One day a scientist walked
along a lonely path, feeling dejected. A rough looking old man with unkempt
beard was sitting under a tree. The scientist threw his wallet down and the
wallet fell at the feet of the old man.
The ole man, who was sitting
with his eyes closed began talking slowly.
“What is the hurt that you
carry, young man?” he asked the scientist.
The scientist was surprised and
halted in his track. “How do you know that I am hurt?” he asked.
The old man chuckled mildly and
gestured the young man to sit beside him.
“I am not sure how much you
understand, but my project has been rejected. I wanted to implement it for the
benefit of the society, but there is a lot of internal politics and good
intentions are thwarted for the benefit of a few”, said the scientist to the
old man.
The old man thought for some
time before answering the scientists. Years of struggle with life had hardened
the old man visibly. But as he spoke, a deep sense of wisdom slowly made its
way through his words.
“Since you are a scientist you
must be aware of the way a crystal is formed” he began.
The scientist nodded his head
and asked the old man to continue.
“Even a tiny piece of dirt when
tied to a string and dipped in a saturated solution will start forming a
crystal. Correct me if I am wrong” said the old man to the scientist.
 | ||||||||||||
| Beautiful crystal like ingenious ideas are formed when the condition is conducive..... |
“When there is a need for the
good you propose even the smallest speck will turn your individual intelligence
into collective wisdom” said the old man.
It was now the turn of the
scientist to ponder over the old man’s words. “Do you mean that my proposal is
no good?” he asked.
“I am merely stating that there
is no good or bad. If a majority require something it becomes good, until then
it is a seed. You have sowed the seed. When the environment is conducive your
idea will germinate. All I am asking you to do is to be patient” said the grey
haired man.
“How long must I wait?” asked
the young scientist, his grey cells refusing to be patient!
“I do not know. I do not know
why you need to know? You are an intelligent man. Your duty is to propose ideas
that are generated by your grey cells and record them somewhere. It is not
within your might to implement it. Implementation requires a light called
collective wisdom, which should be guided by leadership” said the old man, his
voice sounding firm and kind.
“For a crystal to grow, both
nucleation and supersaturating are required. It signifies the conglomeration of
the favourable conditions, the right ingredients, suitable time and appropriate
place. If you don’t throw away your work, the way you threw your wallet, the
rest of the forces will fall in place one after the other”, the old man said
with a naughty smile!
He handed the wallet back to
the young scientist who did not know how to thank the old man.
As the scientist was leaving
the old man mumbled something.
“He who knows not and knows not
that he knows not is a fool, shun him.
He who knows not and knows that
he knows not is ignorant, teach him.
He who knows and knows not that
he knows is in the dark, enlighten him.
He who knows and knows that he
knows is a leader, follow him!”
“So who am I now?” asked the
scientist, the naughty smile having traded places.
“Leader” said the old man
softly!
Image belongs to:http://goo.gl/ChZkaL
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