Transformation through Education – Swami Chinmayananda
As the thoughts, so the man, be he an
engineer, a lawyer, a doctor, a politician or even an erudite scholar. To change
the texture of one’s thoughts is to transform the personality.
Hammering in some data and
information adds up only to instruction, and not education. These bits of
knowledge may be useful to understand the world better and to earn a
livelihood, but they do not, and cannot add to the quality and stature of the
individual’s inner personality. A change in the quality of thoughts changes the
very nature of the uneducated and therefore wild person, to a soft, humane and
decent personality with a balanced head and heart.
The beauty or ugliness of thoughts
depends upon the values of life the individual has accepted and is maintaining
in his intimate personal understanding. Unless we destroy the unhealthy values
and come to successfully replace them with healthier values of life, the
metamorphosis of an ugly, incompetent and hateful man into a beautiful,
efficient and loving citizen can never be accomplished. This is the heart of
education: inculcating healthy values of love and spirit of self-sacrifice for
the sake of others.
Values are very subtle to grasp and
apprehend, and very volatile even when one has grasped them and their
blessings. These healthy values can be assimilated by the growing children only
when they ride upon a hero whom they come to recognise and respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment