In 1970 a certain Indian politician went to France.
There he met with a French politician who was
associated with the ruling Gaullist party. An extract
from their conversation appeared in The Times of
India, July 18, 1983:
“Is there anything in particular you would like to
do in Paris?” asked the Gaullist.
“I am a great admirer of de Gaulle,” replied the
Indian visitor. “I should like to make a courtesy call
on him.”
“But he is dead, sir.”
“What? Nobody told me in India during the
briefing.”
They must have presumed you were aware of it. He
died four years ago.”
From this example we can see that everything
cannot be spelt out in words; there are some things
that one has to know oneself. If one already knows
half, then one can be told the rest of the story; but if
one does not have half of it in one’s mind
beforehand, then how can one grasp the whole
picture? However reasonable a thing may be, and
however well substantiated, if one does not have
some prior knowledge of it, it will remain beyond
one’s comprehension.
If one says to someone, “So-and-so batsman scored
a century,” he will immediately understand that
what is meant by a century is a hundred runs in
cricket. But if one says, “A century of hard struggle
is needed for the development of a nation,” no one
will truly understand; for no one can know what it
is to devote oneself individually to constructive
work for so long a period.
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
