True Education

Dear ones, 

Years along in regular succession, whether mankind acquires culture or relapses into barbarism, whether it progresses through education or regresses, the period of time available for living that is allotted to each individual drips away — moment by moment. This process cannot be arrested or denied. Unmindful of this truth, the educational institutions charged with the duty of equipping the citizens of the country with the knowledge and the skill needed to make every facet of life strong and fruitful, are now falling fast into decadence. The educational system which has to play a pivotal role in raising the quality and standard of human life is severely handicapped. It has lost the honoured status it had for centuries.

It does not now receive the homage it deserves. Silently and subtly, the lure of money has penetrated the system so deep that support and respect are given only to such faculties and professions that can offer high monetary rewards. For, a man is honoured in society only when he earns an enormous amount of money. The spirit of sacrifice, loyalty to plain living, strict adherence to virtue, observance of justice, appreciation of integrity — these laudable traits are having to confront powerful opposing forces. Education is rendered a barren exercise and a danger to social security. Strikes and other more violent pressures are used to gain non-educational ends. Those who oppose such factions are subjected to insult and injury. 

In order to gain the benefit that education can confer, it must be directed towards the cleansing of the Antah-Karana or the inner instruments of thought and feeling. It has to promote and protect the pleasure of spiritual learning.

Education does not consist of mere reading of books or writing them. Nor should education be valued and pursued as a means of securing jobs. Mastering the contents of books gives only secondary knowledge. The goal of education should be heroic excellence in action, not the accumulation of information. The educated man must resolve to earn his livelihood through hard toil and sustained effort, through the sweat of his brow; he must have as his ideal the fullest use of his talents for increasing the prosperity and welfare of his country.

The learning process yields best results during the early years of life. What is taught then is easily assimilated. The qualities that are fostered during this tender age-period last until the very end. Childhood, boyhood and youth are, assuredly, invaluable stages of one’s life. When they are used to the best advantages, man can shine as a well-educated person and earn respect and fame in the society. Consider the amount of effort and sacrifice a person undergoes to procure even some trivial thing. He cannot get from the market an article he desires without parting with some money. “Give and take” is the rule of life. When one willingly renounces things of value in order to gain such paltry possessions, why should he lament when he has to renounce the low, limited pleasures that his senses can give, in order to gain the ‘Awareness of the Atma’ which confers immeasurable Bliss?

Students who are wise do not allow the senses to rule over them. They control their vagaries and achieve triumph in the battle against that group of deluders. They give up degrading habits and welcome good habits in their place. They renounce the illusion of the ‘many’ in order to accept the Reality, the ‘One’.

They raise themselves as worthy servants of the nation, for they build their lives on fraternity that does not fade and on minds that do not meander when they are assaulted by either reverence or ridicule, praise or blame. They must not become flames that flicker in fear when worldly storms blow against them. Like Mount Meru, they must stand firm in faith, never downhearted when reviled, never elated when flattered. These are but passing clouds which gather and disperse. They are powerless to uplift man; they can only weaken one’s will and confidence. They are as unsubstantial as gusts of wind. Thunder roars, lightning flashes, day brightens, night darkens, but the sky is unaffected. It does not shrink or expand. The heart of each student must be like the sky—calm, pure and tranquil—so that he may serve the country to the utmost. No one should mould himself into an incompetent or unwilling servant of the people.

Leaders with a high sense of duty are needed in every country. They have to emerge from the student community itself. They have in their power the shaping of the future. When the students of a country examine their desires and urge with intelligent discrimination and when they observe the limits imposed by the nature of their duties to themselves, their lives will be truly exemplary and the country will shine in unique individuality. Their elders and guardians may have some faults and failings but, since they are unrelated to the primary duty of the students, they are best connected with the wiser among them only. Students are connected only with problems of others. The likes and dislikes of students, their fads and fears should not complicate or conflict with the problems of Bharath.

As students, they have to be enthusiastically engaged in the task of study, unaffected by anything else; for, the student has, during the years of study, to design and build a career, a home for himself by his own effort so that he can spend his years there in peace and joy. When each one explores and establishes for himself a home of happiness, wealth and welfare are ensured for the State. 

However, one has to ask oneself whether the activity he chooses will benefit the country and the society to which he is bound by love and gratitude. He can then be directed by the answer, and derive maximum results from his knowledge, strength and skill. The yearning to serve the society will uproot the down-dragging ego. It will cast away the identification he has with his body, wherein he resides for some time only. It will earn for him the blessings of elders and the appreciation of the society. A genuine educational system has to rescue man from the temptations woven by the mind.

The educated person must unhesitatingly move into the society, determined to promote its prosperity. He has to confront obstacles with joyful confidence. Today, self-confidence has declined and so, the educated are avoiding arduous and exhausting tasks. This is not the time for them to lose heart, give up and sleep. They have to wake up and seek union with the active and the alert. Union with such people confers strength on the weak and vacillating. However, the bond of unity which is a blessing should not be corrupted or used as an instrument to injure the society. It has to be lovingly used for its good.

This land fell into the hands of foreigners, not because it had not clever leaders; nor was there a dearth of wise men and experts in various fields of knowledge and action. The country suffered humiliation and defeat, only because there was no unity, no mutual love and cooperation among them. The root cause for all the defects and distress that now drag the society downward is jealousy between man and man. Students must safeguard themselves against jealousy. They must ignore difference and distinctions and project themselves as models of mutual aid, and brotherly cooperation. Their concern should be for the progress of the nation as a whole. 

It must be said that a nation cannot progress so long as education is considered as means for securing a livelihood and knowledge is valued in terms of the income one can earn from society by its use. Students, therefore, must realize the need of the hour and cultivate a positive social consciousness. They should firmly follow the path that will help realize the ideal society they plan to build. For them, virtue is wealth, character is treasure, and knowledge is power. The worth of a student lies not in his physical strength and charm, riches and reputation, or status and scholarship.

It depends on character, the virtues that he has imbibed and is practising. Along with wealth, learning, power and authority, man must possess the basic human quality of compassion, for, it alone can cleanse his Antah-Karana, or the thoughts, passions and emotions. Education must help man to acquire a broad moral and spiritual vision. The educated person should not be content with the attainment of scholarship or social influence or popular acclaim.

Viswamitra, as described in the scriptural texts, relied on his physical, mental and material attainments in his fights against the sage Vasishta, and so had to face defeat. At this he exclaimed, “Fie on my Kshatriya balam, my technical skills. The power derivable from the Absolute which is my reality (Brahmabalam) can alone save me.” And he entered upon a long course of severe asceticism, in order to equip himself with that power.

Duryodhana and Ravana, two other epic figures, had full trust in the invincibility of the material and physical resources they commanded. They got as a reward only total ruin. If a person claims to be a king without subduing his enemies and establishing his dominion over the realm, he can rightly be called insane. So too, without mastering the cluster of six enemies—desire, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hatred—and establishing himself in the dominion of inexhaustible bliss, one cannot lay claim to real power.

In fact, there is nothing in this world that man cannot achieve, provided he has the strength of character. Either in the field of education or in the spiritual field, he can reach the highest peak. Students must have faith in that truth; they must focus all attention on sublime goals. Every activity in which his hands are engaged should be sanctified with a holy purpose, as an offering to God, as oblation in the holy ritual of Yajna. Instead, if he is proud of his muscle and his brain, and if his actions are activated by greed for gain, he will only land in disaster. Service to society without being prompted by selfish ends and with no desire to own the fruits thereof is a really sublime task. Unless he is busy at this noble task, he degrades himself to a low status.

Beasts are busy, birds are active all the time; insects and worms are also engaged in some task or the other. Man must demonstrate his superiority over these through selfless service. The urge to serve others is the most valuable component of character. The urge should have no trace of egotism. Ego clouds the splendour of the Atma. The path of service will be smooth only when selfishness is absent. But, the poison of pride now afflicts most scholars, pundits and experts. For this reason, they are unable to share with society the fruits of their knowledge, when the society has a right to service.

“Vidya Vinaya Sampannah” says the scripture. “Learning endows humility”. This axiom is laid down by sages who were rich in experience of teaching and learning. Knowledge and humility are the two wheels of the vehicle, the two wings of the bird, the two eyes in man. They are complementary assets, shedding glory and splendour on each other. In ancient times, those proceeding in search of higher learning were bent upon establishing themselves firmly in these virtues. 

Students must direct their energies to activities that can help them realise such constructive ideals. Their thoughts have to be more and more expansive. They should not blindly pursue petty personal ends. They have to consider themselves as the limbs of the wider society and strive for its welfare. They have to value the opinions which others hold, as much as they value their own. They have no right to condemn others’ thoughts while appreciating their own. Are not the mothers of those others as venerable as their own mothers are to themselves?

Everyone has the right to believe in his reading of reality. No one has the right to dispute the sincerity and faith of others. Controversies and conflicts arise when such a right is claimed and exercised. “Munde munde mathi bhinnam” — ‘Heads different, thoughts different’ says the Sastra. So, students should not be so self-centred as to argue that their line of thought is right and that all others are wrong. Such an attitude reveals weakness and fear. Each person has the right and duty to arrive at and assert his point of view for consideration by others.

At the present time, students lack breadth of vision. Hence, educational institutions are suffering from various forms of disturbances. Students must be free from caste and creed prejudices. All belong to the same caste, the caste of humanity. The basic human core in each has to be recognized and respected. Students must live and move as men among men. A beast does not demean itself; it lives as a beast among beasts. It is born in that species and has to behave as a beast. But, when a man born in the human species behaves as beast, it is certainly very wrong. Students must have the faith that they are human and not bestial. Prayers to God for strengthening faith in one’s nobility will surely be answered. The effort will succeed through Grace.

The disciplined mind will not yield, as beasts do, to sudden outbursts of passion. The disciplined student must be steadily attached to his role of a seeker of Truth. The truth he is after will guide him in the future years; it will illumine for him the problems of the society also. Discipline sweetened by liberality and compassion, softened by virtue and tolerance has to be welcomed. Attitudes of separatism and alienation should not be allowed into the tender hearts of students.

The young are passing through a period of life when minds are still irresolute, powerless either to defy injustice or to adhere to justice. Nevertheless, students have to be vigilant to avoid factions and fights. One must earn the right, by means of humility and virtue, to lead others. One has to observe the obligations of citizenship before one can clamour for rights. No one who has failed the fulfil the duties devolving on him can legitimately require that others discharge their duties. An officer addicted to heavy drinking cannot claim success in the spread of prohibition. Yet, we find such hypocrisy widely prevalent and people do not notice the incongruity in this situation. This is not a sign of social health.

The discontent that manifests itself in various forms like riots and strikes may arise from the people suffering from inadequate supply of essentials for daily life, or from unrighteous functioning of people in positions of authority. However, a large percentage of such incidents are caused by frantic haste or even compulsive habit inherent in a few. These are not signs of a healthy, democratic way of life. Students have to ponder over the loss and confusion that they cause.

During the centuries, man has mastered many branches of knowledge and designed a variety of machines with the help of that knowledge. He had explored and exploited many facets of service in action for fellowmen. In spite of this achievement, peace of mind which is his paramount need is still beyond his grasp, for, the flood waters of life are swirling along with him, too fast and too far for him to feel calm and collected. The knowledge that he has earned refers only to maya, the appearance that parades as real. The truth that knowledge reveals is distorted. It deludes, hindering the vision of Truth. It cannot unravel the mystery of the Universe. 

When the tree is to be felled, of what profit is it to pluck the leaves or cut the branches away? The taproot has to be discovered and destroyed. So too is the mystery of the many, the multifarious. It lies in the Atma, of which one can be aware only by pursuing Atma Vidya. The lamp of Atma Vidya sheds light all around. But the students of Bharath, where the lamp was lit first and where it still shines, are now in the dark shadow. That is their misfortune. An educational process that emphasises only on ‘knowing’, without paying attention to the promotion of sublime virtues, will halt and ruin world progress. Character is life. Character is power. Character is true holiness. Without transforming character, packing the brain with information can only result in damaging it. 

The qualities of unselfishness and discipline, humility and simplicity must become integral parts of the nature of all students. These must be their inner reservoir of strength, their very memory, their smruti. Smruti will then stand guard over their conduct and direct it along the right lines towards meritorious character. Character alone can establish and ensure world peace and prosperity. The Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and other Sai educational institutions are engaged in teaching the basic truth. They aim at cultivating and developing character. 

This is the prime purpose of all educational activities here. This is the message of the ancient sruthi, the Gita and the scriptures of all lands. Sruthi is the internal wisdom, smruti is the elaboration, the practical application of sruthi. Smruti is the strong straight spine, the perfect prop of the student. When students’ life is shaped in accordance with smruti, their hearts will respond to pure ideas and fresh ideals and through the example of their lives, they will purify and freshen the world.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba