The world as we know it

Knowledge is wealth.

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge is responsibility.


How much do you know about what you know? How much do you really want to know? Is there a limit to what you would comfortably investigate into? Where do you stop and what stops you from knowing the truth?

Not everybody is born inquisitive but we all have those areas where we are keen to know the truth. We want to know the truth about the people we know, their intentions, their feelings. We want to know the truth about our personal past and the factors that influence our personal present and future. But do we really ask the questions?

Take a 5 year old kid which asks “why?” all the time. “Why do we have to sit in the bus? But why would there be an accident? Why would the driver get distracted? Why would he look at the dog? But why would the dog jump in front of the bus?...” There is no end to this line of inquiries in a child’s mind. But when we grow up we learn to stop somewhere, when it “feels” enough. We never really ask all possible questions before we do what we do, we work with feeling. We are not that interested in literally knowing what is behind our actions. And perhaps it is not really possible.

The same applies to our surroundings and the societies we live in. We learn to demand some of the truth but since we know it is not possible, we do not ask for the whole truth. For example we ask questions like “why is this so expensive?” and “why is the tax so high?” but we are not encouraged to ask further questions like “what happens to that tax?” or “why do I have to pay taxes to feed a huge army?” As civilized people, we are educated to get the feel of where to stop. The absolute truth is not our business.

Same applies to our beliefs. Most people find comfort in some faith which is beyond questioning. They may ask “have I been a good person today?” but fail to ask “does believing in this make me a happier person?” This is a personal choice and it is fine as long as we do not let our beliefs control other peoples’ lives, which is the case with organized religions. A faith can become so strong that it stops people who want from asking questions about it.

Today we live in societies that believe in democracy and the rule of law. Laws are usually conceived to be guides to regulate our interactions in a harmonious way. It is a surprise that although our societies are neither harmonious nor healthy we still believe in the regulations which create it. We define areas for law makers and law enforcers and try not to interfere with them, since they are suppose to “serve us”. But how often do we ask who those laws really serve? And what do we do when we see a disturbing reality there?

A part of the fear of knowing comes from feeling that once you know one thing you will have to do something about it. And it is true that living a simple life, keeps our minds free of all these fears, responsibilities and guiltiness. But what happens when we are not really living a simple life and just are selective?

Today we are continuously bombarded with information claiming to be a version of the truth but we usually lack the facilities to test their value. We get news from TV and see the same story on newspapers and hear it from friends. When it’s repeated sufficiently it becomes a part of our reality, our version of truth. But we fail to see that those information gets radically filtered before it reaches us and we are shown only a fragment and usually a distorted view of the facts. As long as we rely on sources that are part of the same entity and do not use our judgment on them we remain subjects to that information tyranny. We act with willpower in our little spheres but we don’t attempt to influence the currents that effect us as a whole.

The greatest truth or the highest realization one can reach is the realization of the self. Once a person reaches that state of harmonious existence in the now, s/he also becomes pretty immune to outer influences. Its light shines to clear the darkness. We have to seek for that light which comes from within but meanwhile we are responsible to deal with the most mundane, physical aspects of reality.

We have to ask some questions no matter how disturbing they may be. We have to remember that truth can be completely different to what we are made to believe. We must not be afraid to inquire and learn of those things that have any kind of influence on us. If knowledge is power, we have to reclaim that power.

If we believe in change and that we are somewhat responsible to have a positive influence on it, then it is our responsibility to help spread the truth and reveal what is not. We can purify the ocean of illusions one drop at a time. It’s up to us.