Education – the pursuit of knowing is an all encompassing process that must lead to the highest realization of our ability. In our conventional language, a person who has specialized knowledge and professional degrees in a particular subject is called educated.
This accumulated knowledge helps him to make a successful career in his chosen field and earn a comfortable living. This education indeed is only one dimensional. In this era of overstressing a single dimension we are developing oblivion to the other aspects that are unequivocally important.
The process of education begins the moment we are born. As we enter the world, the eyes gaze at the surrounding things and the ears listen to the various sounds. As we grow, we pick up actions and words those around us. It is obvious that we learn those things quickly and easily to which we are exposed early and frequently. This very nature or tendency of our comprehension forms the foundation of all our learning in all the years to come. Hence it is of utmost value to familiarize a child early with the positive energy of his mind.
Our educational syllabi are quite vast and well compiled. We are made aware of the infinite universe, wonders of science and technology, logics of mathematics but we do not find it necessary to explain or be explained the wonders and power of the mind. Mind which is the genesis of all human thoughts and thus the originator of all human creation. This is either the irony of our progressive world or the short sightedness of our educated society.
We have confined our formative education to what was done, discovered or written by others. Not to imply that it is unimportant however there is also a need to make the child aware of his own mental faculties. but he is not given enough space and opportunity to decipher things for himself. We have informed him of the ability of other’s minds and the miraculous things and significant tasks it could achieve. but did we not forget to tell him that his own mind is capable of this and much additional. Unconsciously we make them habituated to follow others minds and concepts. To the effect of which after some time the mind finds it laborious to think and make decisions and looses composure at the slightest disorder.
We are an entire generation of talented and educated youths with high-flying careers and jet paced lives, who know it all about health, wealth and life. However there is another paradox here. If aware and knowledgeable then why are we the victims of a unsteady personal and professional life. No generation has had more debilitating health and life-style ailments or fluid kinships than the current.
It shows there is a glitch in our approach of education. Education about the objective world forms the crux of our system. The objective world that we perceive through our senses is only one part of our existence. And the fallacy is that we consider it to be the whole. Our education is blemished in two aspects. First it imparts knowledge only in relation to the outer world and secondly even this cognition does not educate about the true dynamics of the mind.
Worst of all, till the middle of our life’s spent we are unaware of the third active and alive element to our being which is our soul. Why does a human mind evaluate the truthfulness of spirituality after the half past age. Does it mean, we lack the education of spirituality from the beginning. Shouldn’t our schools and universities tell us about the trinity of body, mind and soul. Today spiritualism is a fad for the youth. A civilized lifestyle statement. Or after all the sensual gratifications, he has desolation and restlessness. The realization that there is a completely different spring for happiness is missing. Why should we go through delusions to understand and appreciate enlightenment.
What makes our elite individualism so irresponsible to our body, soul and to others. Our education could only develop us so much that we cater to our body and its senses. To this extent as well, we let our mind aside to indulge in pleasures so recklessly that grave diseases come as attachments. We are not privy to the fact that our mind is a fountainhead of absolute positive and ecstatic thoughts. Why is there no room for ethics in our lives. Morality education seems soporific because indifference towards others has become our second nature.
Our comprehensive objective education enables us to have stupendous career rises that brings bountiful silks and satins. Wealth is most definitely important. However wealth and happiness are not connected. Body has a right to comfort and luxury so does the soul have a right to incessant joy. Sadness or happiness is not inherent in any event. They are created by the mind depending upon our choice of experience towards them.
So we are capable of feeling ceaseless bliss in our life. However unless our education is equipped to teach us mastery over our mind and reveal its secret of optimum positive functioning, it will not lead to a holistic life. There is an urgent need to revise the curriculum because it is grossly inadequate to help us accomplish the purpose of our very creation. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, one of the distinguished scholars of the world said, “Education is the means by which the youth is trained to serve the cause of drastic social and economic changes.”
So it is time for the youth to accept the challenges to change themselves and put in effort to effect the change in the world order.
