Knowledge Sharing: The Real Panacea

Of all virtues that humans have invented by themselves to advance the human race, sharing of knowledge beats all other virtues hands down, if juxtaposed. It won’t be an exaggeration to state that while the innocuous concept of knowledge sharing has for too long been deliberately neglected and undermined by the nefarious of the lot; but for the generosity and altruism of some noble souls; humans have been able to continue their march undeterred.

I consider knowledge a commodity that will never go out of demand. The principle of demand-supply and vice versa does not hold true when it comes to knowledge sharing. Sharing of knowledge is more than a prerogative for the knowledge bearer; it is a moral responsibility that each one of us should undertake to fulfill, as a tribute to the source of our knowledge. We should look beyond the mercenary reasons for which some of us might have started to seek knowledge—to advance our social standing, our careers and to fulfill our selfish desires.

In an attempt to expound the ever-important-but-hopelessly-abandoned concept of knowledge sharing—through my anti-myopic thoughts that I have gathered in my lifetime—I have come up with the following nuggets about the topic at hand. Though my observations might appear as specks in the vast free-floating sea of information that is available on literally all topics today, I have tried to bring home the veracity of the hypothesis that has been stated in the very first line of this article.

Share your knowledge – the more you share, the more you grow

I have always believed more in the intangible than in the tangible. Knowledge is one intangible asset that the Almighty has bestowed upon the true seeker and believer of knowledge. We hurriedly run behind the palpable materialistic gains all our lives, only to understand the frugality of the purpose in the end. The virtue of sharing what we have with others does not even cross our minds during that childish marathon. We need to understand that sharing our knowledge with others will serve a much larger purpose. It will not only enlighten the recipients, but will also do a world of good to us. Sharing one’s knowledge will multiply it manifold, more than our wildest imagination. Sharing will give our knowledge many dimensions previously unheard of. In the process of sharing our knowledge, we will end up gathering more in return, making ourselves more knowledgeable. Knowledge is one of those rare commodities that multiply when divided.

Share your knowledge – it perishes if not shared

It is a rule of nature that we need to put to use what we have; otherwise our assets atrophy. Keeping our knowledge with ourselves will not add to it. Knowledge was created for the purpose of being distributed, unhindered and abundantly. We need to keep on adding to our existing knowledge in order to be relevant in today’s time. We cannot gain knowledge if someone does not share it with us. It’s the give-and-take attitude that is required to acquire more knowledge. Merely wanting more will yield nothing. The process starts with giving first. Give whatever knowledge you have to the seeker. In this process, your knowledge will get refreshed and you will be rewarded with more knowledge from others.

Share your knowledge – it makes immortals out of mortals

We all want to succeed. But Real success comes to those who acquire knowledge to innovate and then propagate their knowledge to humanity. We have numerous examples of great people who were common folks when they started on their journey to seek knowledge to share it with their brethren. Their heartfelt desires to succeed were granted because the purpose was pure. Imagine a world without Edison, Newton, Galileo, Darwin, Einstein, and Louis Pasteur, to name a few. These people have changed the face of humanity through their knowledge. Had these great souls not propagated the knowledge they acquired, the world that we call advanced today would not have been even a fraction of what it is. These people will forever live in the hearts of billions of people of all generations because they acquired the highest level of knowledge and shared it with all.

Share your knowledge – remember your teachers

We have a tendency to err and not acknowledge our errors. We comfortably forget the teachings of our teachers in pursuit of supposedly greener pastures. We also tend to forget the real first source of our knowledge. What we actually forget is the fact that our current cozy lives are all thanks to the knowledge shared by our teachers during our formative years. When we are young, we lap up the wisdom provided by our mentors. When it’s our turn to play mentors, some of us shy away from our responsibilities. All civilizations on our planet believe in sharing. The noble teacher-student relationship is based on the premise that what we receive today from our teacher, we share it later with others who seek it from us. We cannot in any other way repay the debt of our teachers, but by propagating the light of the knowledge they shared with us.

Share your knowledge – drive away the darkness of ignorance

Man is a social animal; or so we learnt at school. The transformation of a creature from an animal to a civilized social animal is no easy task. In our case, sharing of knowledge played a pivotal role in this metamorphosis. It has been a long journey for humanity to come out of the dark abyss of ignorance. Thanks to the efforts of some great human beings, we call ourselves civilized. But the work is not completely over. Even today, we come across individuals who are ignorant about the basic principles and tenets of life on which the pillar of our existence stands, among many other things. All of us should vow to know more, share more, and change the lives of the ignorant. Together we can share a whole lot of knowledge, which can make an enormous impact.

The light of knowledge, if shared generously, turns supposedly opaque minds into transparent ones, paving the way toward brilliance. Knowledge is known to transcend all boundaries, natural and man-made. Let us borrow this reputation, live up to it, and vow to make a real difference!