Education is a sacred word
which initiates the process of learning and educating one’s mind. It develops
the power of reasoning, empowers a person to be articulate by channelizing and
dressing up thoughts. It provides tools and techniques to choose words for oral
presentations. A person acquires a body of knowledge in the process of being
educated. It provides an enlightening experience and in the process dispels the
darkness of the mind. It has the divine touch which changes ones perspective of
life the way one thinks and acts in their daily lives. It activates the sense of inquisitiveness to
satisfy reasons behind happenings around us. The process of education creates a
library system in the brain for retrieving the information as and when
required. Education provides ability to analyzing in logical ways and finding
methods of rationalizing illogical thoughts. It also enhances the analytical capacity
of the brain.
Modern
Computer and our brain:
If we define the process of
education in modern computer language then it means that the fields or areas of
study are software which we programme in a hard disk that is our brain. Therefore
the response of the brain depends upon the software loaded in our brain. This software’s
keep running into the file systems made of neurons and axons. The way a
computer cannot respond to our request if the particular file is not present in
the system, the same way we are ignorant of the knowledge of a particular area
which we have not studied. The sharing
of knowledge between different file systems provides us the power of logical
reasoning and in order to do so, related files must be present in our library
system made of neurons. A file or information stored in our brain cannot be
retrieved in time, if the registry or the information’s stored in neurons are corrupt
and needs recovery or defragmentation by way channelizing thoughts and upgrading
the process of thinking.
Now the process of programming our
brain and creating different file system, depends upon the schools and universities
we attend to acquire the knowledge. Every school or group of schools or universities
are different in the world. The subject may be the same but the methods of
teaching and imparting knowledge may vary. It also depends on which educational
system puts emphasis on which part of the knowledge. In turn our nature and behaviour is also programmed according to the purpose and programme of the
schools. If it has the purpose to promote social or moral values or scientific
advancements or vocational training's or religious teachings then the entire
curriculum is influenced to suit the knowledge. If the purpose is to promote
hatred or universal brotherhood then the mind gets programmed accordingly. By
the time one reaches high school their brain is already programmed as per the
standard, or curriculum or purpose of the school. The environment in which we
live also makes substantial impact in the programming of our brain.
Education
System:
Once a person goes to university then the areas of specialization starts and the person gets the
certification in those areas of education. In turn the person becomes an expert
in that particular subject. Upon further pursuing of study or specialization by
doing research, a person becomes an expert in a specific area of the research
and is awarded a doctorate degree. A doctorate degree or any other professional degrees, emphasize specialization in
that particular field for the purpose of getting a job or earning a livelihood
depending upon the demand and supply. Therefore, it may be presumed that the person is void
of other areas of knowledge, which may be important for knowing other aspects of the world and spiritually knowing his or her true self.
Furthermore, even after acquiring
knowledge of highest degree, if the effect of knowledge is not visible in
the person’s personality, action and behaviour, then the person may be knowledgeable book wise, but may be foolish otherwise. He or she remains uneducated as far as the development
of the mind in other areas of education is concerned. The purpose of education is to change one’s nature,
behaviour and perspective of life. It must change radically and broadly the way a person
thinks, acts or behave. After acquiring masters or doctorate degrees, if people at large remain
conservative, prejudiced, chauvinist, radical, hypocritical, fundamentalist, fanatics,
unfair, unjust, unreasonable, opinionated, judgmental and intolerant and have other
ills such as anger, ego, jealousy, hatred and behavioral problems, then I think
they are still illiterate and they have studied books of a particular subject to
obtain degree only or for the purpose of name, fame or money.
The
purpose of education:
The purpose of education is not
only to earn a livelihood but to educate the mind to the extent that it helps
people understand complexities of the world and analyze their own true nature for
further improvements. Real education should provide the brain for a sensible reasoning capability. It must lift the level of brain from basics to advance stages. Since education is a process to format a person's brain from the animal instincts to humanly instincts and nd in the process, it should make a person more humane, compassionate,
affectionate, tolerant, understanding, open minded, supportive, adjustable,
unselfish, unbiased, giving, caring and benevolent. A developed mind from the process of education should also develop the capacity to control their emotions. Hence, truly educated people, should develop the ability to control their ego, anger,
hatred and jealousy. Truly educated people should also have the ability to understand reasons of their being in this
world; and in the process they should be humble, down to earth and their nature should become mellow. They
will never brag or showcase themselves. If these qualities are not visible even
after acquiring a masters or doctorate degree, then the person may be educated
from the worldly point of view but may remain uneducated from the personification
point of view.
Education should change people's outlook and how they perceive the world. Their perspicacity of the world and fellow
human beings should set them apart between an educated and non educated being.
However I have also seen enlightened people having no school or university
degrees. My premise behind the above statement is based on my belief that
generally people acquire knowledge or degrees only to earn livelihood and not
to educate and take their mind to higher levels. An educated mind must have a
control on human ills and weaknesses. Majority of uneducated people
have less control on their emotions and behaviour and that is the reason of
hostility between the people and nations around the world. And if these hostile
characteristics or radical thinking is still there even after getting the
doctorate degree then it has been a total waste of the education system and
defies the purpose of education.
Types
of knowledge:
Therefore knowledge or
education can be divided into two parts:
- Outer World Knowledge: Knowing the
outside world together with particular subject or subjects and specialize
in that subject in order to earn a livelihood.
Personal interest, demand and
supply, or market economics dictates the selection of a program or vocational
course. Generally every faculty of study is measured in terms of financial
returns. If after the graduation one cannot get a job then the education has no
value. Therefore the purpose of education revolves around the degree of
financial or social success and it may be divided into the following
categories:
- Specialization
in a particular subject in order to profess (teachers, professors,
mentors, trainers etc)
- Specialization
in a particular vocation to practice (lawyers, doctors, engineers,
business, management, experts, specialists etc)
- Specialization
in a particular area of science or arts to profess or practice
(researchers, scientists, music, dance, drama, theater, skilled persons
etc)
Hence the entire gambit of
education revolves around becoming something so that one can become socially or
financially successful or learn something so that people can understand the
ways of the world and survive. The entire focus is worldly and outward.
- Inner World Knowledge: Knowing the
self, who we are and looking deep inside ourselves in order to realize
truth of the life while having a control on our temperament, ego, emotions
and behaviour for making us a better human being.
Difference
between the outer and inner world knowledge:
The modern education system teaches us
how to survive in this world and to know and understand the outside world which
we perceive from our five senses. Whereas, the knowledge of inner world
empowers us to look within our mind, dive deep into our conciousness and look for the unexplored knowledge, and enjoy the spiritual experiences of
life. The outer world knowledge provides us the understanding of the
surrounding environment whereas the inner world knowledge provides us the
understanding of our inherent nature.
The application of outside world
knowledge is full with stress, anxiety and loss of peace whereas the
application of inner world knowledge provides a state of tranquility, calmness
and peacefulness. The outcome of the outer world knowledge is temporary or
lasts until that particular knowledge or vocation is in demand whereas the
inner world knowledge is everlasting. The capacity of the outer world knowledge
is limited and it becomes obsolete with the time or becomes useless once a
person retires from the job or active social life whereas the inner world
knowledge remains with the person and makes the path of salvation clearer and stronger
as the time passes.
One may argue that the
knowledge of inner world cannot provide us meals or means for survival. That
is why I have emphasized the importance of true or real education so that while
getting outer world knowledge, one can explore the inner horizon to fine tune
their nature and behaviour to make them a person of excellence. Without
this any amount of worldly education will not make a person kind, tolerant and
understanding.
Subject
Matter Expert vs. Educated Person:
Generally people get confused
between a subject matter expert and an educated person. A subject matter expert
is an expert in that particular area of knowledge, whereas he or she may be
absolutely blank in other areas of knowledge, vital for understanding the world
and the environment in which we live. For example, I had a chance to discuss the
subjects of Para normal activities or subjects which falls
under the purview of the meta-physics or chirology or astrological science having direct links with the astronomy; with
several educated and socially successful people. I never studied these subjects
in schools or university but my inquisitiveness in knowing the world led me to
make some research. To my dismay their answers always have been that they do not
believe in those areas of science.
By not having a belief does not write-off the fact that these areas of
study or faculty of science does not exists. It is their ignorance that they have not
studied and out of their ego or vanity they do not want to accept their
existence. Unless people are inquisitive enough and have interests in
studying other areas of knowledge and taking their mind to higher levels than
the levels of knowing their own vocation only, it would be difficult to presume
that people have sufficiently tried to educate themselves.
The role of educational
institutions:
My belief on the above reasoning
is further fortified due to the lack of proper education system. Majority of schools and universities including the top ones are focused on teaching students basic or specialized information about outer world knowledge. Very few of
them teach how to look within; how to improve or fine tune personal nature and
behaviour to develop humanely qualities and how to overcome greed, jealousy,
indifference, anger, hatred and selfishness. This is the reason that even after
having a masters, PHD degree or gold medal, people working at high places including
government departments, public and private sectors, have no control on their greed and unsolicited
desires. Many of the so called educated people or degree holders on high positions around the world are rampantly indulged
in corruption, nepotism, racism and favoritism without caring for humanly values.The Oxford dictionary defines education as the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university: a course of education, an enlightening experience, a body of knowledge while being educated.
Therefore to sum up, if the
process of education could not bring the enlightening experience and the body
of knowledge does not include knowing the self and intricate sciences
which makes a dominant impact on our lives and if our minds do not go to
higher levels by shunning ego, anger, hatred and jealousy and if we do not
become humble, down to earth, free of all biasness, loving, compassionate and
understanding then an enlightening experience has not taken place and our body of knowledge is also incomplete. Therefore I would categorize such people as uneducated degree holders.
I look forward to your valuable
comments for further enlightenment of our minds on the subject.
Suman
Saran Sinha, CMC
A
pursuer of logical quest