People are like sheep, that’s why most Prophets were Sheppard. That may sounds simple and straight forward but the underlying truth and meaning is indeed profound. Human civilizations throughout the history of mankind including Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman etc. proved that only when we can identify knowledge and started using it towards our favor, our living standards shall be upgraded from disorganized individuals and horticultural to communal and societal.Over time we can witness how human basically feed on information and knowledge mentally and intellectually. The more we learn and know things, the more we realize how to behave attitudinally in conformity with practical human values. Philosophically the shared purpose of all genuine knowledge leads towards realization of truth, which in relation to human rationale turned into expectation to create a balance between sheer wisdom and ability to govern life.
Nonetheless, human civilizations still collapse despite growth of knowledge within a particular society. To a certain extent, some assume the relevance of perceived knowledge expires over generations or greater knowledge overcame it and that was one of the reasons why civilizations came to end. Simpler and understandable generalization of religious believers would suggest the reason of collapsing human civilizations were due to nature of repercussions upon disobeying Divine interventions.Coming back to the wisdom of why were Prophets consist of Sheppard, one way of looking at it includes the reason Prophethood being entrusted with ultimate responsibility to disseminate absolute Divine truth over existing mixture of deviated and misleading information. The main responsibility of a Sheppard is simply to herd the sheep into a normal pattern of behavior; namely to stay alive and healthy as well to multiply in numbers through reproduction while all Prophets dutifully carried their tasks to deliver Godly information to their people.
Just like the sheep to its Sheppard, people responded to the Prophetic teachings in different manner. Infusing understanding and knowledge in human nature starts with observing and mimicking the elders, again just like the sheep. The Sheppard is there to further guide the herd to live as they are supposed to, similar to the role of Prophets becoming point of reference and guidance for their people.
As simple as the focal task of a Sheppard might appears, each of them usually develops increasing detailed understanding of individual sheep behavior in the herd through their experience. The sheep also in return develop a sense of understanding towards the Sheppard as mutual familiarization grows through dynamism of reciprocal communication. In the case of Sheppard, obviously the transferred understanding to the sheep is not as much as the Prophets with their people, plus humans always have the tendency to grow intellectually as opposed to stagnant sheepish mentality.
Theoretically knowledge is supposed to be truthful but the development of human knowledge has a long history of intertwining with various ulterior motives involving numerous partisans and schools of thought. Comparatively, information by technical definition is more flexible than knowledge. Raw information is by right not yet knowledge. Valid sets of information become knowledge only when truth is the essence. In today’s technological savvy livelihood, knowledge is often related to science while information is usually attached to communication.
Generally if we pile up all knowledge based on indisputable truth, the final explanation and direction will lead us back to Divine intervention. On the other hand, if we stack all information
into one, the average human rationale alone won’t be able to compute it into singular linear truth, thus creates more uncertainties instead.Take Darwinism evolution theory for instance; obviously their fallacies became clearer over time as factual arguments and contradictions found by scientists, archeologists and paleontologists keep on denying its relevance and earlier perceived truth values. Eventually what used to appear logical is not necessarily truthful. Hence legitimate knowledge is not necessarily logical.
Repeatedly in Prophetic stories, we are reminded that the obedient believers who heed the Prophets were saved while the deviants either got lost or swallowed by destruction. That significance has a very close resemblance to predictable stories of the sheep and the wolves. So, if the generalization of human communal behavior can be simplified like the sheep, then it is reasonable to presume that basic human nature prefers freedom while living in groups and constantly in need of external leadership guidance resembling the sheppard.
Nevertheless, within the parameter of psychological studies, researches and subsequently knowledge, human behaviors are defined by different accords such as Freudians, Behavioral and Psychoanalytic etc. There’s no harm for us to question who are trying to play Sheppard using the idea of knowledge and information here. That should at least trigger our curiosity towards why these Professors and theorists came up with such interests in the first place? It is also questionable whether such knowledge is tailored for and/or against certain influences, interests, polarizations, directions and/or thinking patterns.
In simple comparison, as humans keep on yearning for knowledge and information, sheep continues longing for food and basic needs. The Sheppard is for all time significant to the sheep’s safety and well-being as Prophets are for eternity essential to mankind. Therefore, considering the sheep is allowed by the Sheppard to consume whatever it pleases on the greens but when it comes to security, it’s a must at all times to abide the Sheppard. Similarly Prophetic teachings must be adhered by mankind if we want fortification despite having individual freedom to exploit according to our needs and preferences.
Information technology is a powerful tool that aims at diffusing, disseminating and creating information as well as knowledge. For the last few decades, human lifestyle has leapfrog so much with internet or earlier coined as information superhighway. Borderless world, information at your fingertips and a lot more ICT jargons continue to mesmerize human needs for customized, personalized and individualized information and knowledge. Along with it are also mirages and silhouettes of perceived truths.People nowadays can get to know what they prefer, whenever and increasingly wherever they want it. Knowing the fact that we are all exposed to all sorts of information including but not limited to reality, fabricated news, perceptional persuasions, spin doctors’ critics, misguided assumptions etc. perhaps for safety reasons, it’s always good to remind ourselves about the Sheppard and Prophets as we scroll our mouse in search of the information and knowledge we want to know. It’s a choice anyway and it’s ours!
By: Towil
Comments
Post a Comment