Knowledge is power

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“A man without knowledge is like an idol” — Nidhi

So knowledge is life and it gives power to human being which makes him different from the other living organism Knowledge according to Oxford dictionary is ‘’Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject’’. “No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.” L. Frank Baum. The Lost Princess of Oz, so the greatest treasure of life is knowledge.

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It is only by knowledge we can discern between right and wrong. If an animal kills a human being we say it’s because it has no knowledge but if a human being kills a human being then he or she is punished as human being has the knowledge that he should not kill other human beings.

Indian Legend about the Importance of Knowledge

Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra.

Subhadra was the sister of Sri Krishna. He use to tell her of the war techniques once when Abhimanyu was still in the womb.

He was telling her of how to break the challenges of chakra-vyuha but she dozed off. While Subhadra dozed off, Abhimanyu continued to carefully follow Sri Krishna’s narrative of the Chakra-vyuha. But, after talking for some time and not receiving any response from Subhadra, Sri Krishna realised that she was savouring a sweet nap. Sri Krishna, who had at that time come up to the seventh step of the Chakra-vyuha, gave up his narration and returned with Subhadra to the palace.

The unfortunate Abhimanyu could never obtain the technique of breaking all the circles in the chakra-vyuha, but whatever he had heard Sri Krishna say, he carefully preserved in his memory. He grew up to be a brave, handsome young man. Many years later, during the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra, the Kauravas set up a Chakra-vyuha and challenged the Pandavas to come forward and break it. However, only Arjuna knew the technique of doing so but he was fighting elsewhere.

At that stage, to save the honour of the Pandavas, Abhimanyu came forward and offered his services for the task of breaking the chakra-vyuha. Despite his incomplete knowledge of the technique he entered the grid and overcame one circle after another until he came to the seventh one, the breaking of which he had no knowledge. Brave and ambitious he was but in vain as he had no knowledge. By this we can come to the conclusion that knowledge is power and half knowledge can be dangerous. We have to be careful in this world when we live as we read about Abhimanyu there are many people with this half knowledge and it can be very dangerous that even it can put our life in risk Mahatma Gandhi says of "Seven Deadly Sins and one among that is Knowledge without character".

Man has to spend his life to acquire knowledge but it should be to save the world and not to destroy it as for example nuclear energy is good for man use but if it is used for war it can end ruin the whole world in fraction of seconds, as the dropping of nuclear bomb during second world war has its pain even today in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Why Knowledge is Crucial in Human Life

Knowledge plays an important role in all spheres of human life and activity as it hones our cognitive abilities, enhancing skills such as critical reasoning and adept problem-solving. It is a powerful factor which helps man to attain success, power and position in life. There is no doubt that physical strength and money are instruments of power. A man who is physically strong or whose purse is full commands power over others but the power of knowledge is still greater. Knowledge directs his actions and enables him to find the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. It helps him overcome his weakness and faults and face dangers and difficulties with courage and confidence. It gives him mental, moral and spiritual advancement. Besides this, it is through knowledge that man has gained mastery over nature. Man is physically weaker than many animals. He cannot run fast as fast as a panther. He cannot see as far as an eagle can. His sense of smell is weaker than that of a dog. He cannot carry as heavy loads as some beasts of burden do. He cannot fight tigers and lions with his bare hands. Yet he has managed to become the most powerful creature on earth. His power comes from knowledge.

Those who have wide-range of knowledge and experience can capture power and influence. The possession of knowledge gives them a distinct advantage over the semi educated people. Half knowledge is regarded as ’the curse of god’ and also it is worse than ignorance. He explored land, water and space by virtue of his knowledge. Man has made progress in all fields starting from science, technology to arts etc. Knowledge gave man the feeling of strength and power. Knowledge develops human faculties. It leads to the excellence of the mind. It enables one to give sound judgment. Education and knowledge are desirable for democracy. We should try to spread the knowledge base in all fields in the masses. In Indian rural scene, the knowledge levels about family, school education, problems of woman. child rearing and other social issues are very poor.

Illiteracy and social backwardness combine to put the rural masses at the receiving end. Lack of knowledge leads to poverty and absence of methods of productivity and economic prosperity. This vicious cycle continues. Restraint, tolerance, understanding and capacity to manage affairs come with knowledge. If knowledge is imparted to our rural children, youth, women and men, they would emerge as the major social power. There is no end to the gaining of knowledge, It is only the foolish man who thinks he knows everything. Modern knowledge is very intricate and wide is scope The soldier, the man of the sword, thought he was the master; but he was really in the hands of the priest, the man of the pen. The pen was mightier than the sword. It was the same in ancient India.

The learned Brahmins were for ages the real rulers of Indian States. They dominated the lower, ignorant castes; and their knowledge enabled them to manage the Rajas and Maharajas. Knowledge is not the property of the rich. No class has its monopoly over it. Anyone who perseveres in this endeavour may excel the others. It is not a thing to be bought with riches. Like wealth or beauty, it does not drop in value by time. Knowledge is power because all the power in the world owes to it. The power of knowledge has proved its supremacy over everything. As a whole, nothing benefited the mankind more than knowledge.

Anecdote Illustrating the Importance of Knowledge

A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer...... ......... ........ $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap......... ......... ........ $ 9,998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!