Where Did All The Wisdom Go? Long Time Passing …

We can spend hundreds of billions of dollars looking for answers and solutions to life’s ills and yet never find them. Even the scholars, lawyers, politicians, and economists consume countless hours pouring over documents and only find they are no closer to the answers than when they started. A scientist with a head full of knowledge about a subject can be totally wrong – so say other scientists.

Mind viruses or "memes" control entire cultures and create a form of insanity that possesses the spirit of people so strongly that they can devote their life to the destruction of other people.

Evidence shows that those “who should know,” wring their hands and worry that “something awful is going to happen” and they don’t know what to do about it. …

When I was in college, one of my friends professed what he thought, was “a profound and safe way to progress through life.” He said, “I look to the majority of the evangelists. What they believe and teach I consider the truth.” He was speaking about the popular evangelists of that time – including TV, radio and traveling preachers.

I asked him, “What if you found the majority wrong?”

He replied, “Not possible.”

"But," I told him, "Did not Jesus prophesy exactly that, when he said, ‘Many will come in that day and proclaim that I am the Christ, and will deceive the masses’ ?"

Some authors claim that the religions of this world base their teachings upon “the ratio of good things to bad things.” But one major bad idea destroys an entire harvest of good ones, does it not? How does one tell a good belief from a bad one? Does not evidence show that one defends his bad beliefs with the same devotion he does his good beliefs?

Psychologists tell us that people, religious or not, consider everything they believe as good; that we must maintain a psychological consistency within our thoughts; otherwise, we would go mad.

Those not sure about anything often fall prey to others who make promises to tell them – as long as they join the other’s group.

Where is Wisdom?

Dictionaries define wisdom as “knowledge,” “common sense,” or even as the “generally accepted beliefs.” These definitions are “memes” or "mind viruses" — thoughts that spread through populations from mouth to mouth like a virus. None of these are really wise, are they?

They also define wisdom as “the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships.” 

This is close to the spiritual understanding of “wisdom,” which is “authority from inside or from the heart.” From this comes the word “thirst” which is a deep “inside desire for water.” And the attainment of “wisdom” is considered a “thirst quenching” experience.

Do the leaders of the world need more “knowledge” or “common sense” or action based upon “generally accepted beliefs.” Hardly. Catering to the consensus has always brought trouble and compromise, has it not?

Was the melt-down and bail-out of the American financial companies the result of “wisdom” or the lack thereof?

Borrowers and lenders failed to use wisdom in their dealings and this led to the crises of 2008. Even the SEC packaged up bad loans, where too much money was lent to too many people to buy houses that were overpriced, and these trash loans were sold to the investment bankers and other financial institutions. Then when homeowners and lenders found that they could not unload the trash notes, the value of their assets plunged below the value of the notes attached to them. Where was “wisdom?”

The strange part about it was that bankers and thrift managers did not see the “writing on the wall.” They continued to push below-prime notes to people who couldn’t pay them. When my wife and I saw that the variable rate interest started ratcheting up, we  immediately refinanced to a fixed rate. But to do so we had to fight off the bankers, and send back their contracts for variable rate notes that went from fixed for a few years and then to variable. Yikes! By applying pressure through our mortgage broker, we told lenders that we wanted nothing to do with variable rates of any kind, and we did not want any equity taken out of our home. We kept the loan-to-value less than 50% of the lending value at that time. Why? Because home prices had become unreasonable! The writing was on the wall, but they couldn’t read it.

As far as the lenders were concerned, we were acting like “mavericks.” And more than once, I received stern lectures from lenders that we were doing “the wrong thing. “

Lack of Wisdom is Pandemic!

The world is being attacked by problems so complex that even the “experts” can’t figure out how to steer a way through the storm and the rocks.

But this is not new, is it?

From ancient times the world under the leadership of unwise rulers failed in every age and among all people, to bring prosperity, health, peace, and well-being to the nations. Greed, fear-mongering, the lust for power and control, oppression, and immorality in both leaders and the led has brought deep troubles, great problems, and death.

It is not new, but because of the great population of the earth now, the effects of lack of wisdom is bringing about deadly results.

The world is heading toward more and greater problems, and we don’t see it, do we?

The recent years have proven to be very expensive for the nations around the world. The global impact of unwise leadership in the face of major natural disasters is immense.

People all over the globe are beginning to cry, "No way out! No way out!" like Bloom cried out in "The Producers."

Is There a Way Out?

There is but only a few will find it.

Why?

Because it requires the willingness to divorce ourselves from the status quo, from the way “we have always done it,”  from petty agendas, and from the lust for personal gain and power.

We have to stop doing the "usual," the "common," and the "expected." Then we must hunger and thirst for what will work.

But will we do this?

Some will.

But most will not because they really don’t know how or don’t want to "go through the trouble." They are "wise" in their own eyes, so what need to they have?

It is not my desire to try to push some particular religion or political solution, because the solutions that come from the Source of Wisdom, are now and always have been available to those who have been gifted with the responsibility to lead.

This short quote, noted in an earlier post, contains some “wisdom” that we need at this time:

The illumined sages say knowledge is twofold, higher and lower. The study of the Vedas, linguistics, rituals, astronomy, and all the arts can be called lower knowledge.

The higher is that which leads to Self realization. The rituals and sacrifices found in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge.

Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of Samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of Samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men proud of their vain learning go round and round, like the blind led by the blind. Living in darkness, immature, unaware of any higher good or goal, they fall again and again into the sea.

But those who are pure in heart, who practice meditation and conquer their senses and passions, shall attain the immortal Self, source of all Light and source of all Life. Mundara Upanishad, part 1, chapters 1,2.

This points to a key, a hidden secret known only to a few down through the ages, and only to those who have attached themselves to an "inside" Source of Wisdom.

Here is another bit of wisdom and understanding:

President Ronald Reagan made a remarkable statement in his inaugural address on January 20, 1981:

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one am
ong us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?

But only those who have attached themselves to the Source of Wisdom and drink from its many fountains will really have the capability of governing themselves. Where are those among us who can and do have the wisdom this requires? They seem to be missing among those elected to office or hired to run corporations.

This has nothing to do with religion or politics, does it? This is what both religious leaders and politicians do not want us to know. There is a Source of help, if we seek it out.  But who among us has the courage to do this?

If you make your ear attentive to wisdom and your mind open to discernment, if you call to understanding and cry aloud to discernment, if you seek it as you do silver and search for it as for treasures, then you will understand the fear of Yahua and attain knowledge of Elohim For Yahua grants wisdom; knowledge and discernment are by His decree. Proverbs 2:2-6

From the time we were born until the time we die, the whole purpose of our life has been to obtain wisdom. But we have allowed external forces to afflict us and keep us from the truth. Now we are paying the price of our own folly.

Wisdom raises her sons to greatness and cares for those who seek her. To love her is to love life; to rise early for her sake is to be filled with joy. The man who attains her will win recognition; Yahua’s blessing rests upon every place she enters.

To serve her is to serve the Holy One, and Yahua loves those who love her. Her dutiful servant will give laws to the unbelievers, and because he listens to her voice, his home will be secure. If he trusts her, he will possess her and bequeath her to his descendants.

At first she will lead him by devious ways [from his point of view], filling him with craven fears. Her discipline will be a torment to him, and her decree a hard test until he trusts her with all his heart [or until she can trust him]. Then she will come straight back to him again and gladden him, and reveal her secrets to him.

But if he strays from her, she will desert him and abandon him to his fate. From Ecclesiasticus 4.

…
“When will they ever learn?”
“When will they ever learn?”