A brief essay on Education

By: Ahnanda – explore7.wordpress.com

Our society is driven by the mind. Information is a key component, thus

“information is knowledge.” In that setting, when we refer to Education,
most will believe that this is the acquisition of information. However, that
is a very superficial way of looking at Education. Granted, to acquire
information is necessary in many technological fields, but to equate
“teaching values” with talking about love, peace and happiness is truly
an illusion.

Looking at Education
While the master and the disciple were enjoying a walk in Nature on an
ample sidewalk, a mother walked with her son in the same direction as
them for a couple of seconds. They overheard the little kid saying: “I will
clean up the front porch of the house, but if you want it done right it will
cost you more than what you want to give me.”
The master decided to stop by a pond and asked: “ Would you charge me
if I ask you to clean up my front porch?” The disciple was perplexed by
that question but immediately said: “No, Master.”
The master said: “Why not?” The disciple said: “ I am grateful that I am
your disciple and you do not charge me for that.” The master then said:
“Your education is different from that kid who charged his mother to
clean up the porch of the house.”
The disciple said: “ He is living in her house and obtaining many benefits
but he doesn’t realize that. I wonder why?” The master responded:” He
has been trained alright to know the value of coins and bills. He wants to
get the maximum profit that he can. That was his education.”
The disciple said:”The word education can be understood in many ways,
master. In this case, you are saying that the mother has taught that kid to
act in that way…”
The master said: “ You said that. Let us talk about that word, education.
What does it mean to you?”
The disciple who was versed in dictionary meanings said: “ Well,
education is the process to acquire general knowledge, developing the
powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself
intellectually for mature life.”
The master said: “Very well. What about acquiring beliefs, values, skills
and habits. Is that education too?”
The disciple said: “Yes, master but that depends on the setting. Someone
from a different country will have different values and beliefs.”
The master said: “Therefore education depends on a particular setting.
Isn’t that called training or even indoctrination to fit into that particular
country?”
The disciple said: “Yes, master. We could call that training too.”
The master said: “ Society has a way to train a person to fit into it.
Society values the economy over any other thing. Therefore, that training
will be geared towards that end. The development of reasoning and
judgment will be centered in that value of economics. Do you see that?”
The master continued:” Even if you are well versed in languages, arts
and sciences; you are only trained to fit into the boundaries of society.
Thus, education in our society is just training to acquire skills to fit in, to
promote the ways and beliefs of that society. However, Life or Nature
does not fit into those narrow boundaries. Society has borders, Nature
does not. What sort of training do you need to understand Life, to enjoy
it? How does society prepare you for that?”
The disciple thought for a few seconds and said: “When I attended a
University, I had a few courses in psychology, philosophy and religion. I
guess that is the extent of my preparation for that Life beyond the
boundaries of society along with my beliefs and values.”
The master said: “ Life does not usually use the language of reasoning. If
you would like to understand Life, a vision based only on intellectual
reasoning is very superficial and narrow. Thinking cannot see the whole
for it is fragmentary. But why is it so important to understand Life, you
may say? Well, most individuals want happiness and all they do is
acquire, buy things, power and wills. They believe that happiness can be
purchased. Most individuals want to feel at peace and what they do is
prepare themselves to fight in case someone takes away what they have
accumulated. Most individuals want fulfillment in this life experience but
all they find is seclusion from their roots, from Nature, and rather live
artificial lives surrounded by concrete, artificial food which they need to
purchase, and dependency on a few coins which you must obtain to
survive. Many in the world, have to work selling widgets 7days a week to
survive. Imagine that life! No time to smell the roses. No time to feel!
They will be closer to Nature only when they are depressed, or when they
want to take something from it. If these individuals acquire more
knowledge or training to have a better standard of living, they become
slaves of their acquisitions and status, ever fearful that those could go
away. In that conditioning, most speak about love, peace and happiness
and even justice without knowing those through experience. Labels
become their mental, reasonable reality; but there are no feelings no
meaning behind those words. Those labels are empty, lifeless, but yet
minds are obsessed with those words. Do you see the importance of that
education and where it may lead you if you become unaware? That kid
will work only because he wants profit. He does not know about the
common good. On the other hand, you will work and you will do it with
joy. Isn’t that another type of education? “
As we discover a new meaning for the word “Education,” we may believe
that in order to live well in society we may need to change our nature
and then create a “saintly” ideal to fit in. This ideal is driven again by
the all powerful mind. However, any ideal is unattainable as it resides in
a realm which is not grounded in the existence of “what is.”

When a Lion wants to become a Rabbit

Let us imagine that lions could think like humans do. Then, lions will
have problems when living in society of thousands of lions, due to their
violent ways. They need to become soft, gentle, mild. What a ferocious,
aggressive lion could DO to become nicer citizens?
Let us push our imagination: Let us say that lions have religious
inclinations for they realize that they need some “self-help” guidance and
want to be “good.” Wouldn’t a lion as it is now, be considered a
“sinner”? Living in society with other lions must be hard for them as
they want their own territory and want lionesses ( at least a couple of
them) there, only for them. Lions will fight and kill any trespassers and
are constantly looking out to expand their territory. Let the female do
the hunting and take care of the cubs, while a male lion rests and
procreates…
What is the “solution” given by society in such dilemma?
Lions need to be more like rabbits. Seriously: Rabbits do not kill each
other. Rabbits do not even eat meat! Rabbits are gregarious and helpful
to each other. They are “good” citizens! Therefore: Follow the rabbits!
DO as they DO. That became the moral law in that society, the striving
ideal to pursue!
Similarly, that is the extent of our education and religious/ moral
teachings. We need icons, figures and examples to follow. We are taught
to copy them. Effort is in copying. Therefore, to “be good” in our society
is synonym with copying a behavior.
When we want to become “better persons,” we copy. We DO as some
icon DOES, but a lion cannot BE a rabbit! They can only fake to be one.
As humans we are not taught to OBSERVE our nature.
How can we pretend to self-transform without even looking at our own
nature?
When looking, hopefully we are not following what society has to say
about our nature. We shouldn’t be interested in labels such as “sinner,”
“saint” or “impure.” There cannot be OBSERVATION of what IS, if we
bring labels we wish to avoid or comply to.
We wish that a “system” could change the nature of a human. We even
fight to demonstrate that a particular system (religious, political) is
better than others. We don’t OBSERVE, we are not aware that any
system depends on how human beings interpret and executes that based
on what he IS. What a human IS drives any system to become “good” or
“bad.”
But, many who have never “tried” OBSERVATION could wonder how
just observing can make any change?
If a lion accepted its nature, it would be interested in preserving its life.
It would experience that colliding with another lion would be
detrimental for both parties. If the lion was aware of the experience,
there would be automatic change without having the need to copy the
iconic rabbit. But, if the lion didn’t have conscious awareness while
going through the experience of fighting, the outcome would be a fearful
lion or a cocky one. In that lack of awareness, to preserve ego is first.
Life in community is secondary. That is how many are into the
“economy” (obtaining wealth endlessly) rather than preserving Life.
Many go through life lacking conscious awareness while unconsciously
manifesting their savage way, even though knowing, that this is counter
productive. At the end, life is a fight for them. It is not something to relax
and enjoy, but to fight for, to display the power of their egotistic minds.
Acceptance of our own nature is first.
Lions are needed in Nature just like rabbits, however; transformation of
nature is “good” when it is natural. Otherwise, it is forced, it is fake, it is
hurtful. Thus, Observation, awareness of who we ARE brings that
change for it is natural. It is a personal journey.
Nevertheless; in a world where everyone is at a different stage on their
own personal development, many are not ready yet for awareness; for
they require the hand holding of religious and political systems, until
they grow up and realize themselves, how artificial those are. We could
observe then, the need for those systems and accept their role in society
as sources of external reformation. The “revolution” is not in revolting or
opposing, but in allowing all players to play their own roles.
That integration with all that exists, could be a glimpse of a growing
awareness.

Thus, the word “consciousness” comes into existence for the first time.
What we ARE through that consciousness is what we will DO. In other
words, BEING is before DOING.

What is the technique, the methodology to “teach” that?

There is none. If someone teaches “discipline” to his child, that teaching
is based on the ideal the father has of “discipline.” Moreover, if that kid
observes that his father is not following that “teaching,” he will learn the
value of words to manipulate another, but he will not know what
discipline is. What the child has observed will be his teaching.
In the world of duality, we could observe that a “normal” mind has been
trained to observe only one aspect of what it perceives as “reality.”
“Day is the the opposite of night.” The difference of “day and night,” we
say. Therefore, we can separate and associate daylight with “good,”
“god,” “heaven,” etc. and night as “bad,” “evil,” “hell,” etc.
Very few have been taught to observe that there is no day without night
and night without day. That is both are complementary at the same time.
To observe the consequences and repercussions of this finding is what
will give someone a level of depth, which some may call “wisdom.”

The separatist political mind

Because most of humanity has a mind concerned with separation,
division as a perception of Life, then unhappiness will be the outcome of
such mind.
Observe your own mind. There is “I” and there is “you.” Also all
personal pronouns are part of the division. We know to be bound by
language syntax, but we believe deep inside that “innocent” division to
be true. That carries an existential problem beyond language. Observe
how the main tool that we use to figure out “Life,” is based on
“analysis.”
Analysis is a tool for further division. We want to know something which
is whole by dividing it in parts. However, parts do not make up what is
meant to be whole. The “whole is equal to the sum of its parts” we say, it
is a nice theory in society, but doesn’t quite work out in “real” Life. Can
we take apart a human being in its numerous parts, and make it “work”
as a live human as it was before the division?
Our vision of the world is meant to analyze things. Observe politics. It
deals with government, administration of people in a society. Politics
relies heavily in all sorts of analysis. We don’t take people as “people”,
we divide people. We create groups and out of that we create struggle
between groups. We forget the common good; but become biased and
select what is most convenient for a particular group. That is
“Democracy.” Not the nice theory of what is supposed to be; but the
“real,” practical aspect ongoing around the world.
There will not be a self realized individual dealing with politics. Not
because “politics is dirty business” but because politics is a fictitious, one
sided way of looking at Life. That political vision is incapable of putting
things together in synthesis.
Politics is about conflict among groups and power struggle of certain
groups. That is the outcome of a mind which has been trained to divide.
How is it possible to find “solutions” for problems created in our society
which such mind?
It is not possible. “Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set
that created them.”
That is a quote from A. Einstein. “Division” is a mind set.
Where is the root problem in need of a “solution”?
The human mind.
Happiness is not a creation of the mind. What our society considers as
happiness is truly infantile, nevertheless; we cannot find a happy person
there, but rather a sedated one. Someone who lives in the comfort zone of
his mind’s achievements which, are only another reflection of a mind
trained to divide, to fight, to conquer, to compete, to become “someone”
in Life, as the utmost value.
Most know that happiness is not brought by material things.
Nevertheless, we strive to obtain those at all cost. Happiness is not in
circumstances, settings, relationships. It is not bound by what is “out
there”.
Happiness is inner fulfillment. It is an inseparable sensation when we
breathe, which makes us alive and vital. That cannot be found in the
mind. That is why, there is “no-mind.”
But, what our educational system knows about it? Not much. In fact,
what we are so eager to learn in our educational system is all about living
in the ego mind. Most individuals are only concerned with their own
achievements, the well being of their own group and the continuous
struggle to maintain an ideal status quo during their life times, which
they fight to provide to their own kind. Conditioning is very strong and
will continue on from generations.
Therefore, a sensitive, intelligent person will look into this. His personal
journey will deal with recognizing and knowing his own mind. There lies
the conditioning. There lies the madness.
This route doesn’t take the traveler into “name and fame.” There are no
medals or prize money at the end of the journey.
There is only this sense of fulfillment, which indicates that we found our
place in Life. This “achievement” happens without being “someone”,
without doing something “special”, without fighting and trying to
“conquer” our self created demons.
The “normal” conditioned mind, will be unable to understand that
unless, the actual “mind set” is left behind.

Therefore, the need to learn about our own minds in this new
educational view. That is the starting point. Then, to learn to feel fully.
The logical, reasonable world is a perception cherished by our current
society, but to experience Life and its fulfillment are in the realm of
feelings. Happiness is a feeling and not a thought.

Without this starting point, we could construct an specialized human

being, capable of building systems and solutions for those systems but
unable to fully connect with another human who does not share the same
mind set. Thus, another division will be made and the continuity of the
“old system” will prevail.
Thus, it is important for the “new” Education to allow the student to
fully utilize all of his senses and for that person to discover his particular
gifts, for through that discovery that person will know his own specialty
which in turn will be helpful for the common good and the development
of society under a new, more integrated perspective.