When I was in college, my teacher had said something that I shall remember for the rest of my days on earth. He said that knowledge is something that the more one gets, the more one realises how little one knows. Knowledge is limitless, not bound, not fenced; overflowing and all pervasive. It has no end. Knowledge has to be striven for all life. And those who understand the value of knowledge do not restrict it to classrooms, but seek to achieve it by self education. And the best form of self education is voracious reading.
Reading should not be restricted to being a hobby to be mentioned in ones curriculum vitae. It has more significance than that. As a common saying goes ‘ Readers are leaders’, so one should make it a habit rather than a compulsion. The best way to read is to always have a pencil and paper at hand. Marking lines that seem interesting or useful, jotting down points, and anything that may be of use or interesting, is an exercise that proves its usefulness later on. It will be of great help.
Reading improves ones vocabulary. It is the gateway to a broader perspective and huge knowledge base. An expanding mind is acquired by reading. Reading is making true use of ones literacy. It is always a better option to be an educated human being than a literate. And reading educates.
It is interesting how ones life can be improved only if one dedicates just half an hour a day to reading. The quality of mind, personal and professional life, and soul will only improve. It is rejuvenating, and it recharges one.
When one reads, one drifts into another world where no one exists around. One has a virtual conversation with the author. And gets to learn from his experience. The more one reads, the more one learns from the experiences and inspirations of authors world over. It is like the best brains on earth coalesce to provide an insight into their world. Reading provokes to dream- be is fantasizing or realistic dreaming. Dreaming is a part of education – to dream of ideas for projects, to dream of new methods, dream of future. We all dream.
Books never betray. And one will never regret having spent the hard earned money on them. Books enrich life intellectually, morally and at times spiritually. It is an investment; monetary expenditure for intellectual enhancement. The most successful among us, are readers. The ones who reach the top of the ladder, are readers. The ones we talk about and look up to, are readers. Is this not proof enough how powerful a tool is reading. Books inspire one to take the big leap forward.
Time spent uselessly chatting over the phone or watching some soapy serial on television, can be well spent on the fruitful activity of reading. At the end of the chat or serial, the feeling of having wasted some precious nonrecoverable moments of life, is felt quite often. But reading a book instead, will never let such feelings emerge. Akbar did not know how to read; he was an illiterate. But more knowledgeable and educated that all of us. The reason – he loved the company of books and made sure that they were read out to him by the so-called literates on a regular basis.
