like, come on, if you achieve a market success with a product, you think you can just coast on it forever?) and so on.

In other words, forgetfulness can put you on the accelerated slippery slope back to failure. Even if you do retain enough acumen to sustain your financial success, your forgetfulness about people may leave you leading a barren life with none to consider close to you. And THAT, believe me, will eventually feel like failure to you, no matter how many strangers may laud your every tweet. The biggest of failures is to not have a single person to lean back on if you fail.

Tiru is not talking of how you forgot where you left your glasses or your inability to remember the day of the week. He is talking about forgetting the more important things in life. Mislaying friends not mislaying things; forgetting to thank, not forgetting the date; and so on.

THAT forgetfulness could well result in your fame being forgotten by the world. So there.