OF REASON AND PASSION

Of reason and passion? A topic that is quite the favorite of every philosopher or those who aspire to be one. I am neither of the two   but this topic became dear to me because of one wise poet and philosopher, Kahlil Gibran.

    Quoting from the sage in his book “The Prophet;”

“.....Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.

If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid- seas.

For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.....”

   

    These two elements are often in conflict with one another. They are not harmonized and so a discord is created within an individual. These two are like wolves inside each person; whatever is fed more often is the one that rules.

    Many men become obsessed with reason alone. They succumb into the idea of greatness and controlling power of knowing everything. As Kahlil Gibran said, it is such a confining force. The effect? Unwise decisions. Ego- bloatedness. Miscalculated facts.  Misjudgements. Misguided reason. Conflicts with men. Conflicts within the self. A fool.

    And yet many men also succumb into the pitfalls of unguarded passion. As they embrace the worldly desires; wealth, fame, beauty, and power, they are unaware that they are digging graves for themselves. We could learn from a lot of people from the bowels of history. Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Michael Jackson, just to name a few. For passion, unattended is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

    How then can we harmonize passion and reason?

    The sage advises;

“... Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing;

And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.”

    Translated simply as “Let your reason guide your passion.” The two should always be together but one should be above the other. Reason should be above your passion. This way, the mind is in control of your desires. It tempers them. It weighs what is good or bad and should always favor that what is good and right.