If my main interest in life were mountain climbing, I probably would not be living in Florida. I should, no doubt, want to be somewhere where there are mountains. As it is, since I prefer walking, cycling and kayaking -- and don't particularly enjoy the cold -- Florida suits me fine.
What does this have to do with wisdom?
There is not much of a tradition of wisdom here in the West. Just about everything relating to wisdom that is worth anything comes from the East. True, we have a strong scholastic and scientific tradition, but that doesn't have much to do with wisdom. Christianity, which has been the West's main civilizing influence -- with some notable exceptions such as the Inquisition! -- is essentially an Eastern religion. And today, with the so-called New Age movement, we have a growing interest in Eastern religions and philosophies, and such practices as yoga and meditation. However, what we get here in the West is often a watered-down version -- or, maybe, even a completely distorted version -- of Eastern teachings and practices.
Does this explain why I recently took a trip to India to "study" meditation? Yes and no.
Here's the "yes" part.
To learn mountain climbing, I would not only want to be where there are mountains but I should want a good teacher. The teacher should have a track record not only of having climbed mountains himself but also of having taught others to climb mountains.
Where would one go to study wisdom? To the schools and colleges? Take a course in philosophy?
How about going to a part of the world where there's the oldest-known, continuous tradition of wisdom . . . Northern India?
However, without a good guide or teacher one wouldn't get very far.
So, yes, I went to Northern India to study meditation under a teacher who is a living example of a practice of wisdom that goes back as far as we have recorded history.
What's the "no" part?
Unlike mountains, which have a very real existence in certain places and a very real absence in others, wisdom is not something that can so easily be pinned down.
Can one find wisdom in a church or a mosque? Is a pilgrimage to Mecca going to make one wise? Am I, therefore, any the wiser because I have taken a trip to India?
The unfortunate truth is that we can travel all over the world and study at the best universities, and still not become wise. The problem is that we take our minds with us! Our minds affect our perception which often prevents us from perceiving the truth.
What do we mean by wisdom, anyway?
"Wisdom" literally means "wise judgment". "Dom" exists in the English word "doom" (as in Doomsday which means Day of Judgment). In modern Danish "dom" still means judgment - either a person's ability to discern and distinguish, or legal judgment.
There is a distinction between knowledge in the sense of a lot of stored information and judgment concerning that knowledge. I found that out when I was a teacher! Most of our education system is based on knowledge rather than wise judgment.
Wisdom, in the sense that I have been using the word, is rather a matter of spiritual discernment.
The first step towards wisdom would be the recognition that there is, spiritually-speaking, something there to discern. This would involve the recognition that we are basically spiritual beings and not our minds or our bodies.
The next major step would be to find a way to discern what is there spiritually and a way to separate ourselves out from our minds and our bodies.
Just about all great spiritual teachers, including Jesus, have stressed that spiritual wisdom is not to be found outside in the physical world, but within -- by exploring the world of inner experience. Even Socrates is supposed to have said, "Know thyself".
If this is the case, why go anywhere - let alone somewhere as far away as India -- to study wisdom?
The only point that I can see is that, just as you need a good teacher to learn mountain climbing, you need a good teacher or guide to explore the "inner realms. I am not saying that, therefore, you have to go to India to seek wisdom. It just happened that my teacher has his physical home and base of operations there.
To be practical, we are not suddenly going to become wise overnight without any effort or study. To study the spirit -- which is the basis of any study of wisdom -- requires diligence and discipline. To practice becoming wise requires that we have some method of practice. And, whatever method one chooses, one needs an experienced teacher.
Then it's a matter of practice, practice, practice.
David Findlay M.A. is editor of Tampa Bay New Times and also a certified trauma specialist. Clearwater (813) 449-8964. Email: david@altnewtimes.com.