An illiterate can ascend heaven quickly than the learned one!
An illiterate can progress easily in spirituality!
The so called learned man develops bias easily than others. An illiterate is by far better compared to the learned in one main aspect of life which is spirituality. The learned one, questions every concept about Religion, Spirituality and Faith! The illiterate simply believes everything he hear. He at once becomes a staunch follower or devotee. Why? The illiterate is a simpleton. Hence in the path of spirituality, our learning is a great hurdle.
Sathya Saibaba has once said, "If you want to fill a cup with milk, the first condition is that the cup should be empty. But our mind is filled unto the brim with trash and useless knowledge. How can we take something in when there is no space? Hence the first condition in spirituality is, "Empty your mind of all misconceptions, prejudices, dogmas and theories which constitute false knowledge. You can wake up a sleeping man but it is impossible to wake up a man who pretends sleeping!
Why the learned can not reach heaven? Why they are barred from entering the precincts of heaven? The answer is simple. The learned usually develop a big ego because of their bookish knowledge. Even a little achievement is enough to boost up the ego? Many people prattle, "I am a Doctorate! No doubt that is a great achievement in the academic field. After doing research work for many years, a researcher become eligible to become a Doctor (Ph.D). Now consider how many doctorates are in a Collage or University? Each department of a Collage boasts that there are many Doctorates serving as faculty in their departments. Now each country boasts countless number of Doctorates in all fields of education.
Now let us examine the subject deeply. Each Doctorate specializes in a particular dissertation and innovate some new theories which is entirely new! For writing the research paper, the Research student pores over hundreds of papers and he goes through many reference books before finding or innovating a new theory and proves it by practical dissertation. A Doctorate is a scholar in one particular aspect of the subject. He concentrates only on the particular theory of a subject. When you consider the subject as a whole, he might possess only a general idea of the subject and not a deep knowledge. Due to their hard work, patience and perseverance, he is awarded the Doctorate by a team of Professors who are well versed in the subject. They conduct viva and the student has to give a presentation on his paper.
If you consider the whole subject, the knowledge of the scholar is only a small fraction, yet he is honored with a Doctorate degree. It is natural for them to develop a big ego! Compared to this an illiterate knows that he knows nothing about anything in the world. He simply follows what his elders or parents have taught. He follows the traditions without asking any teasing questions. He is simple and He has Faith. Such simple minded people have greater access to heaven since they never depend on logic. His simple faith takes him to the highest pedestal. God loves the pure simple minded. Really, our scholarship is a great hurdle in spiritual path. It is a great weight on our head. We can not move even an inch with the bloated ego.
Observe the life of a simple peasant in a rural area. He toils from morning to evening on the field. He does all menial things and he never depend upon much on others. He awaits for the rain and till the soil, apply manure, plant the seeds and eagerly awaits for the green shoots as though watching his own baby! He prays to the earth and heaven and does all the works needed for the harvest. He never calculate much. After harvesting, he shares it with the workers and his family. He is mindful of the bounty of earth god, rain god and Sun god! If you bring an educated graduate to the field of cultivation, he won't get into the field himself. He will simply engage laborers and at each step he will calculate the money he invested vs the yield. He becomes commercial minded. He has no respect for earth or heaven. He simply counts the money from the sale of the proceeds of the crop yield.
In the Bible, it is said, 'A camel can pass through a needle hole but the wealthy can not ascend to heaven. This is a general view of the mentality of the people. There may be few real exceptions even in the wealthy category who are noble and pure minded. My intention here is to tell that a simple illiterate man has more chances of ascending to heaven since he do not crave for any thing. He simply does his duty and leave the rest to God.