Words of Wisdom-41:

Education does not mean a knowledge of letters but it means character building. It means a knowledge of duty – Mahatma Gandhi

Words of Wisdom-40:

Education is in the instruction of the intellect in the Laws of Nature, under which name I include not merely things and their forces but men and their ways; and the fashioning of the affections and of the will into an earnest and loving desire to move in harmony with those laws – Aldous Huxley

Words of Wisdom-39:

True education is limited to those people who would die without knowing, whereas the masses in the institutions are merely going through the motions, for education is a way of living - Bryant H. McGill

'The Education India Needs' by Swami Chinmayananda

“Education for becoming” rather than “education for knowing and doing” was the call given by Swami Chinmayananda. Education is not a process of merely emptying out the mind of the teacher, by pouring its knowledge into the minds of the student. Education is a feeling for the needs of the students and supplying them with right solutions.

Education has to be holistic. It has to be rich in the sense that it caters to intellectual, emotional, moral, active and spiritual, all at once. Education should concentrate on personality development, acquiring knowledge of the world, adjustment with self and society and above all realization of the permanent values of life. An educated man is “an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity”.

Swamiji believed that a systematic culture of the mind and heart, the process of rearing and nourishing these, in other words liberal education, is the background against which the training of special skills should be imparted. In this sense true education is both ‘a diving inward and spreading outward’.

Sampoojya Gurudeva steadfastly believed that “Youth of today are not useless, but used less, they are not careless but cared less”.

Revered Gurudev was apparently appalled at the purposelessness of the system of education that was being imparted to our youth, the flowers of our Nation even after political freedom, without the least regard for ancient culture and its noble value. Mere dissemination of information on certain topics going by the name of education would not make the youth wise or morally strong or help them to develop their personalities fully. Swamiji felt that a huge reservoir of youthful energy is running to waste through destructive and dissipating channels under the present system of education. The so-called educated youth are drifting with no aim or purpose in life. With fatherly love and saintly intuition, Gurudev unfolded a plan for personality development for the youth – Chinmaya Yuva Kendras.

Prevention of a huge wastage of youthful energy, its proper conservation and redirection through channels of self-development and nation-building should be the be-all and end-all of education. He wanted that the youth are not used less, but more, not cared less, but more. The motto was “Harnessing Youth Potential to Dynamic Spirituality for the Future”.

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Ideal Student

Devotion, determination, perseverance and tenacity are a ‘must’ for an ideal student. - Satish Chowkulkar

"What is Wrong and What is Important?"

…. The lack of a value system, self-respect and decency is what was apparent during New Year celebrations this year. Uprooting road signs, trashing police booths, driving around drunkenly and generally creating mayhem, wanton destruction of public property – Behaviour like this does not “just happen”. It is programmed to happen because personal integrity is not given as much importance as, say, academic achievement; because children have too few role-models outside cinema and television; because the law is too lazy to track down the vandals; and, above all, because the disapproval of society is not expressed loudly and clearly.

On the first day of 2008, the only people who were not thoroughly disgusted with these graphic pictures of wanton destruction were probably those same youth. They may have been pleased to have made it to the front pages!

Why is it that violence and destruction are the chosen ways to express a whole range of emotions for some youngsters? When a popular political leader dies, they break windows; when they are protesting a new rule, they burn buses and break into shops; and when they celebrate, they break whatever comes to hand. And every time, they brazenly break the rules!

What is wrong?

There may be a temptation on the part of some, even the police, to let this New Year eve vandalism go as “harmless fun”. This temptation must be resisted, because such behaviour is neither harmless nor fun.

There are three major things wrong with this behaviour.

One, they equated ‘celebration’ with destruction and dangerous behaviour.

Two, they did not care who saw them and they did not fear punishment.

Three, they did not regret their actions even in the clear sober light of the following day.

The first shows lack of a good value system; the second shows lack of self-respect and accountability; the third shows lack of decency and a willingness to change.

These young men have probably done this sort of thing before, and will probably do it again. There are others like them, many others, who will be encouraged to join in, if society or the law-enforcers display indulgence and apathy. Just like a few discordant notes can ruin the music of an orchestra, elements like these debase society. When these things happen often enough, we all get “used” to them, and after a while we don’t even stop to think about it. It becomes part of the “scene”, part of society as we know it.

Mindless vandalism masquerading as “fun” is every bit as a dangerous to society as major crimes… in fact, more so, because they sneak in “under the radar” as it were, and eat away at public standards of decency.

- From the article, “Breaking in the New Year?” by Malini Seshadri in the ‘Young World’, The Hindu, January 11, 2008

- (My grateful thanks to Ms Malini Seshadri for this lucid, analytical, thought-provoking and wonderful article)

Words of Wisdom-38:

A nation is advanced in proportion to education and intelligence spread among the masses - Swami Vivekananda

Some Aspects of Human Excellence

One can develop one's personality only through manifestation of human excellence by achieving the various divine dimensions of a person. Some of these dimensions are: Strength and Fearlessness, Self-confidence, Courage, Discrimination, Compassion, Concentration, Self-sacrifice.

-Swami Paramarthananda

Path to Human Excellence

Our youth has intelligence and energy. In our current education, they miss one important item of all true education, namely, character-building. A combination of knowledge and character alone can make path for Human Excellence. That character comes from the manifestation of the divinity always present in every human being and finds expression in the spirit of love and service of humanity, irrespective of caste and creed, gender and nationality. We have Indian character excellence, Western character excellence, and Chinese character excellence. But today we need a human character excellence.

- Swami Ranganathananda

"Moral Education: A Practical Approach" by Professor K.Rama Rao

Opinions & Reviews:

This book on what, why and how of moral education is a product of the author's practical experience as a teacher of a moral education course meant for B.Ed.students. It contains... the rich practical observations of an experienced and dedicated teacher. Its readability is an additional reason, why it should find a place on the shelf of every library. (Prabuddha Bharata, Vol.93, May 1988)

The author has suggested five broad approaches for imparting moral education - The Direct, the Integrated, the Incidental, the Activity and the Demonstration Approach. He has suggested two techniques under the Direct Approach. The first one is based on 'Reasoning' and the second on 'Discovery'. Both these have been illustrated by several examples... Prof.Rama Rao has stressed the importance of a comparative study of religions....The work fulfils a long-felt need in the methodology of Moral and Spiritual Education. (The Indian Express, Dec.2, 1986)

The decline of moral values in modern day India, the cynicism with which virtues are talked about and the way society treats its super-rich even when it knows, that the money is ill-gotten all contrast sharply with the reputation for integrity and honesty, we the people of India, had in olden days.. can moral education in our schools help eradicate the malaise? Shri Rama Rao attempts to answer the question in this book. (Bhavan's Journal, Vol.33, No.24, July 16-31, 1987)

This book is not a bundle of dry precepts but a scholarly exposition of the necessity for moral education for children. It has in it effective means of transforming them. It contains the meaning, objectives, curriculum for different age-groups in the subject, and teaching-learning techniques. The author deserves to be congratulated. (Taranga, June 28, 1992).

"Moral Education: A Practical Approach"
by Professor K.Rama Rao
Published by Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education(RIMSE), Mysore-570020
pp.377
Price: Rs.60/-