True education is that which fosters pure feelings.
To have virtues is the true meaning of learning.
Only when man cultivates the feeling of love, can there be equality.
Good conduct is the hallmark of a true human being.
(Telugu Poem) (SSS Vol.33, p. 251)
Extract taken from (Human Values: A way of Life):
‘Panchatantra’ or the five principal aspects of education.
These are:
- What is education?
- What type of education should we pursue?
- What is the main aim of education?
- What is the uniqueness of education?
- What are we gaining from present-day education?
Only when we recognise the inner significance of these ‘panchatantras’, can we know what is true education.
It is of two types:
The first type is collection of facts and knowledge about the external world and sharing them with students.
The second type is Educare. Educare involves the deep understanding of the knowledge that springs from within and imparting it to students.
But today’s education gives the students’ knowledge only about the external world. Only culture or refinement can develop good personality and not this type of education. So, both education and culture are important. Today’s education is devoid of culture and is like a counterfeit coin. Even a beggar does not accept a counterfeit coin. Then how can experienced and intelligent people accept such education? So, to satisfy everyone we must develop educare.
Education without refinement is like a dark room. Only bats can live in dark rooms; such rooms are filthy. So, by pursuing such education devoid of culture, our hearts have become dark rooms and hence many animal qualities find their way into it. Education without culture is like a kite with a broken string. No one knows where it will fall and what damage it will cause to others. Therefore, such education does not benefit anyone.
Proceed From Superficial To Practical Knowledge
Only if education is blended with culture, it will shine forth as true education. What is culture? Cultivation of discrimination between good and evil, sin and merit, and truth and untruth that we experience in our daily life. It is also removal of one’s evil thoughts, feelings and qualities, and cultivation of good thoughts, feelings and good qualities. Not only this, culture makes one broad-minded by getting rid of one’s narrow-mindedness.
Today’s education comprises only bookish knowledge. It is only superficial knowledge and it changes every moment. So we must add ‘Educare’ to this bookish knowledge. You have to understand the true meaning of these two words, education and human values. Education has two aspects: The first is related to external and worldly education, which is nothing but acquiring bookish knowledge. In the modern world, we find many, well-versed and highly qualified in this aspect. The second aspect known as ‘Educare,’ is related to human values. The word ‘Educare’ means to bring out that which is within. Human values, namely, Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa (Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence) are hidden in every human being. One cannot acquire them from outside; they have to be elicited from within. But as man has forgotten his innate human values, he is unable to manifest them. ‘Educare’ means to bring out human values. ‘To bring out’ means to translate them into action. (SSS Vol.33, pp. 252-253)
Educare is practical knowledge.
There are a few steps between the superficial knowledge and practical knowledge. From superficial knowledge we must proceed to general knowledge. After analysing this general knowledge one gains discrimination knowledge and knows the difference between good and evil. From this discrimination knowledge we proceed to practical knowledge.
This practical knowledge is changeless. True and eternal education never changes when the heart is filled with compassion; it becomes sacred and aspires for the welfare of one and all. An educated person should not have bad qualities and must not indulge in bad deeds. Today’s education imparts only bookish knowledge, which really degrades a person. How long will this bookish knowledge last? It lasts as long as we keep it in our mind. It is not possible to put bookish knowledge into practice. We fill our heads with bookish knowledge, go to the examination hall, fill our answer paper with it and return with empty heads! In effect, the head always remains empty.
To acquire discrimination knowledge one requires general knowledge, which consists of ordinary cleverness and intelligence. Discrimination knowledge also has in it common sense. Both are essential for life in this world. What we need today is not bookish knowledge though we require it to a certain extent to cope up with life in this world. But what is essential to us is the knowledge of the Atma.
Spiritual education is the highest education, says the Bhagavad Gita. It starts with discrimination knowledge, which is like a perennial river. In perennial rivers the quantity of water may vary but not the quality. Thus students should understand that quality of education is more important than its quantity. Degrees are not important, but the knowledge accomplished out of education is important. What is the meaning of education? ‘Education is not mere knowledge, it includes action, too.’ Education, which originates from within has a sound basis and is permanent. It is referred to as Satyam. A step higher than Satyam is Ritam as proclaimed in the Vedas. What we normally refer to as truth in daily life is merely a fact.
People mistake bookish knowledge to be true education. No one today bothers about the aim of education. Education is for life and not for living. Today’s education is aimed at merely eking out a livelihood. If mere living is the purpose, then how birds and beasts live without any education? Even ants and mosquitoes, which do not have any education, live their lives. Is education for merely earning one’s bread? What is the essence of education? The essence of education is the concentration of the mind and not the collection of facts. Mere collection of facts will not serve any purpose. For example, a washerman in a village goes from house to house collecting clothes for washing. In each household the number of clothes, which are given for washing, are noted down in a notebook. But the washerman does not have an account. By evening he returns the clothes to the respective houses. This is general knowledge. For acquiring this general knowledge education is not necessary. Even a washerman possesses it. Many educated men lack the acumen of even a washerman. General knowledge cannot be acquired by mere study. It is learnt from the book of life. (SSS Vol.34, pp. 305-309)
Although secular education may appear necessary for mundane existence, the importance of a spiritual basis for it should be recognised. However, the responsibility for imparting a spiritual orientation to education rests not only on teachers, but also on the parents as well as the authorities. (SSS Vol.27, p. 173)
There are crores of highly educated people in this country. But what is it they have contributed to the world and to human welfare? In what way are they helping the community? In no way at all! Instead, they are totally preoccupied with the pursuit of their own selfish interests; no one works for the benefit of the community. This should not be; you should work for the welfare of Society. You should be guided by three cardinal principles:
Sarve loka hite ratsh
Sarve samudita gunaih.
Sarve jnana sampannah..
All must enjoy prosperity. All virtues must be cultivated. All Knowledge must be acquired.
Your first objective must be to work for the welfare of society. Next, you must try to make others happy. Last comes the acquisition of the wealth of spiritual wisdom. Therefore, first and foremost, you must strive relentlessly for the progress of society. You must work hard and incessantly to promote the welfare of the community. You are a part of society, and your individual welfare is intimately tied up with the welfare of society as a whole. Hence, you must study not for making money but for the sake of serving society. Unfortunately, these days education has been reduced to business, greedy business in fact. What you have received from society must be returned back to society, and in greater measure. You are able to study because of the infrastructure provided by society. Having been benefited thus, is it proper to forget what you have received and focus only on making money? To do so would be immoral, indecent, and totally against man’s basic nature. (SSB 2000, pp. 5-6)
Vidya nama narasya rupamadhikam pracchannaguptam dhanam
Vidya bhogakari yasah sukhakari
Vidya bandhujano videsa gamane, vidya gurunam guruh
Vidya rajasu pujyate na hi dhanm,, vidya vihinah pasuh.
True education is grand,
A rare beauty,
A hidden Treasure,
And an unfailing companion.
It is the supreme teacher
And that which commands real respect.
Fool is he that spurns such knowledge.
(SSB 2000, p. 1)
People answer this question by saying there is no end to education. Definitely there is an end to what we study from books. The end of education is character. Education without character is useless. Earlier in Gurukulas the sages took the students along with them wherever they went and taught them without conforming to any time schedule. This education was a continuous learning process. But today in the schools and colleges education is limited to strict time schedules. Therefore, education has become limited. But true education, which moulds character, has no limits. When we learn about that which is ‘limitless’ we attain the end of education.
Our character is reflected in our words, behaviour and conduct in daily life. So we should speak pleasantly and not hurt others with our harsh words. It is true that we cannot always oblige but we can speak obligingly. While cooking, ladies select appropriate vessels according to the quantity of rice to be cooked. It does not make sense if a large vessel is chosen to cook a small quantity of rice. Discrimination should be used to select the vessel and the intensity of the flame required for cooking. In the same way, discrimination should be used to enrich one’s character (SSS Vol.34, p. 310)
Fact, Truth and Absolute Truth
When elderly guests visit the house, even if one cannot offer them anything to eat, one should at least welcome them inside, speak affectionate words and make them happy. Instead, if one asks them rudely, “Why have you come?” It is not good. Even when the father is at home, one tells them that he is not there.
This is not proper education. speak good words and tell the truth. There are three types of truth. They are fact, truth and absolute truth. To say as it is what you have seen is a fact. Suppose I see you wearing a white dress and say that “you are wearing a white dress”. This becomes a fact. Later at home you might wear a blue shirt. Then what I had said earlier does not hold good anymore. Thus a fact is subject to change.
Truth, on the other hand, does not change with time. A person may change any number of dresses, but the person remains the same. Thus truth is the same at all times. I often say that you are not one but three. The one you think you are: the physical body. The one others think you are: the mind. Mind is invisible. One’s happiness or misery is based on one’s actions. Ritam (absolute truth) transcends both good and evil. This is the one you really are, the Atma. You are a combination of body, mind, and Atma. Body is subject to change. It is Atma, which is eternal. This is referred to as Ritam in the Vedas. It is changeless and has no attributes. It is described as attribute-less, pure, eternal highest abode, permanent and unsullied. One may say that one has acquired three postgraduate degrees. But what are these degrees? These are mere certificates. Who is the one who has earned all these degrees? It is ‘I’. This ‘I’ is the absolute truth. Only when you are awake you travel physically, see many sights, eat many dishes and experience many things. But in the dream state you create yourself! You do your work and travel to far off places like Delhi, America, without even purchasing a plane ticket. In deep sleep state one does not go anywhere. It is a changeless and steady state, which remains a witness. The same ‘I’ experiences all these three states. In the deep sleep you enjoy bliss. In the dream state you create various scenes and experience them. But in the wakeful state you experience everything physically through the senses.
Adi Sankara has cautioned us about the truth of what we experience through the senses. Vagaries of the mind are many. In order to control them, Sankara introduced a practice in his ashram. The disciples would walk from one end of the ashram to the other repeating, “Be careful! Be careful!” Once a feeling arose in Sankara’s mind that he was the head of the ashram with a large income. At that moment he heard the sentinels cautioning, “Be careful! Be careful!” This alerted him and brought about a change in his feelings.
Birth is a misery, old age is a misery, family is a misery, the last moments are full of sorrow, so Be careful! Be careful! (Telugu Poem)
One might consider oneself to be great. As of now, one might be enjoying name and fame. But what will happen when one is faced with misery towards the end of one’s life? Sankara wondered who would come to one’s rescue at the fag end of one’s life.
Neither mother, nor father, nor relatives nor
brothers, not even wealth or possessions will
come to your rescue in the last moments. Hence
be careful ! (Telugu Poem)
In earlier days, this was taught in the Gurukulas to the students by the preceptors. This ancient educational system originated from absolute truth. This is what is Educare. It is also reflected in the letters ABC as Always Be Careful. Sankara preached the same principle. So, it is necessary to impart spiritual education along with secular education. General knowledge devoid of spiritual education is negative. General knowledge is like the bulb and spiritual knowledge is like the current flowing through it. Only when positive and negative meet is darkness dispelled.
So, we must develop positive along with negative. It would be enough if we have only positive aspects. The divine power is latent in every being, which is positive. Man today accumulates negative aspects in excess. Birth, growth, sustenance, and death are all negative.
He is the Eternal One with no birth and death,
He who is the Primordial One does not have a
beginning or an end,
He is neither born, nor does He die, nor is He
slain by anyone. He is the Atma, which is the
Eternal Witness.
(Telugu Poem)
(SSS Vol.33, pp. 310-314)
Spiritual Knowledge Is Foremost And Fundamental
Hence, the path of spirituality forms the basis for all forms of knowledge. The fundamental knowledge, which comprises spiritual knowledge, is greater than both practical knowledge and general knowledge. So, this should be imparted along with the secular education. How long can we lead a truthful and ideal life in the world without trying to discover the Absolute Truth (Ritam)?
We are making a mistake by identifying ourselves with the body. For example, a mother died leaving behind her fifteen-year-old son. The son was grief-stricken since there was none to look after him. The body of the mother was right in front of him; then why was he sad? It was because life had left the body of his mother. So, mother is not the body but the life principle. Life principle has no death. Body is like the dress; death is like change of dress. Everything in this world undergoes change. But there is one thing that is changeless. That is the Fundamental Truth. We should learn that fundamental education. Once you have mastered it, it follows you wherever you go. Gradually you should get rid of attachment to the body and develop Atmic consciousness.
You are pursuing different types of education in different countries. But ultimately education should converge into educare. That can be achieved gradually. Therefore, mere acquaintance with books and what is written on the black-board cannot constitute education.
True education throws open the doors of the mind. How can you enter a house with the doors closed? You desire many comforts and pleasures, and also aspire for virtues. For that you have to open the doors of your mind first. Only then absolute truth will manifest in us. This obsolute truth is all pervasive.
There are many aspects in modern educational system that we must understand. But we are not learning what we ought to. Instead we are gathering irrelevant information. Mere learning of the contents of a book constitutes secular education. Education must be combined with educare. Only then will you experience the bliss.
Any system of education that does not help to discriminate between right and wrong, that does not instil the fear of sin and the love of God, train you in the codes of humility and reverence, widen the horizon of your wonder, encourage you to worshipfully serve your parents, and inspire you to dedicate your skills and attainments to the progress of your family, village community, country, language and nation, stands condemned. The corruption and cruelty that are rampant in this country can be traced to this grave defect.
Good education consists in training you to control your sense organs and to make them grow in the right direction. The process, which enables you to control your sense organs, should be regarded as the right type of education. The excitement, which comes from your sense organs, is something, which destroys the human qualities ties and sometimes brings disgrace. (SSB 1974, p.5)
Education has as its goal the realization of the Atma arid the manifestation of its inherent attributes of Sat-cit-ananda (SSS Vol.8, p. 83)
True education deals only with those matters, which pertain to Dharma and Brahma, the knowledge of Atma, or the knowledge that relates to Brahman alone is knowledge and that is what the Vedas says. Mere recitation of the mantras contained in the Vedas cannot be called knowledge. True education is that which connotes Karma Yoga Brahma Yoga. (SSB 1974, p.198)
Real education requires the cultivation of a sense of humility. Great learning brings great humility. Without humility, there is no education. (SSB 1972, pp. 303-304)
Students should have in their hands the future of this country. Wherever they gather, they should see that there is calm and peace and that the community respects them. The place where students gather should become a symbol of peace and happiness. This is the right symptom of good education. (SSB 1978, pp. 2-3)
Education must also remove hatred between the pilgrims on the various roads to God. There is only one God, one Goal, one Law, one Truth, one Religion and one Reason. (SSS Vol.7, p. 199)
Education sans wisdom, mere wisdom bereft of discrimination, action without discretion, erudition lacking sagacity, power not justified by credentials, statements not based on truth, music wanting in melody, adoration not sustained by devotion, a person devoid of common-sense and character, a student not endowed with humility and a discourse that fails to inspire: these serve no useful purpose. (SV, p. 165)
Education confers humility, endows one with the authority to command; that will entitle him to affluence. (SSS Vol.9, p. 1)
Education is to be valued not as a means of earning one’s livelihood, but as the essential requisite for a happy, peaceful and progressive life, leading man from the animal stage of existence to the presence of the Divine, where Love and Light reign undisturbed. He who lives for the sake of eating is indeed a great sinner; he who lives for the sake reaching the full awareness of his innate Reality is blessed. The first one is a papi and the second is a Gopi. (SSS Vol. 10, p. 50)
Education gives humility. A person who is educated should be humble. Humility will lead you to deservedness and deservedness will in turn get you wealth. Wealth in turn will get you righteousness or dharma and you will be able to give charity of the right kind. If you want to realise the aspect of Parabrahman, you should not feel proud that you are an educated person. (SSB 1974, p.89)
Education should not be made a bread-winner. There are crores of people who are not educated in this country and who are still living a good life. Education should enable you to be an ideal and develop into an ideal example. Education should enable you to distinguish between right and wrong. It should promote humility in you, should enable you to become more humble than an uneducated person. It should enable you to serve your parents and country and your service should become a selfless service. Such education which makes you proud and which removes all the good qualities such as humility and humbleness cannot add to the prosperity of the country. (SSB 1974, p.256)
Earning money cannot be the purpose of education. Acquiring good qualities can be the only purpose of education. From the time of our birth till the time this body perishes, we are making attempts to earn money and acquire food. It is not right that we use all our knowledge and skill for doing just what animals and birds also do. In the process of spending all our energies in acquiring food, we are going far away, from the aspect of atma. (SSB 1974, p.2)
Education is not to be taken as a process of filling an empty sack and pouring out its contents, making the sack empty again. It is not the head that has to be filled through education. It is the heart that has to be cleansed, expanded and illumined. Education is for ‘life’, not for a ‘living’. (SSS Vol.8, p. 18)
When clouds gather in the high skies, they are usually accompanied by lightning. In the same manner, wherever there is education, it should be accompanied by wisdom. We have to recognise such an association as an essential truth. (SSB 1972, p. 1)
Good ideas, good conduct and adherence to truth should result from our education. That which promotes these aspects is indeed true education. Only those who acquire these qualities can be called truly educated people. (SSB 1978, p. 1)
If man is not able to take good education to his heart and if his education has no culture behind it, he will be worse than an uneducated washerman. The kind of knowledge alone can be called real education which will enable you to open your heart and reveal to you, the nature of atma. Education should enable you to control your sensory organs. True education gives you humility and from humility you get the deservedness and from deservedness you will get happiness in this temporal world as well as in the spiritual world. (SSB 1974, p.292)
Education is for life, not for a living! And, life is just a chance to see for yourselves your beginning and your end. Every clock has someone who has made it and who is winding it, so that it may work. You too have One, who has the key and who winds. Discover Him. The clock shows the time for all who need. It looks for no reward, it does not care why you are anxious to know the time; it ticks unceasingly, night or day, fair weather or foul. Be like the clock. (SSS Vol. 6, p. 237)
Purity too is our nature; self-sufficiency (Paripurnata) is also the nature of the self. Impurity and insufficiency are alien to man. Students should not ignore or forget this fact. Real education must arouse this faith and infuse the awareness of this fullness in every activity. This is the essential aim, the core of the right type of education. (V Vahini, p. 66)
Any system of education that does not help to discriminate between right and wrong, that does not instil the fear of sin and the love of God, trains you in the codes of humility and reverence, widens the horizon of your wonder, encourages you to worship fully, serve your parents and inspire you to dedicate your to skills and attainments, to the progress of your family, village, community, country, language and nation, stands condemned. The corruption and cruelty that are rampant in this country can be traced to this grave defect.
Selfishness, greed, pomp and injustice are prevalent in every field. The nation has no peace and the sense of security is feeble. As science develops and technology advances, humility and mutual love should also develop to the same extent, otherwise man becomes a menace to man.
Human sensitivity must be so high that no one can tolerate the misery of others. But when one is not moved by the misery of even one’s own parents, how can this trait be cultivated.
(U.D. CIX - p. 2)
Education is no book-affair. (U.D. CIX - p. 3)
Education must instil the fundamental human values; it must broaden the vision to include the entire world and all mankind. Education must equip man to live happily, without making others unhappy, to evaluate things, pleasure and possessions correctly and without prejudice, and fix one’s attention ever on the Highest and the most Precious Achievement of all, the Atmic Victory. The spiritual stream must flow in the heart as the source and spring of all endeavour. (SSS Vol.11, p. 75)
Education is being confused with the acquisition of verbal scholarship. This is wrong. Education has to open the doors of the mind. Many describe science today as powerful acquisitions, but science holds before mankind a great opportunity, that is all. It cannot be as great a power as it is imagined to be. If it is devoid of character, it brings disaster. It can then cause evil and wickedness. Intelligence can be found to be very high among clever thieves. So, too scientific knowledge can be misused for destructive purposes.
To enter Heaven, man must transform himself into an innocent infant. This is the Truth. To enter the Heaven of science, man has to mould himself into humble, unselfish seeker. This is as true as the former statement. (SSS Vol.11, p. 132)
The marks of true education are selflessness, humility and un-ostentatiousness. The ethos of Bharat is based on righteousness and justice and an inherent goodness of character. The edifice of right education rests on four pillars: Self-control, Self-confidence, Self-support and Self-sacrifice. Students today are totally obvious to self-support. How, then can they achieve Self-control? Education should aim not merely at marking men human, but should try to make them perfect human beings. We may not have all the physical means necessary to protect the country. But if we stand by Truth, we shall be saving the whole world. (SS July ‘88, p.175)
Education has two important characteristics. One is exposition of facts relating to any subject. The other is the unfoldment of the individual’s personality. The first is concerned with the matter. The second is with energy. Education is a combination of the two. It is a combination of worldly and spiritual knowledge. Education cannot be confined to stuffing the head. It has to melt the heart, refine it and turn it Godwards. It is not enough to make a man of the student. He has to be transformed into an ideal human being. He must be made compassionate. Every effort should be made to utilise education for the purpose of divinising man. (D3 , p. 346)
Education is called Shikshana. The term means that there should be stern discipline at every stage. Students should be properly corrected and encouraged to study well. (D3 , p. 349)
Education is a slow process like unfolding of flower: the fragrance becoming deeper and more perceptible with the silent blossoming, petal by petal, of the entire flower. (D.M. -p.31)
Education must remove hatred between the pilgrims on various roads to God. There is only one God, one Goal, one Law, one Truth, one Religion and Reason. (V -p. 158)
Educated man must realise that he has more obligations than privileges, more duties than rights. (FDD, pp. E-3)
Education is more in the shape of enlightenment than pure knowledge. Education is not for agitation but for elevation. (FDD, pp. E-4)
Education must ultimately mean:
‘E’ for Enlightenment
‘D’ for Duty and Devotion
‘U’ for Understanding
‘C’ for Character
‘A’ for Action
‘T’ for Thanking
‘I’ for Integrity
‘O’ for Oneness
‘N’ for Nobility.
(FDD, pp. E-5) & (Uniq, p. 170)
The current methods of instruction do not offer an adequate education. Between ordinary people and scientists, there are very few intelligent people in the world. It is not easy to find a method, which exploits the full intellectual potential and wisdom of people. In fact it is precisely because of the improper use of scientific knowledge that people continue to suffer in the world.
Nowadays people believe that the ultimate goal of education should be the satisfaction of the senses. The current system of education serves only to develop a more active intelligence, but not to instil in people the qualities and virtues which are useful in life. The leaders of our country have kept themselves busy introducing innovations and changes in the methodologies and systems of education. Many committees have been formed, but they end up meeting only to have tea, and not to conduct methodological studies, which could provide models to imitate, in order to transform the current system of education. They have made progress on paper, but these advances have not been translated into practice.
An existence based on truth transcends the three dimensions of time: it reconciles the past with the present and with the future. Unfortunately, however, this type of life has gone by the wayside. Today it is the common opinion that the proper mode of life is to do whatever one pleases. Students bear no love for their teachers, and do not regard them with due respect. They do not fear them: rather it is the teachers who fear the students. This is why, in the current school system, the teachers cannot wait to get away from the students. (ACPMSB, pp. 206-207)
(Kabandha)
At the very outset, educated persons should understand the truth that this education is not for the sake of filling their stomach. In the Ramayana, we have an illustration of a very interesting person. Through this character, the Ramayana brings home to us a lesson. Who is this person? This person is Kabandha. His form is very peculiar. His head is in the stomach. There is an inner significance to this. It means that man is using his head for the purpose of his stomach. His hands and limbs are very long and powerful. By means of these long hands of his, he used to secure within his grasp whatever he could reach and ate it. What is the inner meaning of this? He is not utilising them for the sake of others in the society around him, for the betterment of his fellow-beings or for being of use to others. So, if you understand in today’s context, you will find that our behaviour or mannerism is in tune with Kabandha’s so much so that we are brothers of Kabandha. But then we are not Kabandhas. We are related to God. With this divine nature that is ours, with this relationship that we have with the divine, we should try and become self-sufficient and self-reliant. Just as you have the streak of lightning across the dark clouds, so also alongside education you must have the streak of Jnana. Today we pride ourselves that we are educated; but no trace of education is to be found. So if you really want yourselves to be qualified to be called educated, then let your life be one where everything is good and noble. When you see people suffering, go and help them. This is the Truth. (BA, pp. 48-49)
It is wrong to say that the goal of education is the acquisition of the knowledge of science. Science is only a part of total education. It is insufficient for a person to become only a great scientist. It is necessary for him to have humility, absence of ego, and selflessness. These are the important attributes of good education. Education should foster the growth of one’s personality and help to expand one’s heart. True education must inculcate self-confidence in man, which, in turn, can help in transforming him into a divine full man. Education today is artificial. It has neither life nor skill in it. (BA, p. 107)
Education is the gift of God. No one has the right to sell it. Education should lead to elevation, not agitation. The modern education has made man a beggar. One should be a ‘bigger’, not a beggar. (DD on 28-07-1999)
Education is for earning Gunalu (virtues), not Anaalu (money). Education means opening wide the doors of the mind. It means cleansing the inner tools of the consciousness, the mind, the ego, the senses and the reason. True education must purge one, of all traces of selfishness. This is the higher learning for this Institution to teach. (WP, p. 27)
Education must be regarded as a sacred process and a preparation for unselfish serve to society. (SSS Vol.17, p. 18)
Today there is increasing shortage of food and water. Heart is important for health. Head is important for education. Water is important for the body. Swami willed that these three should be supplied free. The day we begin to buy health, education and water, the sanctity of Bharat is lost. We should never sell education. Ask any small boy what are you doing. He says ‘sir, I am buying education.’ (Chaduvu Kontunnanu).
You have to pay Rs.50,000 or Rs.one lakh as donation to admit a boy in a lower standard. What is the value if we buy education like that? We buy things in this manner, which is not natural to us.
Then health. Everyone’s body is bound to suffer sometime or other from ill health. Doctors should be prepared to sacrifice to cure diseases. Don’t struggle for money; struggle for good quality. Money comes and goes. Morality comes and grows. Develop morality today. There are a lot of students here. Having been educated, be prepared to render service. Don’t go to earn thousands of rupees in far off places. Go to villages and serve. You should help the villagers and share their love. Then only the purpose of your education is served. If you serve in the villages, the inner peace is never disturbed. Students should understand this clearly. It is enough if you earn thousand rupees as salary in a village. You can spend your whole life there. You can spend and deposit Rs.500 in the bank. Even if you receive Rs.5000 in a city, all the money has to be spent for electricity, transport, house rent and so on. You earn Rs.5, 000, but you will have only Rs.1, 000 on hand. You return home tired with that Rs.1,000. The health is spoiled. If you spend time in those villages where there is pure air with all the facilities, you can keep up good health. (DTB Vol.2, pp. 8-9)
Vidya anama Naraswarupam Adhikam
Prachanna Guptam Dhanam Vidya
Bhogakari Yasas Subhakari Vidya
Gurunaam Guru Vidya a Bandhu Jane Videsa
Gamane Vidya a Param Lochanam
Embodiments of Love: Education brings beauty to mankind. Education is unseen wealth. Education confers strength and capacity. Education gives all the reputation. Education is the teacher of teachers. It is only the true relation in foreign lands. Education is our third eye. (DTB Vol.7, p. 1)
It is education and not money that is honoured in the courts of emperors. It is the culture of Bharat that explains clearly that one bereft of education is an animal. The world goes on whether one carries on well or not; whether he studies or not; and his life span is melting day by day. Man is leaving this body before realising the purpose of his life. There are many complex problems that can confuse any serious thinker in the field of education. The educational institutions have forgotten the basic fact that they have to provide strength and satisfaction to everybody in their daily living. The ideals of education are totally lost today. There is no creativity in the educational field today. Courtesy and respect are totally lost. The institutions of knowledge (abode of Saraswati –Goddess of Knowledge) have become institutions of wealth (abode of Lakshmi -Goddess of Wealth). The students are concentrating on the field of education keeping in view that money they would get, the high salary they would receive. Education which should aim at sacrifice, character, morality, integrity are all gone today and thereby wasting life. (DTB Vol.7, pp. 1-2)
The education that does not confer Vinaya and Viveka is sheer waste of precious time: whatever else you learn or do not learn, equip yourself with the strength that is necessary to be virtuous, to resist temptation and the lures of the objective world. Viveka is not the cleverness that is given an inordinate value today, but, the capacity to see things in their proper proportion, to evaluate the temporary and the lasting, the particular and the universal, the shallow and the deep. You must also have the attitude of reverence towards the past, the elders who are the repositories of the saintly spiritual wisdom and experience, which you have to acquire. (SSS Vol.3, pp. 59-60)
Education is not for mere living; it is for life, a fuller life, a more meaningful, a more worthwhile life. There is no harm if it is also for a gainful employment; but the educated must be aware that existence is not all, that gainful employment is not all. Again, education is not for developing the faculty of argument, criticism, or winning a polemic victory over your opponents or exhibiting your mastery over language or logic. That study is the best, which teaches you to conquer this cycle of birth and death, which gives you the mental equipoise that will not be affected by the blessings or blows of Fate. That study begins where this study of yours ends. (SSS Vol.3, pp. 60-61)
Real education is not to command over a number of languages. I remember an incident that happened some time ago. The wife of an educated gentlemen used to get letters from a certain Lakshminarayan, whom the husband suspected to be a boyfriend of her college days and when a telegram came one day asking the wife to meet Lakshminarayan at the railway station, he hid the message and waited developments, full of anger at the stranger as well as at his own wife. Tragedy was averted when Lakshmi, the college friend, rushed in, disappointed that she did not meet her at the station according to the telegram. It seems she had come to that very town, because her husband, Narayana had been transferred to that place! Mere literacy is the source of such silly suspicions! What is the worth of education if Seelam, virtuous conduct is not found in those who claim to have been educated? (SSS Vol.3, p. 63)
Education today does not feed the roots of law, justice and morality, three fields which ought to receive special attention. Education must instil the fundamental human values; it must broaden the vision to include the entire world and all mankind. Education must equip man to live happily, without making others unhappy, to evaluate things, pleasure and possessions correctly and without prejudice. (SSS Vol. 15, pp. 2-3)
The word ‘Vidya ‘has its origin in the Sanskrit root word ‘Vid’, meaning wisdom, effulgence and bliss. The equivalent term for Vidya in English is education. Education is derived from the root word ‘Educare’, meaning to bring out or to elicit. ‘To bring out’ refers to manifesting that which is latent in man. Educare comprises two aspects; one is related to the head and the other to the heart. All those that enable man to carry on activities like reading, writing, undertaking a job and earning a livelihood are related to the head. Sacred qualities like Compassion, Love, Patience, Truth, Righteousness and Justice etc. originate from the heart. These are meant for life, not for a living. The former relates to Pravritti, which is external and positive in nature. Compassion, Love, Truth and Patience cannot be acquired through study of books. They are latent in our hearts. Educare manifests these latent qualities in man.
All those that emanate from the head are transient. Good health is ensured by the proper utilisation of head and heart. There are many unseen qualities in man. But man values only that, which he sees, listens and experiences. But, no importance is given to that which is unseen. That which is unseen is actually responsible for experiencing the fruits of one’s action. All human qualities spring from the heart only, they cannot be obtained from teachers or texts. Today we are human only in form, lacking human qualities. Human values foster good health in us. (DD on 20.11.98 , p. 3)
Teaching provides the learning to establish world peace, removing all the narrow mindedness, having unity and a common living. Only such an education is a good education.
Today many statements of pleasure seeking come up in the name of education and moral teachings. Obedience and humility, which are the result of education, are missing today. The lack of humility and obedience is growing nowadays. Character and good behaviour, which are very much needed in students, are missing and in their place worldly pleasures and bad mannerisms are growing. (M, p. 80)
That which fosters universal peace,
That which destroys all scope for mean thoughts,
That which encourages unity and cooperation,
Is real Education, this is the education a student should acquire.
(Telugu poem)
(SSB 2002, p. 111)
True education confers humility on man. Humility leads to competence and competence helps him to earn wealth. When the wealth is utilised foe noble and charitable activities, man attains true happiness. (SSSDK, p. 270)
Education is a third eye, a secret treasure,
Bestower of fame and enjoyment, the teacher of teachers,
A friend in foreign lands, the supreme guide, and
Honoured by kings more than wealth.
One without education is a beast.
Just as child recognizes its mother and father at birth, students must recognize the history and culture of the land of their birth. The country is like a mother and the culture is like a father. One who does not recognize his culture can never understand his motherland. (SSB 1995, p. 1)
Sukhaarthi Tyajate Vidya
Vidya arthi Tyajate Sukham
Sukhaarthinah Kuto Vidya a
Kutah Kuto Vidya arthinah Sukham
One who craves for pleasure is not able to pursue education.
A true student renounces worldly pleasures.
One who desires comfort cannot obtain true education.
And comfort is not necessary to acquire education. (SSB 1995, p. 76)
Good education is that which teaches the method of achieving world peace; that which destroys narrow - mindedness and promotes unity, equality and peaceful co-existence among human beings. (Telugu poem)
Good education is not merely reading several books, gathering bookish knowledge and teaching it to others. There is no use of acquiring mere book knowledge. By acquiring bookish knowledge, you may perhaps become a book yourself. Real education is that which promotes unity, equality and peaceful co-existence with fellow human beings. Merely reading books and periodicals and acquiring bookish knowledge is the so-called secular education. Several people in the world today are pursuing this type of education only. But, this cannot be termed as real education. Real education flows from the heart and is termed as ‘Educare’. There is a lot of difference between ‘education’ and ‘educare’! Educare is the basis and foundation for all types of education. Educare is the Adhara (support) and education is the Adheya (supported). All the texts we read teach only education to us. But, this is totally inadequate. We must pursue educare along with education. (DD on 11.10.2005, p. 2)
Like the lightening that shines brilliantly in the background of dark clouds in the Akasha, the light wisdom should shine forth amidst clouds of education in Hridayakasha. Education that does not lead to wisdom is only a conglomeration of clouds of dark smoke of ignorance. Mere bookish knowledge without spiritual wisdom, general knowledge and common sense useless.
If educated people do not have virtues like truthfulness, forbearance, humility and sympathy, degrees like M.A., M.Sc. and Ph.D. are merely a burden on their their heads! If educated people are mean-minded, it is disrespect to Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge! (SSSm Vol.5, p. 154)
Western education has spread so deep that culture is submerged out of view;
Western education has spread so deep that family bonds are loosened much;
Western education has spread so deep that Aryan wealth is frittered away;
Western education has spread so deep that gaudy speech and dress fascinate all.
‘Tis considered wrong to talk in mother’s tongue;
‘Tis considered foolish to tread the ancient path;
‘Tis considered cheap to honour the Guru now.
(SSS Vol. 15, pp. 182-183)
Education is no Education unless it extracts the milk of human kindness, kinship and brotherhood, and makes for a universal diffusion of this feeling, administering at the same time an intensive as well as extensive knowledge of the true nature of man and human society, Education should also be useful to men and women in their daily lives. A well disciplined and well-integrated life on the part of students can alone save them and the society from ruin. There is no other remedy.
Secular education is needed no doubt. It is for that purpose that this Institution has been established. But your education must also be directed towards helping the needy. It must be utilised for the prosperity of the world. It must be put to good use for the welfare of the Society. This is not to say that one must neglect oneself. The senses that have been given to you must be utilised not merely for selfish but also selfless purposes. It is only when man lives with both the feelings of selfish and selfless, that he deserves to be called a man. The Ramayana has propounded Truth and Righteousness throughout its chapters. When these two qualities are absent, one loses the right to be called a man. When fire loses its capacity to burn, it is called a piece of coal; nobody would call it fire anymore. Fire, when touched, burns; Coal, on the other hand, will only make you dirty. Fire becomes coal when it has lost the faculty of burning and it blackness. (SSB 1996, p. 123)
Education should result in slavery of one’s own thought and mind. Real education which has significance for our country is that education which gives courage by which you go and act wherever there is injustice, unkindness and untruth. Our education connected with culture of Bharat is one which should enable you to stand on your own legs.
We should make an attempt that in education which is appropriate to us, the aspect of kama or lust does not enter our mind but the aspect of prema or love does enter. With the aspect of prema, we should enter the society in this country and we should be able to do service to the society with prema. (SSB 1977, p. 108)
Education must aim at enlarging the heart and awakening the latent intelligence and skills of man, and inspiring him to calmly welcome physical labour and exhausting work. How can education shine in man if he does not attain those fruits? Gandhi once said: ‘knowledge without character is a powerful evil. Today, there is knowledge but character is seldom seen with it. Practice promotes Vidya. Experience is the Guru. But he is not visible at all. Teaching ends with the school, but learning ends only when life ends. Vidya does not mere attendance at school or college, mere study of some books, or mere mastery of a few subjects. (SSS Vol.11, p. 133)
Education is rendered noble when the spirit of service is inculcated. The service rendered must be free of the slightest trace of narrow selfishness. That is not enough. The thought of service should not be marred by the desire for something in return. You have to perform the service as you would perform an important Yajna or Sacrifice. As trees do not eat their fruits but offer them to be eaten by others n an attitude of detachment; as rivers, without drinking the waters they carry, quench the thirst and cool the heat from which others suffer; as cows offer their milk, produced primarily for their salves, in a spirit of generosity born of Tyaga, to be shared by others, so too should those who have acquired Vidya offer it to others prompted by the motive of service and without consideration of selfish interests. Only thus can they justify their status a ‘noble men’, Sajjana. (V Vahini, p. 69)
Students are the inheritors of the legacy of Satya and dharma (truth and righteousness), and it is the responsibility of the students to uphold them. They should undertake to establish peace and prosperity in society by promoting Satya and dharma. For this, the students should have broad-mindedness. The value of education does not lie in acquiring merely bookish knowledge. In fact, is the divine lamp which destroys the darkness of ignorance? (SS Oct 12, p. 324)
What is the difference between ‘education’ and ‘educare’?
Education is like insipid water, educare is like sugar. Merely adding sugar to water does not make it sweet. It is only on stirring, does the sugar mix with the water making it sweet. The heart is the tumbler, divinity is the sugar, and secular education is tasteless water. With intelligence as the spoon and enquiry as the process of stirring, we experience the all-pervasive divinity. That is true wisdom, which enables us to recognise the unity of all creation.
This is a cloth. It is not just cloth. It is a bundle of threads and more fundamentally it is cotton. The cotton, thread and cloth are one and the same. Without cotton, there is no thread and without thread there is no cloth. Recognition of the unity in multiplicity is the ultimate goal of education.
You should learn to face adversities boldly without blaming God. God would have planned to grant you some benefit through the hardship. You should accept both pain and pleasure as gifts of God, and develop the attitude, “whatever God does is for my own good!” (SSS Vol.34, pp. 314-316)