Essay on “Knowledge is Power” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Knowledge is Power

Desire for power is inherent in man. The love of power comes from the consciousness of man’s mental and moral superiority over other created things. It is instinctive, therefore, that man as superior being must control and dominate others. Again, the awareness that all men are created unequal gives birth to the desire to rule and dominate others. The history of the world so far as man is concerned is a history of the struggle for power. Thus from the primitive wars of tribes and clans to the ruinous wars of today, there is only one idea behind these wars and that it the thirst for power.

Broadly speaking power is of two kinds- physical and mental. Physical power is of the lower order as compared to the power of the mind. Primitive men mainly understood one kind of power and that was of the body. However with the growth of civilization and the development of human mind, the mental power came to be recognized as of a superior order. Mental power has its origin in knowledge.

When man first appeared on the earth, he was no better than animals.  But God endowed him with an intelligent mind and this mind ultimately came to his rescue. He discovered fire and learnt its use and this knowledge of use of fire gave him power. Similarly knowledge of other elements and things gradually made him strong. In the course of time his knowledge has achieved wonders in the world and given man mastery over many things.

All the great inventions and discoveries, on which modern life is based, are but the manifestations of the power of knowledge. The conquest of the forces of nature, like water and the harnessing of these forces for man’s use, have been made possible by the knowledge of physics. It is the knowledge of mechanics, which has lessened distance, broken down the barriers between men and enabled men to realize the affinity of men all over the world. The epoch making discovery of atomic energy has revolutionized the entire concept of future life of man on the earth. Today completely unheard of strides made by man in the field of science are the result of knowledge and perpetual search of wisdom combined with the hunger of power to rule and dominate.

In fact, the development of art, science, culture and civilization ultimately depends upon knowledge.  Knowledge has not only given man mental strength, it has taught him now to use his physical strength in a better, surer and more and more disciplined and economic way. It is only when we have realized this that we understand the significance of knowledge that is power, and get the desire to acquire that knowledge which enables us to find truth.