Acquiring knowledge

अनेकशास्त्रं बहुवेदितव्यम् अल्पश्च कालो बहवश्च विघ्नाः |
यत् सारभूतं तदुपासितव्यं हंसो यथा क्षिरमिवाम्भुमध्यात् || 

Aneka-shaastram bahuveditavyam alpashcha kaalo bahavashcha vighnaa-haayat saarbhootam tadupaasitavyam hanso yathaa kshiramivaambhu-madhyaat

Meaning: There are many shastras (bodies of knowledge/doctrines) and abundance of knowledge. But we have limited time (alpa kaala) and a lot of obstacles (bahu vighna).
As a swan (hansa) extracts milk (kshira) from a mixture of milk and water, one should study the essence (saarabhuta) of the shastras (rather than studying each and every shastra to great details).

There is a lot of knowledge scattered all across the world in various forms. But we do not have the time and luxury of studying everything in detail, due to our day to day responsibilities. And, its not even important to know each detail of everything. More important is to extract the cream which is going to be useful to us in life. More important is to understand the fundamental principles being propounded by any body of knowledge, rather than its intricate details. If we understand the fundamentals, then we would easily be able to intelligently deduce its details, if necessary.

For example, if a computer programmer tries to learn & use each and every programming language existent in the world, he would have to give so much time that he won't have any other life. But instead, if he knows the basic programming principles, then he can easily write programs in any current or new language by simple deduction. Same with doctors, or engineers or any other profession. We should definitely have detailed knowledge of our field, but if we try to go in details of everything, then we would be nowhere.

The swan has the capability to distinguish and extract milk from a mixture of milk and water. We also should have such a discriminatory power of determining what is important for us  and what is not; and then concentrating only on the significant aspects of anything. This applies equally to students, pundits, researchers, seekers of knowledge as well as common mortals like me or you. The essence of any knowledge is the real reason why we study that body of knowledge. Knowledge or gnyaan is supposed to improve our quality of life, enhance our meaning of life; that would happen only when we go beyond the written word and grab the substance beneath.

Today there are so many villages in India where illiterate villagers (men & women) nonchalantly speak of Shankaracharya or Socrates or Karl Marx. Neither have they read, nor do they know each and every concept in the Advaita Vedanta Darshan of Shankaracharya. But they know the basic principle of 'universality of one God' propounded by Shankara, and the efforts he undertook to establish that in the very blood of India. They do not know the detailed philosophy of Socrates, but they know Socrates' fight for truth. They have not read books of Marx or Lenin, but they know communism, and have created a much more egalitarian society than was envisioned by communism. Not just egalitarian, but a harmonious and progressive society ! They know the essence and are leading joyous, blissful lives by implementing the core philosophical principles in their own lives & of others.

This is a live example of this subhaashit. Cheers!