== REALLY EDUCATED? ==
Namaskar,
A young boy walking around town with his friends sees a helpless elderly
man and viciously attacks the man for no reason at all. When asked why
he did it, the youth replies, 'The old man was the first person I saw'.
A teenager sitting in his room is surrounded by a major arsenal of
weapons that he is going to use to blow up his school. Police caught the
boy suspect beforehand and when questioned why he was going to do it,
the young teen explains, 'I got into an argument with a friend'.
A top business executive molests a young girl who is the friend of his
own 12 year-old daughter. When caught for this despicable act, this
well-to-do man has nothing to say other than to hide behind the words of
his legal team.
And like this there are innumerable cases of senseless crimes and
inhumane acts occurring in today's "first-world" nations. Every day such
incidents make headlines in the news.
THE CAUSE OF SUCH DEBASED ACTS:
IMPROPER EDUCATION
While there may be many root causes to these problems, Baba clearly
points to the field of education as being the major source of the issue.
The standard of education has become quite degraded over the centuries
and now with capitalism at its peak, the educational standard is
flailing horribly in supposed first-world nations.
Because capitalism begins and ends with selfishness and the 'me-first'
principle. In that case all human concerns and sensibilities are left by
the wayside. And this leads to the destruction of the human personality.
Baba says, "The western education system utterly failed to inculcate a
sense of morality, reverence and a high standard of behaviour...That is
why in PROUT’s system of education, we stress the need to start
“Ashramic Schools”... If this is done, the corrosive tendency...can be
checked at an early stage." (PNS-18)
So with the sheer decline in the standard of education that has been
going on since the time of Lord Krsna, Baba rebukes modern education for
its lack of moral value and at the same time imparts our Gurukul system
where human values are put at the forefront.
EDUCATION BREEDS CROOKEDNESS
But before getting more involved in the solution, let us look a little
more carefully at the problem.
Today's system of education has become so off-track that there is a
direct correlation between one's education and one's crookedness. For
example, the illiterate villagers of Africa, Central America, and India
have far more sense of right & wrong than the bulk of today's modern
souls who have received high western degrees and fancy diplomas.
Because in those supposed first-world systems of education, students are
indoctrinated into the belief that they need only care for themselves--
and no one else. Thus with their sharp intellect and talents, they
merely pursue their own selfish gains.
Baba says, "The main feature of what, in the modern sense, we call
education or civility is that one does not have to take on the burden of
others’ troubles; one only has to pay lip-service to them. If people
actually do something constructive to alleviate the distress of others,
this may hurt their own interests." (HS-1)
Thus the root cause of so many of today's crisis lies in one's mental
outlook. Due to a debased perception of themselves and the world,
educated people scramble day and night to deceive, cheat, and harm
others. Primarily because they are more concerned for their own interest
than others.
Never are such persons taught such key principles as: 'Who are you,
'What is your relation with the society', 'from where have you come',
'what is your duty in this world', 'what is the aim of human life'. All
these great ideals are totally overlooked in today's western system of
education.
And instead, young students are taught to prey on the society to capture
& satisfy one's own selfish desires. And the higher up one rises in that
system of education, the more pronounced this crooked ideal becomes.
Until we have top CEO's who merely look upon the world as their own
candy store-- where they have come to take what they want and spit out
what they do not like.
This is the great gift of today's so-called top-tier level of capitalist
education in the "first-world" nations.
And each and every day we can find more and more instances of the
debased behaviour of such educated persons.
BABA'S SOLUTIONS
So what is to be done. Rather that continuing to fill the jails or
granting bail to wealthy perpetrators, we need to build from the ground
up. The whole system of education needs to be changed to cultivate
higher ideals where craftiness of mind is not the goal, but rather
neo-humanistic values.
Baba says, "So, what is the need of education? Proper education enables
one to stand against the influence of the physical environment and
awaken the psychic urge to attain a higher life, that is, the
ideological goal. This gives a person much inspiration. We should do our
best to impart proper education not only to the entire humanity... We
can impart training to...and put them on the path of welfare." (PNS-18)
And here below in a more detailed manner, Baba clearly outlines some of
the aims and objectives of our AM system of education.
Baba says, "The Ananda Marga system of education has been formulated in
such a way that the fundamental Pra'n'a Dharma of humanity has been
fully recognized. The educational system of our schools is based on the
principle of Pra'n'a Dharma. It includes the study of various aspects of
modern branches of human knowledge, as well as the development of
qualities such as reverence, good manners, humility, dignity of labour,
social consciousness, etc. The Western system of education has miserably
failed to inculcate these rare qualities in the students minds."
(AFPS-6, 'Prana Dharma')
By this way-- with the advancement of our neo-humanistic curriculum-- so
many of the hate crimes and inhumane acts that are so prevalent today
will totally vanish tomorrow. All because our AM aims for the benevolent
development of human mind where human values are put at the forefront.
All in all, this is a vast topic. Today's social ills are widespread yet
the root source of the matter has been identified. If people are given
the gift of right education, then humanity will easily be able to
advance, leaving behind the raw footprint of today's crude capitalistic
system of education.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, by inculcating the right ideals then human existence
will flower on this dusty earth.
Baba says, "By propagating spirituality, implementing PROUT and
rendering selfless service to suffering humanity, you will be able to
elevate the standard of human beings in a very short time." (PNS-18)
Namaskar,
Mahendra
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About the Wealthy
Baba says, "It must always be remembered that the value of money lies in
its proper use. If more money is accumulated than what is necessary, it
becomes valueless for want of use. To the extent that you keep idle and
valueless money with you, to that extent you become responsible for the
injustices done to the hungry and the naked. Your valueless hoard will
have to be made valuable by providing opportunities for use by others.
Those who do not know the right use of money on the basis of the
exchange of mundane resources are in fact the enemies of society."
(HS-1, p.41)
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