Areweeducated?

Oneofthepurposeofeducationistoimprovethehumanlivingcondition.But,thecurrenttrend
indicatesthatthesuicidalratehasnotdecreased.Thecrimeratehasnotdeclined.But,itisincreasingin
an alarming rate. Graduations are made without standards. The socalled educated people make no
distinctionbetweenathinganditsproperties.Teachersarenotabletomakeanydistinctionbetween'study'
and'education'.Thesocalledstudentsarenotabletolistthepropertieswhichcanbestudiedofthings.
Thefactisthatnothingexceptthepropertiescanbestudiedofathing.Anothersetofcleverpeoplemade
'education'asindustry.
Asahumbleprofessor,myquestionis:areweeducated?Yeah,thereisanothergroupwhoclaim
technologicalinnovationsaseducation.Thereisstillanothergroupofoldpeoplewhoproclaimthatthe
intellectualcapabilityincreaseswithageandexperience.Theotherwayroundisthehistory!
Inthiscontext,Itooinvestednearly20yearstodiscernthenormativeandaxiomaticprinciples
fromwhichthesecondaryprinciplesarederivedandtolistthepropertieswhichcanbestudiedofathing.
Myheartandmindsaysthatouractivities,despitethedifferencesamongthem,aregovernedbythesame
naturallaws.Itironicaltosaythatthescientificcommunitywhoseprofessionisbasedontheunchanging
axiomaticandnormativeprinciplesclaimsthateverythingchanges.Theultramodernphilosophyofteaching
expertsisthateveryoneandeverythingchanges.Itdirectlyimpliesthatnooneshouldbetrusted.Nowthe
human kind iseducated notto havefaith on anythingexceptmoney.No oneis trustworthy because
everythingchanges.Youcanchangeyourwifeasmanytimesasyoulike.Youcanchangeyourdaughteras
yourwife.Youcanchangeeverythingaspromisedbythemoderneducationalpolicymakers.Consequences,
brokenmarriages,unstablefamilies,identitycrisis.Wearereapingthefruitsofmoderneducationalsystem.
Itisevidentfromthenewspaperreportsthat:Fathersrapetheirdaughters.Sonsrapethemothers,even
theirgrandmothers.Allthesehappeninthehighlyeducatedsociety.Accordingtomodernteachers,mother
canbechangedtowife.Ihavenotsaideverythingchanges.
Ithinkofmyteachersoftenwhotaughtmetheunchangingprinciplesuponwhichlifeisbased.I
amthankfultothembecausetheyhavenotmehowtobeg,buttheyhavetaughtmehowtofightand
howtodeliverjustice.Manyofmyfriendsandstudentssurrenderedtothegeneralwill.Theiractivitiesand
thoughtsarecompletelycontrolledbymoney.Theyarereadytokilltheirfellowhumanbeings.Ihavelived
withthesameprinciple:withmalicetowardnone;withcharityforall;withfirmnesstowardright,shine
withjusticeandtruth.TheideasuponwhichIhavelivedmylifehavenotchanged.Isaidtomyselfthatif
IamintellectIcanmakeotherstofollowme.Iwasconvincedwiththefactthatmyeldersdonotshow
therightwaystotheyoungergeneration.Thehavenottaughtushowtolivelikehuman.Theyhavemade
theyoungergenerationpeopletofightwitheachother.Theyhavedividedtheentirehumanityonthebasis
oftheslightdifferencesamongpeople.Thepresentdayeldergenerationisoneofmostsadisticgeneration
inthehumanhistory.Theyhavemadetheyoungergenerationtocry.Theyareresponsibleforthepresent
daydespair.So,theteachingsystemwhichpromotesbarbaricattitudemustbeoverthrown.Theteaching
systemdoesnoteducatethepublictoimprovethehumanlivingcondition.Peoplecommitsuicidebecause
theyfindthepeoplearoundthemarenotgood.Peoplekilltheirfellowhumanbeings.Itisalsoobvious
that theeducationalenterpriseshavebecomemoneymints.Ihavenowmorallypreparedtheyounger
generationtooverthrowthepresentsystemwhichlivesbykillingtheirfellowhumanbeings.Everyoneis
educatedtoearnwealth.But,noteacherexceptveryfewteachyouhowtobeakingofjustice.Justice
mustbedeliveredatanycostanditwillbedelivered.Again,Irepeatthesamequestion:Areweeducated?
Doweeducateourselvestoimprovethehumanlivingcondition?Isthereanysinglehumanbeingwhohave
acquiredthepowertodeliverjustice?Youmayberich,youmaybeanintellect,youmayhavealotof
knowledge, you may have so many friends, you might have received several degrees by bribing the
authorities.Iknowverywellabouttheintegrityofpeopleintheuniversity.Theycanselltheirwifejustfor
thesakeofmoneyandposition.Theycansenttheirdaughterstobrotheljusttogetanotherhonorary
degree. Such is the integrity of the many professors working in universities. There is another set of
criminalswhoproclaimthatscienceprovidesluxuries.Yes,Iacceptthat.But,cantheluxuriesbeconsidered
asanindicatorofimprovementsinthehumanlivingcondition?Certainlyno.
Educationmeansdrawingyourinnerbeingintoexpressioninyourliving,yourdaytodaylife.Your
h
honesty,yourlove,yourcompassion,shouldcomefromyourinnerbeing,notfromteachingsandscriptures.
Myvisionofarighteducationistohowtogrowtheegoandhowtobeabletodropit;howto
becomegreatmindsandyetbereadyanymomenttoputthemindaside.Youshouldbeabletojustput
yourpersonality,yourego,yourmind,onandoff,becausethesearegoodthingsifyoucanusethem.But
y
youshouldknowthemechanism,howtoputthemoff.Rightnowyouknowonlyhowtoputthemon.
Arealeducationwillnotteachyoutocompete;itwillteachyoutocooperate.Itwillnotteachyou
tofightandcomefirst.Itwillteachyoutobecreative,tobeloving,tobeblissful,withoutanycomparison
withtheother.Itwillnotteachyouthatyoucanbehappyonlywhenyouarethefirst.Thatissheer
nonsense.Youcan'tbehappyjustbybeingfirst.Andintryingtobefirstyougothroughsuchmiserythat
y
youbecomehabituatedtomiserybythetimeyoubecomethefirst.
Societyteachesyou, Becomethis,becomethat. Itteachesyoubecoming.Itswholeeducation
systemisbasedontheideaofbecoming.AndwhatIamtellingyouhereisjusttheoppositeofit.Iam
talkingaboutBEING,notaboutbecoming.Becomingisaninventionofthecraftypoliticiansandthepriests
andthesearethepeoplewhohavepoisonedthewholehumanity.Theygoongivingyougoals.Ifyou
becometiredoftheworldlythingsmoney,power,prestigetheyaretheretotellyouaboutparadise,
G
God,samadhi,truth.Againthewholeprocessstarts.
Thechildwhenheisbornfunctionsfromthecenter;weteachhimhowtofunctionfromthe
circumference.Thatisourwholeeducationalsystemallovertheworld:teachingthechildhowtofunction
fromthecircumference.Wepullhimawayfromhiscenter,wemakehimmoreandmoreaccustomedto
thecircumference,tolivingonthecircumference...twentyfiveyearsofconditioning,education:goodnames
wehavegiventouglythings.Wecalliteducationitisnoteducation,nothingcanbeagreatermis
e
education.
Theveryword'education'meansdrawingsomethingout,todrawsomethingout.Whenyoudraw
wateroutofthewellitiseducation.Justlikethat,whensomethingisdrawnoutwardsfromyourcenterit
iseducation.Butthisisnotwhatisgoingoninthenameofeducation;itisforcingthingsuponyou.Itis
notbringingyourcentertofunction.Itisnotsharpeningyourcenter;itisdullingit,makingitmoreand
moresleepy,dozy.Thesocietysucceedsthedayyourcentergoesintoacomaandyourcircumference
r
remainsfunctioning.Thenyouarearobot,amachine,nomoreaman.
Inthecomingcenturythewholeeducationsystemisgoingtobetotallytransformedandchanged
becauseofthecomputer.Itwillbestupidtoteachchildrenhistory,geographyunnecessary,thereisno
need.Allthatcanbedonebyacomputer;thechildcancarrythecomputer.Andmyownobservationis:
theless youdependonmemory,themoreintelligentyoubecome.That'swhyithappensthatinthe
u
universitiesyouwillnotfindveryintelligentpeople.
Inthefuture,educationwillhavethatdimension.Myownvisionisthateachstudentshouldbe
givenanopportunitytoteachtoo.Thestudentswhoarereadingandstudyingfortheirmaster'sdegree
shouldbeallowedtogotolowerclassestoteach;thosewhoareworkingfortheirbachelor'sdegree,they
shouldbeallowedtoteachthelowerclasses.Everystudentshouldbeateacheralso,andviceversa.Every
teacheronceinawhileshouldsitwiththestudentsandstartlearningagain.Eachteacheronceinawhile
shouldbeastudent,andeachstudentonceinawhileshouldbeateachertoo.Thisdifferencebetweenthe
t
teacherandthetaughthastobedissolved;theteacherandthetaughtarepartofoneprocess.
Wehavefailed,uptonow,increatingasocietywhichneedshumanbeings,simplehumanbeings.
Thesocietyisinterestedthatyoushouldbemoreskillful,moreproductive,andlesscreative.Itwantsyou
tofunctionlikeamachine,efficiently,butitdoesnotwantyoutobecomeawakened.Itdoesnotwant
buddhasandchristsSocrates,Pythagoras,LaoTzu.No,thesepeoplearenotneededatallbythesociety.
Ifsometimestheyhappen,theydon'thappenbecauseofthesociety;theyhappeninspiteofthesociety.
Educationismoreforculturalindoctrinationthanforthepurposeofprovidingameansfor
informedcriticalthought.Understandingthevalueofculturalindoctrinationbeforeattemptingtocritique
andorimproveanysystemofformaleducationisimportant.
Whenisthepurposeofeducationtoimprovethehumanlivingcondition.Whatwouldittakein
termsofchangeinsocietytoachievethat.Whenisitaccessibletoall.Whenisitthefocusofourfaith.
Everyoneiseducatedtoearnwealth,yes.Knowingit,isasmallsteptowardawarenessofhowthehuman
livingconditioniscontrolledbymoney,bytheanimalinstinct,Thewarwewageiswithourselves,one
personatatime.Thereishope,notallareunawareorblindfollowers.Therearepeoplewhoarecurious
andindependentthinkers.Theyarenotthemajorityandtheymaynotmaketheworldbettertoday.ButI
havehope,everybithelps,changewillcomebutnotlikelyinourlifetime.
 EducationisaluxurynotwillinglyaffordedbyaMammonculture.Universitiesonlyenableenough
thinkerstograduatetoquellthecriticism.Mostgraduatesaretrainedinusefularts.Mostarenottaught
inquiryintothenonmonetarilyuseful.Changesofperspectivearefearedabovethelossoflifeitself.
Today'sworldhasturnedintoagraveyard..............Thecontemporarymottois"I"............Ishouldonly
live.......Youliveornot,eat,happyornotIshouldlive,Ishouldenjoy.........................Thereisatheorywhichsays
that "People of an advanced civilization tends to destroy themselves".....That's what is going on
today........Peopleturnintoextremistswhogoagainstthegovernment.Whatisgovernment???Peopleisthe
government........Thenitisawarbetweenpeople......IpraytoGod2012"Doomsday"ifitisrealorunreal
shouldhappen.......Ifnothumanswoulddestroythisworld.......Ifothercreaturesshouldexisthumansshould
perish....
Look at the world. It is run by the educated. Education has become a fraudulent excuse for
intelligence.Irathernotsaythey'rearenot.buteducationhaspurposesandifnoneofthepurposesisfor
individualdevelopmentbutonlytoserveotherssuchasgovernment,country,employers,etc.thenthat
educationcanonlypromotecompetitionandasresult,thesocietycanbecomeobsessedbymoneyand
positionsincludingsocialstatus.generallycontentmentislookeddownandlaughedat.I'veseenvideoclips
aboutIndianstudentsdriventogethighmarksetcinschoolthatsoundsextremecompetitionamongst
studentsetc.Ithinksucheducationisquiteterrible.SoisinAustralia,studentsarenotallowedtoknow
howtobeagoodpersonrathertheyhavetofindoutthemselvesandhopefullythemajoritycouldfind
it.Educationisjustatestcasethesedaysandevolvingtobebetterwhilstfundingitisacrisis.Afterall,
without selfimprovement,psychologicallyandintellectually,studentswillnotbeabletocontributethe
society more thanmaterialistically.Chasingfor fame, positions, luxuriouslifestylesetchave drained all
resources(bothnaturalandhumancapacities)andtheworldisheadingabreakingpoint.Weallknowthe
globalwarmingisasignificantissuebuttheworldhasjustignoreditintermsoffinancialcrisis.Andthe
populationisgrowingandsocietiesarefacingproblemstofeedthem,educatethem,togivethemsome
positionsetc.whencereligious(includinghumanright)campaignersareclaimingadifferencewhilstmorality
isnottouchedtobeusedasasolution.Itseemstalkingaboutmoralityisasocialfailure.That'sasad
conditionoftheworld.
Buttherearesomeindividualswhoaregreatleadersinsocialactivitiesforabettersociety.Most
societieshavethemIthink.Asacriticalthinkeriwouldsaythatitsasmuchourownresponsibilityasany
formal education...To question,to ponder,to wonder,to examine other points of view,seek truth,dare to
imagine,examine etc...And yes,..if need be...to disrupt the class, engage in debate with the teacher,the
system,and any status quo which might be past its useby date..We are too easily led,coerced into
conforming,.brainwashed ,estranged from the bigpicture..etc.. There is always a need for conscientious
objectors,mavericks,antagonists,.subversiveseven...Civilizeddebateisthebasisofcivilizationanditsevolution
towardsabetterfuture.
Thereissometruthtothatbutbettereducatedcultures,evenifitiseducationonlyforthesupport
ofthatculture,arebetterfortheworld.Educationinitselfisproofofawillingnesstoimproveandlearn.
Wedoneedmore"informedcriticalthought"butwealsoneedourculturestosurvive.Improveonwhat
wehave,butdon'tloosesightofhowwegottowhereweare.
Itisbecomingthatwayandisalmostcompletelythatwayinmanyschoolsnow,butitiswrong.
Schoolisforlearningtheartsandsciencesofthisworldaswellaslearningcriticalthinkingandnotjust
politically.Politicshavelittlepurposewhentaughtonesided.Thatkindofteachingalsodestroystrue
criticalthinking.Correct,mostofthetimeeducatorspresentapointofviewthatfurthersaorganizationor
governmentsagenda.Itsnotmeantforcriticalthoughttothinkoutsidethebox.

AnnaJustin,NewYork
SamlynJosfyn,Beijing
Soundaryanayaki,Cochin