Wisdom For The Future

Sitting in the dimmed hall of the RUB in lower Motithang, Thimphu, I looked at the beautifully crafted presentation banner with quizzical eyes…. thinking ….. really???

Inaugural JSW School of Law Lecture Series: "Wisdom for the Future"

What of the WISDOM of, and for, the PRESENT? Whichever way one looks at it, it becomes clear that the wisdom one learns, or do not learn, in the present will most likely mold an individual’s outlook and character or, influence events of the future.

When I was told by one of the country’s Prime Ministers that this generation of Bhutanese should empathize with the government for usurping their present because the government is planning for their future, I responded by saying that what is the use of the future when the citizens are all dead in the present?

But by lunch time I was convinced that the attempt being made by the JSW School of Law was something that is needed and perhaps, even - timely.

There was clarity and conviction when the speaker – Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi – said at one point:

“The first steps to securing the future begins with wisdom of the present”.

I loved it!

Over dinner in the evening of the same day – I continued to listen to him and of his indomitable courage that he exhibited throughout his momentous life. One other important lesson I learnt from him was, something to the effect that:

There may be people who, in an effort to hide their own failings, will attempt to subjugate you and your spirit through subversion and sabotage – but it is important to remain firm and unwavering to your cause – which, in most part, he convinced me - is the freedom empowered by wisdom.

My Tohfa of my Coffee Table book on the wild birds of Bhutan - to an immensely gifted person of global fame

And yet, in spite of being richer, wealthier, more informed, and more knowledgeable, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi nonetheless acknowledged that the world has never been so broken and divided, and shorn of value and ethics and morality, as it is today.

Meaning that humanity has never been at a greater risk of doom than it is now - caused by our trust in human beings!