{"id":4326,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:13","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4326"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:13","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:13","slug":"27-apendix-the-conquest-of-knowledge-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02\/27-apendix-the-conquest-of-knowledge-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-27_Apendix _The Conquest of Knowledge.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\nThirteen <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe Conquest of Knowledge <\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n              T<\/font><\/span>he great Rishi, Bhrigu<\/span>, shining in splendour<\/span>, sat on the summit of <\/span>
\nMount<\/span> <\/span>Kailas<\/span><\/span>, and Bharadwadja<\/span>
\nquestioned him: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWho made the world? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>How
\nwide is the sky? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Who
\ngave birth to water? To fire? To the wind? To the earth? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What is life? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What is good? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What is there beyond the world?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nso on. Great were the questions and great must be the Rishi who could answer
\nthem all! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nBharadwaja’s<\/span> mind was the mind of a man who asks and
\nasks ever and again, and never knows enough. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nchild is the supreme questioner, he is always asking, \u201cWhat is this? What is
\nthat? How is it made? What makes this thing move? What makes the lightning
\nflash? Why are there tides? Where does gold come from? And coal? And iron? How
\nis a book printed?..\u201d And many more questions besides. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Both children and men ask questions. They also
\nreply. When we know something, we can answer questions. We can teach, we can
\nspread knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What shall we learn? What shall we teach?
\nShall we try to learn everything that has happened throughout the ages? Shall
\nwe attempt to learn every word that man can pronounce? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In
\nthe poem of the Mahabharata, the following words are used to describe the
\nvarious kinds of arrows shot by the Pandava<\/span> brothers
\nand other warriors: sara<\/span>, ishu<\/span>,
\nsayaka<\/span>, patri<\/span>, kanda<\/span>, vishikha<\/span>, naracha<\/span>, vishatha<\/span>, prushatka<\/span>, bhalla<\/span>, tomara<\/span>, ishika<\/span>, silimukha<\/span>, anjalika<\/span>. We certainly
\ndo not need to learn all these names for arrows. And there are many other names
\nof things <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Page – 243<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

that we do not need to learn. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>We
\nspeak of the news: we think of shipwrecks, murders, robberies, quarrels,
\nlawsuits, wars, fires, concerts, weddings, funerals and thousands of other
\nthings that we read of in a few minutes and forget about immediately
\nafterwards. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>We
\nopen the Koran and at the head of the chapters of this sacred book we read the
\nword \u201cNews\u201d and immediately we think of shipwrecks, murders\u2026 but wait! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nProphet Mohammed was neither a frivolous person who took pleasure in news of
\nevil deeds nor a gossip who taught nothing noble. Let us read the beginning of
\nthe chapter on \u201cNews\u201d: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the
\nMerciful. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Of what are they speaking together? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Of the great news. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Are they disputing about it? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>No, but they wish to know. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Surely, they will know. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHave we not made the earth as a bed? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And the mountains as tent-pegs? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Were you not created in pairs? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And have we not made you sleep for your rest?
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And made the night for a mantle? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And the day to earn your bread? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And built above you the seven firmaments? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And set there a burning light? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And made showers of water fall from the
\nbrimming clouds <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>To bring forth grain and herb everywhere <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>And gardens thick with trees?\u201d <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Thus the Prophet kindled hope in the hearts
\nand minds of men and made them think of greater things, things that have a
\nlasting beauty, things that teach man how noble is the world of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>So
\nwe agree that there are words and things and certain <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Page – 244<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

kinds of news that are not worth hearing and repeating. But other
\nthings, on the contrary, are worth hearing and repeating, even though it may
\ncost us much time, trouble and effort to find them out. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Man’s power lies within his thought. The
\nlimbs, the hands that are so skilful, are the slaves of his thought which
\ndecides and directs. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nsince the human race first dwelt on earth, how great have been man’s conquests
\nover Nature! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>We
\ncan see this power pictured in the tale of Rama’s<\/span>
\ncrossing over the sea. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When he reached the shores of <\/span>India<\/span>, and learned that his dear wife Sita was
\na captive in the <\/span>island<\/span> of <\/span>Ceylon<\/span>, he prepared to cross the waters. Vast was his army, but it was
\nmade up of monkeys and bears. How could they cross the turbulent waters? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rama’s<\/span> intelligence was profound, his sagacity keen and his
\nheart full of courage. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>First he spoke gently to the old Ocean and
\nsaid: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Great<\/span> <\/span>Sea<\/span>, I beseech you, let my army pass.\u201d But
\nafter he had waited three days, there was still no reply from the waves. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then Rama called his brother: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cLakshman, bring me my bow and arrows. I have
\nwasted my words on this sea, just as a man wastes good seeds by sowing them in
\nsand.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rama, the divine hero, shot an arrow into the
\ndeep waters and the shaft gave a fiery pain to the ocean, and all the fish were
\nfull of fear. Then the spirit of the ocean took the form of a Brahmin who knelt
\nbefore the Lord with a golden dish full of jewels as an offering. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nOcean clasped the lotus-feet of Rama and said: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGreat Lord, forgive my sin. I am like my kin
\nof the air, the earth and the fire. They are heavy and slow and so accustomed
\nto power that they do not answer the call of a Lord like you. No hero before
\nyou has ever made me obey his will. In <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Page – 245<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

you I see my master. Do what seems good to you.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Lord Rama smiled: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cTell me,\u201d he said, \u201chow my army may cross
\nover your realm of waves and storms.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cMy
\nwaters,\u201d said the sea, \u201cwill bear on their breast the rocks which your soldiers
\nwill throw on them and in that way a bridge will be built between <\/span>India<\/span> and Lanka.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rama turned to his army: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cLet the bridge be built,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGlory to Rama,\u201d shouted all the warriors. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>They uprooted trees and rocks and even great
\ncliffs, and brought them to the two master-builders, Nala<\/span>
\nand Nila<\/span>. And Nala<\/span> and Nila<\/span> fastened the wood and stone together so that
\neverything floated firmly on the surface of the sea. Then the army marched
\nacross it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rama sat on a <\/span>mountain<\/span> of <\/span>India<\/span> and watched the countless troops moving
\nacross the bridge. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Just as Rama forced the spirit of the ocean to
\nobey him, so does man’s thought, the glory of humanity, conquer the sea, and
\nmany other things besides. Man masters the wind, since he makes it blow his
\nsailing ships and turn his windmills. He conquers the ice and the snow, for
\nexplorers have travelled<\/span> to the frozen lands of the
\nNorth Pole and the South Pole and have climbed the highest mountains. He
\nconquers the beasts, for all over the world he slays the animals that are a
\ndanger to him and his family: lions, tigers, wolves, snakes and even sharks.
\nAlthough he has less power over the great ocean, he has made his strength felt
\non land. And while he has rid himself of the animals that are harmful to him,
\nhe has kept and bred the animals that are useful to him: the ox, the horse, the
\nsheep, the \u2026 elephant, etc.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nall this is the conquest of things by his hands and by his tools and weapons.
\nAnd hands and tools and weapons are the servants of his thought. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Man
\nconquers by knowledge. And he conquers knowledge: <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Page – 246<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

he asks and asks again and again, and perseveres until he really
\nknows. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Some men of whom history tells are known as
\nconquerors: Alexander the Great who conquered <\/span>Western Asia<\/span> and <\/span>Egypt<\/span>, Julius Caesar who conquered <\/span>France<\/span> and <\/span>England<\/span>, the emperor Baber<\/span>
\nwho conquered the North of India, Napoleon who became for a time the master of <\/span>Europe<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nthere are other ways of being a conqueror. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You
\nalso can be a conqueror. There are things in the world which need to be known
\nand learnt. Ask, seek, learn and conquer. Then you can call yourself a
\nconqueror. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 247<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thirteen   The Conquest of Knowledge                 The great Rishi, Bhrigu, shining in splendour, sat on the summit of Mount Kailas, and Bharadwadja questioned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","wpcat-123-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}