A young man once went to a wise man and asked: “Sir, what should I do to become wise?“
The wise man did not answer. The young man asked the same question several times, but the sage remained silent. The youth left and came back the next day with the same question. Still, there was no answer. He returned on the third day and asked again: “Sir, what should I do to become wise?”
Finally, the wise man turned and walked toward a nearby river. He entered the water and signed for the young man to follow him. When the water was deep enough, the wise man grabbed the youth by the shoulders and held him under the water. The young man struggled to get free, but the sage held him down. Finally, he let him go. As the young man breathed deeply to catch his air, the wise man asked: “My son, what did you want most when you were under the water?”
The young man answered immediately: “Air! Air! I wanted only air!”
The wise man asked: “Did you not want money, pleasure, power, or love? Did you not think of any of those things?” “No, sir, I wanted and thought only of air,” was the quick reply.
“Then,” said the wise man, “to become wise, you must want wisdom as much as you wanted air just now. You must work for it and make it your main goal in life. It must be your only focus, day and night. If you seek wisdom with such a strong heart, my son, you will certainly become wise.”
Source: An ancient parable of wisdom
