Why Gyaan Became A Bad Word
By Shephali Bhatt
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From being something sought after to something dispensed freely, but absorbed grudgingly, we trace the journey of gyaan
Teacher's Day almost invari ably makes you think about your favourite mentor-pro tege duo. The one teachertaught relationship I've always admired and somewhat aspired for, is that of Keshav (Lord Krishna) and his Parth (Arjun). As a child, I would religiously watch BR Chopra's Mahabharat and Ramanand Sagar's Shri Krishna every Sunday. In both the series, the segment where Arjun seeks Krishna's guidance to get him on the path of duty, used to be my favourite part.W hen I was in 8th stand a rd, my S a n sk r it te acher pushed me to participate in an annual Gita Shlokochaaran P rat iy og it a (Git a verse recitation competition). I had the most unique version of Gita in town, she'd tell me: a Sanskrit to English translation. That book taught me a lot of new wor d s a nd their essence, and some of life's important lessons.
My most memorable takeaway from the Gita however, was the ethereal visual of Arjun bowing down to Krishna with folded hands, revering him for the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that Krishna imparted to his disciple. And now when I think about that visual visa-vis the times we are in, I thank the lords I haven't seen any troll memes based on it, dissing the concept of giving or receiving gyaan.
Before we conveniently blame the GenY, let's take a moment to fathom just how and why gyaan, that was held sacred once, attained a negative connotation. How did words like `sermon' and `lecture' become weapons of sarcasm? Why did any attempt at giving someone sagely advice start getting rewarded with getting rewarded with “dimaag ka dahi mat kar,“ “pakaa mat,“ and suchlike?
Mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has an explanation: “Knowledge is never given but taken.The student has to actively search for it.“ That makes sense if we were to apply it to KrishnaArjun. The latter sought his gyaan, asked for help so he can do right by his people and principles. But it's not the same with our social-media generation which is exposed to unsolicited advice from know-it-alls everywhere. So, are the self-proclaimed Gurus to be blamed then? Perhaps they have devalued gyaan by freely dispensing it. But Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge, who is often seen sharing pearls of wisdom on his social media account, offers an interesting view on them: “If self-proclaimed gurus don't engage in participative discussions, if they curtail counter views, they will become extinct soon. There is a reason I have never blocked a single person on my social media: I believe knowledge is participative and flour ishes in an environment that encour ages discussion.“ And as Pattanaik highlights, no one knows who really is `qualified' to be called a Guru. “We assume there is an ideal teacher out there,“ he says.
Students face advice overload.
They don't see relevance of knowl edge. Botany is taught without even looking at the tree next to the class room. Is Google the culprit then?
We don't think so. Google is for information. And he himself says that knowledge is not the same as information. “We can share infor mation but knowledge emerges from experience,“ Pattanaik adds. Which is why t here a re sti l l people who look up to others to benefit from their wea lt h of ex perience.Anaggh Desai, founder of AD Consulting, still reaches out to his former col leag ues K i ra n Khalap and Anand Halve for gyaan, he says. And there's not a huge age-gap between them. He just respects their knowledge in certain fields. Interestingly, Desai is a popular Twitterati (@Anaggh) who used to give gyaan to other people as and when they sought it from him, he tells us. Soon, he realised some of the seek ers were just looking for validation, or hoping he would open doors for them using his network. In time, he also saw a lot of people, in an attempt to become the next Suhel Seth, had started spouting oft-repeated things in one panel discussion after anoth er. He has now decided he'd rather retain his gyaan with him than give it away for free, especially in a gyaan cluttered environment.
So, if it's not the Gurus, or Google, then how on earth did the gyaandownfall happen in our minds? Let's just say both of them contributed significantly but didn't cause it all by themselves.
Anand Halve, Desai's mentor and the co-founder of chlorophyll brand consultancy, adds two more to the list of causes: Fundamentally, the teacher used to be a respected entity back in the day. People like Dr S Radhakrishnan (whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India and many other countries) was someone people looked up to. “Now teachers have become service providers. Parents gang up against them should they so much as rebuke their wards.“ There also seems to be a belief that what's being taught to them is adding no value, the teaching is actually of no use. “My generation just studied geography, for example. We never questioned why, what for.“
Is this another one of those millennial generation issues then? Desai agrees. But there's Shah who's 37 (so he doesn't fall into the millennials bracket). He says, “I had no regard for gyaan ever, as even Laws of Physics may get questioned in the future with new learnings. I am very comfortable with the idea of not being sure of several things and not seeking comforting answers for the sake of it.“ Yet, he feels that gyaan, if approached through a participative manner to ignite thought process or give a contrarian point-of-view, will be appreciated in the years to come. At least he's a lot more hopeful compared to some gyaanis we spoke to, who think the only way you can restore gyaan's sanctity is if you believe in the `saviour complex'! Don't know what that means? Google or ask a gyaani baba. Take your pick, help determine the verdict.
shephali.bhatt@timesgroup.com
My most memorable takeaway from the Gita however, was the ethereal visual of Arjun bowing down to Krishna with folded hands, revering him for the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that Krishna imparted to his disciple. And now when I think about that visual visa-vis the times we are in, I thank the lords I haven't seen any troll memes based on it, dissing the concept of giving or receiving gyaan.
Before we conveniently blame the GenY, let's take a moment to fathom just how and why gyaan, that was held sacred once, attained a negative connotation. How did words like `sermon' and `lecture' become weapons of sarcasm? Why did any attempt at giving someone sagely advice start getting rewarded with getting rewarded with “dimaag ka dahi mat kar,“ “pakaa mat,“ and suchlike?
Mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has an explanation: “Knowledge is never given but taken.The student has to actively search for it.“ That makes sense if we were to apply it to KrishnaArjun. The latter sought his gyaan, asked for help so he can do right by his people and principles. But it's not the same with our social-media generation which is exposed to unsolicited advice from know-it-alls everywhere. So, are the self-proclaimed Gurus to be blamed then? Perhaps they have devalued gyaan by freely dispensing it. But Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge, who is often seen sharing pearls of wisdom on his social media account, offers an interesting view on them: “If self-proclaimed gurus don't engage in participative discussions, if they curtail counter views, they will become extinct soon. There is a reason I have never blocked a single person on my social media: I believe knowledge is participative and flour ishes in an environment that encour ages discussion.“ And as Pattanaik highlights, no one knows who really is `qualified' to be called a Guru. “We assume there is an ideal teacher out there,“ he says.
Students face advice overload.
They don't see relevance of knowl edge. Botany is taught without even looking at the tree next to the class room. Is Google the culprit then?
We don't think so. Google is for information. And he himself says that knowledge is not the same as information. “We can share infor mation but knowledge emerges from experience,“ Pattanaik adds. Which is why t here a re sti l l people who look up to others to benefit from their wea lt h of ex perience.Anaggh Desai, founder of AD Consulting, still reaches out to his former col leag ues K i ra n Khalap and Anand Halve for gyaan, he says. And there's not a huge age-gap between them. He just respects their knowledge in certain fields. Interestingly, Desai is a popular Twitterati (@Anaggh) who used to give gyaan to other people as and when they sought it from him, he tells us. Soon, he realised some of the seek ers were just looking for validation, or hoping he would open doors for them using his network. In time, he also saw a lot of people, in an attempt to become the next Suhel Seth, had started spouting oft-repeated things in one panel discussion after anoth er. He has now decided he'd rather retain his gyaan with him than give it away for free, especially in a gyaan cluttered environment.
So, if it's not the Gurus, or Google, then how on earth did the gyaandownfall happen in our minds? Let's just say both of them contributed significantly but didn't cause it all by themselves.
Anand Halve, Desai's mentor and the co-founder of chlorophyll brand consultancy, adds two more to the list of causes: Fundamentally, the teacher used to be a respected entity back in the day. People like Dr S Radhakrishnan (whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India and many other countries) was someone people looked up to. “Now teachers have become service providers. Parents gang up against them should they so much as rebuke their wards.“ There also seems to be a belief that what's being taught to them is adding no value, the teaching is actually of no use. “My generation just studied geography, for example. We never questioned why, what for.“
Is this another one of those millennial generation issues then? Desai agrees. But there's Shah who's 37 (so he doesn't fall into the millennials bracket). He says, “I had no regard for gyaan ever, as even Laws of Physics may get questioned in the future with new learnings. I am very comfortable with the idea of not being sure of several things and not seeking comforting answers for the sake of it.“ Yet, he feels that gyaan, if approached through a participative manner to ignite thought process or give a contrarian point-of-view, will be appreciated in the years to come. At least he's a lot more hopeful compared to some gyaanis we spoke to, who think the only way you can restore gyaan's sanctity is if you believe in the `saviour complex'! Don't know what that means? Google or ask a gyaani baba. Take your pick, help determine the verdict.
shephali.bhatt@timesgroup.com
Source: Economic Times, 7-09-2016
