Pukar Dhital
To the apparent readers who have just read the title, you might be wondering if it is the same beautiful story by the renowned author William Somerset Maugham. Well, in that case, allow me to dishearten you by saying, “No it’s not!” When I first read this story during my college days, I did not understand it or let us say I could not connect it! Well, to know the plot line alone is not quite understanding any story, unless we could connect the story or reflect on its theme. The story undoubtedly is beautiful but it became more relevant to me as life guided me ahead and indeed,when I myself came across such people who represent theprincipal character like Max Kelada from Maugham’s story, ‘Mr. Know All.’ Do not be mistaken again, Mr. Know All in Maugham’s story turns out to be a man of sense and principled though as per the author he was voluble. However, Mr. Know All, I am about to mention here are rather different. They are someone who are full of themselves. They are the self-declared geniuses who are so high in profanity that I am afraid if allowed they would one day declare themselves the next evolved form after Homo Sapiens!
Thanks to Mr. Maugham, that a tinge of his story’s influence must have remained in me that today I thought of sharing my deeper introspection. To begin with, one of the distinct traits of Mr. Know All is that they are loquacious and often end the last sentence of their incessant long talk with their names in it, in a manner that they craftily keep their name ahead of others and repeating their most commonly used pronoun, “ I”; their favourite! For instance, the dedication of the team or the principle of esprit de corps is something alien to these categories of people who consider it their inalienable right to believe they are the all achievers, and the rest are non-existent. To give ideas to such people would be a folly for your ideas are not meant to be listened to because if they do; they consider it their weakness,for Mr. Know All should not be welcoming to new ideas. If the ideas are really a good one; trust me not only does your opinion gets modified it also takes time to ripe! Let me clarify again; Let us assume in this case you are a supervisor in a jeans company. As you realize because of the competition your products are not quite getting on top of consumers’ mind. You come up with a brilliant idea of offering the celebrities to wear your products in movies and serials! As a genuine employee, you report it to your manager. By chance, it so happened that he is one of the Mr. Know All, I am writing about! So what happens next? Your idea is perceived, well listened to and you get a solemn reply, “Seems good but there are a lot of strategic variablesto consider! It is not that easy as you say it. There are lots of homework to be done. Let me think over it.” Days pass by and before you know it, celebrities are wearing the jeans in serials and movies and in the subsequent official meeting, you get to hear, “I had a hard time convincing the upper management why this marketing strategy will boost our sales! Had I not convinced them with my clever orating and statistical figures, we would not have gained seventy percent increase in our sales last month!” He goes on and there you are dumbfounded, speechless, helpless and tragically demotivated! Well, if you are the one who could dareto stare at him with an angry look, he might end up saying, “ Well a bit of help came from Mr/Ms…but then I had to take a lot of risk making this decision.” By the time the meeting ends, you see your colleagues congratulating the manager wearing a fake smile; quite distinct and you stand there helpless and perhaps still clapping ironically! Does it somewhat sound familiar? Has this happened to you? I bet there are many helpless geniuses out there who are caught up with Mr. Know All like in this example.
Reminds of me of the book. ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which is one of my favourites. Reason—because the book is full of characters, whofill up our Dear Earth and the author could not have missed writing about the conceited man! To define a conceited man, Exupéry writes, “But the conceited man did not hear him. Conceited people never hear anything but praise.” In my observation, I have sometimes come across people who are a step ahead than just being conceited! They take it to the next level. On one hand, I recall Sir Isaac Newton’s quote, “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”Anecdotes, Observations and Characters, of Books and Men (1820). On the other hand, I have Mr. Know All blinded by their sheer profanity quote, “Anything I do not know is not worth knowing or sometimes flinging quotes or principles in the most unfavorable and irrelevant situation or talk.” Or maybe I am too dumb or dim-witted to understand the ingenuities of Mr. Know All! There are interesting arguments and counter arguments to read in science, philosophy or literature but one should spare some time to sit in a café or a local teashop for a tea or coffee. The best is always the bar and it is in these hot spots where you get to hear interminable arguments spoken with great confidence rebutting from Plato to Obama, Christ to Buddha, Archimedes to Einstein. One would feel great minds are conceived in these places. I, however, with a bit of human logic believe great minds are born in secret contemplations of an individual of which the world is oblivion. Nevertheless, Mr. Know All, would not care, they are busy glorifying their achievements and rebutting every wise men who have contributed immeasurably for the betterment of the humankind.
We cannot really comprehend anything unless we have a first-hand experience of it. It must have been the wisdom of Lekhnath Poudel through his life experience that he writes beautifully in a poem, ‘Naitik Dristanta’
Badale je garyo kama hunchha tyo sarva-sammata
Chhaina Shakara ko nanga, magnate bhesha nindita
Whatever deeds performed by the great is accepted unanimouslyFor the naked and ragged clothes of Shiva is not condemned!
Work proves the craftsman. The work of Shiva to his disciples, followers is unsurmountable. Indeed those who revere Shiva are least bothered by what he wears. Shiva is too inaccessible and ineffable. Let us come to humans. Not necessarily, one has to wear ragged clothes to say aloud one’s ingenuity. But then there are some Mr. Know All, who proclaim aloud they have surpassed the need to pay attention to what they wear! To earn it from people is quite a reward but to self-declare, now is not that something that stings right in the eardrum. It’s painful than getting stung by a hornet but one shouldn’t argue with Mr. Know All for it is never to anyone’s benefit to fall in fallacious interminable arguments and especially if it is with Mr. Know All!
The wise Lekhnath Poudel proceeds further in his poem.
Chhoto badhyo bhane jyada furti dhancha badhauchha
Urlando khahare hera katiko gadgadauchha
When someone insignificant rises so do his profanity and dispositionObserve the brook downhill how much it burbles.
Is it not a wonderful thing to be praised by others than be loud mouthed and acclaim one’s achievement? However,that is something Mr. Know All cannot comply to! To be acclaimed by others need time and perhaps a great deal of patience, Mr. Know All do not have these qualities. They have to let everyone know in what short time they have risen. What has Mr. Know All achieved then if in rising they forget humility? What have they earned for when they boast it pricks other’s ears?
The sagacious LekhnathPoudel must have known what it is like to be a genuine Mr. Know All! He had known how one can truly benefit being in company of such Mr. Know All. So he writes:
Upakari guni vyakti nihurinchha nirantara
Phaleko brikshako hango najhukeko kaha chha ra
Benevolent and ethical man curtsies relentlessly For where can a branch that bears fruits not plummet?
The real Mr. Know All are always generous and humble and like Shakespeare had said, “Have more than you show, speak less than you know.” The problem is the real Mr. Know All have become rare of the rarest. Not that they do not exist! They are around us, trust this writer, I have encountered several! The problem is the world has become too noisy, thanks to the imposters Mr. Know All. But if we look around and ignore these self-declaring loud-mouthed boasters of all time, we will be in a pleasant and fruition company of serene and wise men and who would not like to be in such company? Only if we could separate the chaff from the wheat, shall we realize the world is full of real geniuses, real Mr. Know All and much important we shall greatly be benefited by the wisdom of such men. An example of such men and the man we should try to become can be found in one of the poems of the great poet Rudyard Kipling, “IF”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings –nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distant run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
So let us proceed to be a man of wisdom and humility and be sure that you are not in the grasp of the false and profane Mr. Know All!
[A teacher of English literature for the past eight years, Pukar Dhital is a student of philosophy, literature and international affairs. An avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, he writes in various genres as a freelancer and profoundly adheres to the principal of independent self and lifelong learning.]