Ignorant?
Do you ever judge yourself or others harshly? Have you
thought that others are ignorant? The word ignorant is mostly used in eastern
literature. When I first read articles suggesting my ignorance, I was offended.
I'm not ignorant, I protested, but as I've matured, I've reassessed and surely, in many areas,
I am ignorant.
Gangaji put a new light on the word when she asked us to
look at the root word in ignorant, ignore. If we ignore something, we are ignorant. That works. I do things that are against my best interests and
ignore my better knowing.
Wisdom was the topic of our Saturday Theosophical Society Meeting.
After each program, our president, Fali Engineer, makes a few comments. He is bursting
with wisdom and he is one of the reasons I attend. I am quick to challenge or
add to some of his teachings; he is gracious in the midst of a challenge. He invites deep questioning on any topic. I
greatly admire and respect him. Fali was
formerly the head of Transcendental Meditation in Pakistan and he continues to
teach his own brand of meditation today. We celebrated his 85th
birthday on Saturday. You can count me in as a Fali fan.
Fali put a new take on the subject of ignorance. The word
ignorant is a competitive word. If you think you are smarter than someone, you
put them below yourself - they are ignorant. If you think someone else is
smarter than you, you think of yourself as ignorant. If you think of yourself
and others as incomplete, then you level the playing field. When you plant a fruit bearing tree, you
don't think the plant is a failure or ignorant because it doesn't bear fruit immediately,
you wait patiently until it produces fruit.
At six months old, the plant is incomplete, not ignorant. What a relief
it is to think of others, regardless of what they think, say are do, as incomplete. With the word incomplete, we exonerate ourselves and others from
judgment.
Remember in school when you could get an incomplete in a
course, complete your work later and avoid a failing grade. Maybe it's time for
us to hand out some incompletes in our lives. We can afford to lighten up and
to be the bearers of grace not of distaste. Life is so much easier when we stop
handing out "F's." Take it easy, make it easy and have an easy day.
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