What is wisdom? – By: BK T.D. Joseph

Article by: BK. T. D. Joseph, Bangalore, India tdjaum(AT)gmail.com – If you have questions or remarks about this article, please contact the author.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wisdom characterizes everything what God does, says the Bible. (Proverbs 8:22–31) Jesus said: “Be wise as serpent,” which means to perceive and avoid danger, and escape from it. (Mathew 10:16) “He succeeds in everything he does” as “his delight is in the law [Shrimat] of God.” (Psalm 1:2, 3) Wisdom means “hatred* of evil, pride and arrogance.” (Proverbs 1:7 & 8:13) “Constancy in the knowledge of the self is wisdom.”—Bhagavat Gita 13:12.

* “hatred” is not in the sense of human emotion. For example God says “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.” (Malachi 1:2,3) Here “love” is used in the sense of choosing, and “hate” in the sense of rejecting. (Romans 9:10-13; compare also Deuteronomy 21:15; Mathew 6:24; 10:37; Luke 14:26. It simply means treating something as less important, as implied by Jesus when he said: “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.—John 12:25.

These verses, put together, give the following characteristics of wisdom:
• living in constant awareness of SOUL-consciousness
• preventing ego (root of which is body-consciousness) from taking precedence in all our actions
• taking delight in application of God’s Shrimat in all aspects of our lives
• avoiding danger/wastage to self and others
• experiencing constant success.

Here noticeable aspect of a wise person is that he acts out of soul-consciousness—God as Supreme Soul, and humans are individual souls—and is ruled by DELIGHT in Shrimat and RECOGNITION of valueless of ego.

This is interesting! Because, if you have delight in God’s Shrimat and recognize the valuelessness of ego, the whole world will prove to be powerless against your will-power to remain pure. Bible reports, in Genesis chapter 39, about an ordinary man, named Joseph, who was employed at the house of the Chief of Pharao’s palace guard in ancient Egyptian Empire. There he was continuously tempted by his master’s wife to commit adultery with her in all secrecy and safety. This was an unusual, tricky situation where his yielding could have brought him promotion and other material benefits, and his refusal would have landed him in great trouble. Yet he flatly refused to commit adultery.

This was a very great act as there was no law given against adultery at that time! [Law against adultery was given centuries later—Exodus 20:14]. Because he was aware of his original qualities, the source of which was his Heavenly Father, about whom he always had a loving remembrance, he discerned rightly that all women are his sisters; and sexual act with his master’s wife would destroy his purity, peace and joy, and more importantly it would hurt his loving Heavenly Father. Thus he CHOSE (or loved) God’s friendship and REJECTED the approval of the temptress and its attendant transient benefits. Though his refusal to commit adultery landed him in temporary trouble, his purity was ultimately paid off—he became the Prime Minister of Egyptian Empire, and he is remembered in history as a diamond against sexual advances. Obviously, one is paid by his work, not for his work.

If you do not keep your delight in God’s Shrimat and recognition of valuelessness of ego constantly burning, even a small, powerless spark is more than enough to bring you down flat, even though you may have all the favorable circumstances not to slip. Typical example is King David, the most brilliant leader of ancient Israel, who also wrote many devotional songs of God which form the part of Bible. David had many “concubines and wives.” (2 Samuel 5:13; 12:7-8, Chronicles 3:1-9; 14:3)

Hence, a sexual temptation, in his case, was out of question. Yet, he arose “one evening” from his bed and saw, from the roof of his palace, wife of his soldier, bathing. Inflamed with passion, he maneuvered matters in such a way that he not only committed adultery with her, but also arranged the murder of her husband, skillfully transferring him to the battlefront, and took her as his wife permanently. (2 Samuel 11) See, one who excelled as a very powerful military leader and king who led many successful conquests of fierce armies, failed miserably in the conquest of his own bodily organs. All because he lost his original delight in God’s Shrimat and ceased to be aware of the valueless of ego, and became fond of sleep even during the day time (which is the sign of him having become tamopradhan).

How fortunate Baba’s children are! They get up very early in the morning, and do what is called Amrit Vela Yoga (Nectar Time Meditation) for about 45 to 60 minutes between 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.—a meaningful and delightful time they engage in a private chit-chat with Shiva Baba, our Heavenly Father. Then they have, among many other programs, daily Murli-class, at 6.30 a.m., in which His Shrimat is explained. Positive / powerful / pure thoughts obtained from Baba’s Murli are the seeds they sow for the day ahead and for an elevated destiny in the Golden Age that is soon to replace the present Iron Age filled with agony and distress.

Remember! When you remember Supreme Soul as your Heavenly Father, and you as His child, you are actually RE-MEMBERING yourself into His family! There is no other act wiser than this, nor more beneficial than this in this short period called Confluence Age!