The Other Omar

He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, is a fool...shun him.
He who knows not, and knows he knows not, is a child...teach him.
He who knows, and knows not he knows, is asleep...wake him.
He who knows, and knows he knows, is wise...follow him

Omar Khayyam, Philosopher


Here is my exposition of the wisdom of Omar Khayyam, the great mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, writer, and a poet from the 11th century Persia, especially applicable in these times of insane rulers and warmongers.

1. Fool. Fools have either been not exposed to the world so they are innocently foolish, like a 3-year old child who burns himself by climbing on to a burning stove, or they are people with petty egos or small selves. Once the small-self shell becomes hard, it is hard to penetrate the shell. Then the small self lives in its own world, and has no clue about what others think of the self or how others think of the world. Most fundamentalists living in different parts of the world from Afghanistan and Iraq, to the deep red states of America, are either innocently foolish and/or are trapped in their small selves. They don't know that they don't know.

2. Child/Student. How does a child/student come to "know" that he does not know? Lets say a child puts his finger on a burning stove, but for some reason the finger either does not burn (the child is gifted), or the finger burns, but the child experiences no pain (e.g., some problems with nerves). In either case, the child does not learn that a burning stove can hurt. The child does not know that he "does not know." But if the child had experienced some pain, he would have come to know that his knowledge of burning stoves was incorrect. So life is a great teacher and experiencing life in a normal manner allows one to become a student, both humble and aware. But what if one could not experience life in a normal manner? What if one grew up like George W., and didn’t have to pay for the mistakes made in one's younger years? Then one would lose the opportunity to transform oneself from a fool to a student.

3. Asleep. As a student, one accumulates much knowledge. But now the danger is that one may fall asleep with that knowledge. One may no longer remember that one knows. This happens to people, who after graduating from school don't use much of what they learnt. One has to actively apply one's knowledge either consciously or subconsciously to not fall asleep. Also, some basic instinctual knowledge is simply wired in our brains, but still some encouragement is needed for its fuller development. One may also be born with some innate talents, but restrictive economic/political systems, authoritarian upbringing etc., can prevent these talents from coming out. In this respect, the free market system in America with much focus on individual freedom allows the talents of some of the population to be realized. There are many talented people "asleep" in other nations ravaged by war, poverty, dictatorships, communism, and other authoritarian regimes. We need to have a foreign policy that empowers the moderates around the world including in nations like Cuba and North Korea for these talented people to wake up. That is our biggest hope for transforming these nations from the inside, like we transformed China with Nixon's policies.

Finally, many accomplished people in science, business, media, and politics tend to fall asleep. For example, many reporters and editors of the mainstream media are simply asleep. They learnt a lot in their schools, but have satisfied themselves by reporting and writing just to make money without going after the most accurate and important stories, which require much effort and integrity. Similarly, many orthodox medical practitioners (not the researchers) are asleep. Doctors hardly read new research on a regular basis and often prescribe "new" drugs based on the sales pitch of the pharma representatives. Then, after side effects or injuries are revealed, they switch to prescribing the next brand of profitable/patentable drugs.

4. Wise. Few in this world are wise. One has to go through all other stages of being a fool, a student, asleep, and perhaps then wisdom dawns. Being wise is a continuous process, one has to be continuously aware of the whole process of life. Simply playing out one's small self-drama does not allow one to be wise. Having intense awareness about life at many levels, both from within and without, allows one to be wise. And, its not just the awareness about the observed world, but also the observation of the "observer," that allows wisdom to get rooted. And, much wisdom simply comes from experience, and making peace with one's own life. Interestingly, many fools think that they are wise. This is because when you do not know that you do not know, then it is much easier to fall in the trap of thinking that you know that you know.