I came upon five quarreling savants in heaven one day. All of them desired to read a particular book, that was written by a forgotten sage aeons ago. They believed that the book would bestow Divine Wisdom on them.
‘Why do you quarrel?’ I inquired. ‘You could all read it one after the other.’
‘You do not understand. Whoever reads it today shall attain wisdom. The words on these pages shall vanish when midnight strikes. There is not Time enough for five of us to read it sequentially.’ The oldest answered.
‘You could share it and read it together, then, or one could read aloud and the others could listen. All shall benefit this way.’ I replied.
‘Do not meddle in such matters that you do not understand.’ One of them replied angrily.
At length, they came to a decision: each was to have two chapters. All would achieve equal Wisdom this way, since the ten chapters in the bookwould be equally divided among the five savants.
Midnight came, and the words vanished from the book. They proclaimed that they had become wise. Then, they held counsels to determine the message that they would pass on to their people. The quarrels started again. Each disagreed with the others.
I listened to their words closely. Each quoted different inferences obtained from the two chapters that he had read. Their Wisdoms were contradictory. Each had a different opinion of the Truth.
* * *
I traveled further, and witnessed a similar scene years later on planet Earth. I saw that men had divided up the land into pieces, which were called nations.
‘Why divide the Earth, when you can all live together?’ I asked someone.
‘The Earth was made to inhabited by humans, but it is not immortal. It shall be destroyed one day, and the day is not far now. Wise men have fought over the issue of who should inhabit the Earth till doomsday.’
‘And what did they decide?’ I inquired eagerly.
‘They decided that for the good of all, the Earth should be split up, and every group shall have a part of it to live in. Thus, the groups shall be distinguished from one another, and rule their own lands. This way, all shall live, and shall have their own part of the Divine Gift.’
* * *
Years later, I met the sage who wrote the book that the five men were quarreling for. I told him about my journey and the events that I had witnessed in my travels.
‘What is the reason behind this foolishness of men, O Wise One? What wisdom do they require?’ I asked.
‘They require the same wisdom that they already possess, but choose to ignore. Just as men cannot achieve knowledge by reading a chapter of a book or by dividing the book among themselves, they cannot live on the Earth in peace if they divide it. It is meant to be shared by them.
‘That book cannot be torn and read, for individual chapters do not offer wisdom. That way, no one would understand the Divine Wisdom. The book is meant to be read as whole. Similarly, the Earth cannot be split into pieces. That way, no one would experience the joy of having the Divine Gift. It was intended to remain as one single planet, not many small nations.’
And, as I contemplated his words, he vanished.
* * *
