अनभ्यासे विषं विद्या
Anabhyaase Visham Vidya
English
Without practice (Abhyaas), knowledge (vidya) becomes like a poison.
Meaning
One needs to apply the knowledge and learn from experience. Purely theoretical knowledge turns stagnant and can actually cause harm.
Here is a story to illustrate this sukti.
The story of the two astrologers
Once, 2 disciples finished their education and started for home with the blessings of their teacher. They were both very learned.
On the way, they came to a village fair. They met an old woman who was very sad. They asked her the reason, and she told them that her son, who left over an year ago to earn his living, had neither written nor returned. She was worried for him.
The first disciple read the Janma patrika of the son and said, “Your son will not return in the same form as he went. I’m sorry, but your son is no more.”
The second young man, however, interrupted immediately, read the janma patrika and said, “Mother, your son has married in the distant land and brings your daughter in law home. Please go home. Your son is waiting for you and is alive and well.”
The old woman rushed home immediately and was overjoyed to see that it was just as the second boy had predicted.
The first boy was furious and said, “I am sure that the Guru has taught you more than he taught me.”
The second boy said, “Far from it. I observed a man who looked much like our old woman observing her from a distance. It was obvious that he knew the old woman intimately, but was, for some reason, not willing to meet her here in public. When you said that the son will not return the way he went, you took it to mean that he is dead. But I put 2 and 2 together to understand that the man was standing with his wife and unsure of his mother’s reaction. Hence the hesitation to meet her in public.”